ADMISSION / AUDITION

Students are admitted as majors in the Voice Area by audition/interview with the Voice Faculty.

Procedures for admission/interview are different for each degree level – bachelors, masters, and doctoral.

UNDERGRADUATE – Online Application

Prospective undergraduate voice majors should apply online to the School of Music and request information regarding the audition. This begins the application process, and is a completely FREE application.

To apply as a voice major to the School of Music and schedule an audition, complete the online Music Major Audition Application.

Wongyung Kim, Coordinator of Admissions & Scholarships, will process your application and assign you an audition date and time. If you have questions regarding your audition, she may be reached at wonkyung.kim@ttu.edu or at (806) 834-6658.

UNDERGRADUATE – Audition Information

Vocal Auditions for prospective undergraduate music majors will be held on the dates listed on the Prospective Students page. 

 These dates are specifically designed to facilitate your audition and entrance exams in theory in same day, as well as to give you and your family a chance to meet the entire School of Music faculty and staff.

Your completed online application will allow you to select the date of your choice. The time of the audition that day will be set by Wonkyung Kim who will contact you following the processing of your application.

Private Auditions

Auditions on dates other than the two Saturdays above are possible and welcomed, but not encouraged as the primary route of audition, due to the missed opportunity of meeting the faculty, staff and student body, and to the delayed taking of Music Theory placement tests, the results of which influence admission decisions.

The Voice Faculty also hears auditions on Mondays at 4 pm. For full consideration for fall matriculation, please audition on or before March 1 of that year. Prospective students may audition at any time after March 1, but entry may be restricted for the fall semester. Please email Alice Ann Light for further audition information. For application information, please email Wonkyung Kim, Enrollment Coordinator.

Recorded Auditions

It is possible to submit recorded video materials as an audition to be a voice major in special circumstances, such as international residence or professional scheduling conflicts with other possible audition dates.

Every consideration will be given this form of audition.

Audio recordings (without video) will not be accepted for audition purposes.

The prospective student should learn and memorize two music selections that best display his/her vocal capabilities – one in English and the second in a foreign language.

The video submission should display the student clearly announcing his/her name, school, degree request, and the title and composer of each song that follows on the recording.

The Voice Faculty will recommend and approve the degree level of the student to best comply with the student's requested degree and with the vocal, musical, and academic qualifications exhibited in the audition.

Following the audition, the student will be contacted by mail regarding the outcome of the audition.

UNDERGRADUATE – Audition Requirements

The audition selections should be chosen from the following sources:

• Art songs – literature of the classical masters, chosen from English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, & Russian. Translations of art song into English are discouraged with the exception of Russian, Slavic, and Scandinavian language songs.
• Opera & oratorio arias – in the original language, and in reference to the role involved (gender and age specific).
• Musical Theatre – representative pieces of the American Musical Theatre, with consideration for the role and character the selection represents.
• Sacred songs of traditional compositional style are accepted, while contemporary styles are not encouraged for audition use.

The audition will also include a sight-reading example and brief interview, as well as an opportunity for the student to ask questions of the faculty if any concerns are present.

SCHOLARSHIPS

The audition for admission is also considered an audition for music scholarships.

Generally, vocal scholarships are reserved for students majoring in voice, and are distributed according to level of qualification. In certain conditions, exceptional or rare voice types are afforded a higher consideration, regardless of college major.

Scholarships at TTU are considered to be competitive with other institutions in recruiting qualified voice majors.

Scholarships are competitively awarded to incoming freshmen and transfer students equally.

GRADUATE DEGREES

Admission to the Texas Tech University School of Music (SOM) as a graduate voice major is contingent upon an acceptable audition for the Voice Area as well as individual applications to the Texas Tech University School of Music and Graduate School.

For general information regarding graduate study in the TTU School of Music, please visit the Introduction to Graduate Study at TTU portion of the Graduate Student Handbook.

Graduate applicants seeking degrees in vocal music should contact Gerald Dolter, Voice Area Chair, with any questions. 

It is expected that all prospective graduate majors seeking an live audition for acceptance at the graduate level first submit a video example(s) of his/her performing artistry prior to being invited for a live audition. Materials can be submitted through the graduate application found in the above link to the Graduate Program home page.

After a review of such materials, the candidate will be contacted regarding the scheduling of an audition for the voice faculty. The audition will take place on any Monday during the academic year at 4:00pm, scheduled by mutual agreement.

The Saturday audition dates are generally reserved for undergraduate auditions. Graduate applicants are given more individualized attention and consideration in the Monday afternoon auditions.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS

Master of Music (MM)

Four selections, memorized, are required, one in each of the four languages, English, Italian, German, & French.

Of the four, no more than two may be arias, art songs should be well represented, and at least one of the selections should be from the Classical period, representing composers such as Mozart or Haydn, or similar compositional styles.

The auditionee may make selections from various style periods as best represents his/her vocal & performing capabilities.

Study at this degree level is almost exclusively classical in nature, but the use of a music theatre selection to demonstrate performing capabilities is acceptable.

A personal accompanist is welcome, or a highly-qualified accompanist will be made available, free of charge, with prior notice.

In that event, a list of selections should be sent to the Voice Area Chair no less than one week prior to the audition to fully prepare the provided accompanist.

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Fine Arts

For this audition process, the actual audition will consist of presenting a list of sixteen memorized selections from which the Voice Faculty may choose.

The widest variety of performing styles, languages, and periods is expected at this degree level.

Mentoring by a current Voice faculty member is the normal procedure for preparing for this audition.

Consultation with the Voice Area Chair at Gerald Dolter is expected when seeking admission/ audition to these degree levels.

MAJORS: Voice lessons are required for majors in conjunction with the chosen degree requirements.

NON-MAJORS: Qualified non-majors at TTU may study voice on an elective basis as teaching space permits.

 Private lessons are available only to non-major students who have had singing experience in solo or choir environment.

Lessons are taught by teaching assistants (TAs) who are carefully monitored by the Voice Area.

Lessons can be offered at times mutually available to student and teacher, and are to be arranged (TBA).

Credit is offered for the lessons as a one hour credit which will yield a 30-minute lesson per week.

A recommended course for non-voice majors (ex: theatre majors) is MUAP 1113 Class Voice

Students seeking private voice lessons and those seeking more information about vocal studies should contact Gerald Dolter, Voice Area Chair.

Voice Area ensembles are well known for performance excellence and the service of equipping participating students for various careers. 

These ensembles bring national recognition to Texas Tech each year.

Membership in these ensembles is equally open to music majors and non-music majors alike.

For more information regarding ensembles, go to:

• Choir
• Opera & Musical Theatre