2023 New York String Orchestra Seminar Application Information

The New York String Orchestra Seminar will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 19, and end at 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 28.

There is no participation fee for those accepted to the program. Every accepted student receives free tuition, housing, meals, and local transportation (total value more than $4,000). Participants must arrange their travel to and from New York City at their own expense.

All participants are expected to clear their schedules and be available from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. every day within that time period with the exception of Saturday, December 25.

Carnegie Hall will present participants as the New York String Orchestra on December 24 at 7:00 p.m. and on December 28 at 8:00 p.m.

Applicant Qualifications and Requirements

1. We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted many students' educational trajectory. This year, all applicants must be 16 years old or older by December 19, but rather than having an upper age limit, we will focus on where applicants are in their educational path. Those enrolled in high school, college, or a graduate educational program are encouraged to apply.
   
2. Applicants must be advanced, technically proficient musicians with experience playing in an ensemble or orchestra.
3. Applicants may have previously participated in the New York String Orchestra Seminar no more than once (participation in the remote 2020 seminar does not count toward the participation limit).
   
4. Applicants must be either U.S. citizens or attending a U.S. institution on a current valid student visa.
5. All those accepted must provide proof of health insurance.
6. All those accepted must stay in the housing provided by the New York String Orchestra Seminar December 19–28, 2023. (The housing cost is covered by the seminar.)
7. If accepted, you must commit to being present from 9:00 a.m. on December 19 to 11:00 p.m. on December 28. There are no exceptions. This may mean arranging to take finals early for some. If your school semester extends beyond December 18, we will ask for verification that you have received permission to be excused from all activities from December 19 on.

The SlideRoom application will be available here from August 1 to September 18, 2023.

Application and Deadline Information

The application will open on Tuesday, August 1, 2023.

Application to the 2023 New York String Orchestra Seminar is a two-step process:

1. By the deadline of September 18, 2023, 11:59 p.m. ET, submit:
   1. Application
   2. Recorded audio audition (mp3 files only)—see repertoire below
   3. $30 application fee (please contact us at [email protected] to inquire if you are eligible for a fee waiver due to financial hardship)
      
      
2. A selected group of applicants will be invited to submit a recorded video audition (mp4 files only), due October 18, 2023, 11:50 p.m. ET. Repertoire for this audition will be different from that for the initial audition and will be posted here on August 1.

You must pass both the audio and the video auditions to be considered for participation.

Previous NYSOS participants and designated alternates are exempted from the requirement to submit the initial mp3 audition with their applications. If you are unsure whether you were a designated alternate, email the office at [email protected] to confirm your status. 

All applicants will be informed of results by email. We will not be able to provide feedback on your audition.

We strongly encourage early application submission, so that you have the greatest amount of time possible between your mp3 submission and the notification that you are invited to submit a video audition.

Step 1—Audio Recording Audition Requirements—Due September 18, 2023, 11:59 p.m. ET

1. The application recording(s) must be between 10 and 15 minutes long.
2. Audition recordings must be in mp3 format (we will not accept videos or other audio formats).
3. Play the excerpts in the order listed; upload them in a single file. (You may record the excerpts as separate takes and edit them into a single file.)
4. Your recordings must be unaccompanied. We cannot accept recordings with piano.

Required Audition Repertoire for Round One Audio (mp3) Audition

Violin

• Mozart: First movement/exposition of a concerto
• Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting concerto of your choice
• Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (Beginning - 7 measures after Letter D)

Viola

• J.S. Bach: One movement of your choice from any suite for solo viola 
• Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting concerto of your choice
• Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (Beginning - Letter D)

Cello

• J.S. Bach: One movement of your choice from any suite for solo cello 
• Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting concerto of your choice
• Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (Beginning - Letter D)

Bass

• J.S. Bach: One movement of your choice from any suite for solo cello
• Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting work of your choice
• Mozart: Symphony No. 35 "Haffner"
  • Movement 1, m. 1 - m. 48 and m. 56 - Letter B (bar 66)
  • Movement 4, m. 134 - Letter E (m 181 downbeat)
• Mozart: Marriage of Figaro Overture: m. 152 - Letter D (m 172)
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, first movement, mm. 98–113; mm. 275–300

Flute (Flute I)

• J.S. Bach: Work of your choice*
• Contrasting solo work of your choice*
• Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, scherzo (solo at the end)

Oboe (Oboe I)

• J.S. Bach: Work of your choice*
• Contrasting solo work of your choice*
• Brahms: Violin Concerto, second movement solo
• Rossini: La Scala di Seta, overture
  • Andantino solo (m. 5 - No. 1)
  • Allegro solo (pickup to No. 2 - No. 3)
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, third movement (Presto), 26 measures before Letter A through the first ending (59 after Letter A)

Clarinet (Clarinet I)

• Mozart: Clarinet Concerto
  • Movement 1, exposition
    
• Contrasting solo work of your choice*
• Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, scherzo (first page)
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 (slow movement solo)

Bassoon (Bassoon I)

• Movement from a concerto or sonata of your choice
• Contrasting movement from a concert, sonata, or work for bassoon alone (étude) of your choice
• Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro, overture, mm. 1-58; 101-123; 139-171; 214-236
  

Horn (Horn I - except as noted below for second Beethoven excerpt)

• Mozart: either Horn Concerto No. 2 or Horn Concert No. 4
  • Movement 1, exposition
  • Movement 2, exposition
• Brahms: Symphony No. 3, movement 3, Poco Allegretto (m. 98 - m. 110) (F - 12 after F in some editions)
• Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, opening calls
• Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, opening
• Wagner: Siegfried, short call
  
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
  • Horn 1: Movement 1, bars 84–110, bars 342–348
  • Horn 2: Movement 3, bars 185–239 (no repeat)
    

Trumpet (Trumpet I)

• Haydn: Trumpet Concerto, movement 1 (exposition and development)
• Contrasting solo work of your choice (4 minutes' maximum)
• Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition, opening
• Stravinsky: Petrouchka, ballerina solo
• Respighi: Pines of Rome, off-stage solo
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
  • Movement 1, bar 421 to the end of the movement
  • Movement 3 Bars 211–226 (play once; repeat not necessary)
    

Timpani

• Mozart: Symphony No. 39, first movement, introduction (minimize bars of rest) 1-21
• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, first movement, bars 89–110, 315–326, 431–end
• Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, fourth movement
• Sibelius: Finlandia (2 bars before Allegro - Letter H, no repeat)

*A movement or excerpt is acceptable if necessary due to time constraints.

Step 2—Invited Video Audition Requirements & Repertoire

The deadline for video submission is October 18, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Links on the right side of the page will take you to the video audition repertoire page.

Those who pass the initial mp3 audition will be sent an invitation by email with instructions for labeling and uploading a video audition on or before September 28.

Those who do not pass the initial mp3 audition will be informed by email.

All those invited to submit a video will be notified by email of the audition results by November 19, 2023.

We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with the entirety of each work, so that you understand the excerpts in context. Preparation and execution of the orchestral excerpts are often the deciding factor in an applicant's acceptance to the program. While specific excerpts are not yet available, the repertoire the orchestra will be performing at Carnegie Hall is noted at the top of this page.