Just looked a little closer and I think he WOULD have to audition.
Bachelor of Arts – Music Major
You must be enrolled in performance studies (lessons) in the semester you apply.
The application form for admission to the major is due in HOM 245 by October 15 for processing in fall semester and March 15 for processing in spring semester.
Perform a level 2 jury on one’s principal instrument/voice (during regular exam period.)
Keyboard skills will be assessed once the student has been admitted to the major.
Admission to the music major by audition (either Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Music) is required. Students may not self-declare a music major. Admission to the B.A. music major is selective; admission to the B.M. program is highly selective.
I have the same question as you do. I don’t get why Composers need to give an audition, not even just one song, they ask from 2-5. My son is an all stater but his interest is in composition and applied for the same. He didn’t practice as much as he was spending more time to build his composition portfolio and resume. I can definitely say couple of colleges decided his Merit scholarship based on his audition, not solely on his composition skills. One college asked only audition not interview which didn’t make sense at all for a composer. For all composers out there if you are a composer be prepared to give a strong audition as well if you are looking for a good scholarship. (Not all asks for an audition but the colleges that do your audition plays a huge role in how much of scholarship you are going to get, this is what we have noticed from our experience)
My kid avoided all schools that required an instrumental audition for composers, out of principle. She was an advanced player but just felt it was wrong. It is not necessary to play an instrument in order to compose. There are plenty of good schools that do not require this, both BM and BA.
Agreed 1000% !! BU did not require an audition and I don’t think Frost weighed the audtion heavily (just a guess, saying that based on our son’s performance level). YES to looking for the ones that don’t require audtion. Our son could have gone to UNT as NMF for FREE (great program and really liked the professor) but would never have passed the audition based on his level. However, they do have a way to “audition” with skills like sound mixing (don’t quote me on that terminology) that he wasn’t skilled enough to do, but for anyone who has a student that is super savvy with that and maybe not so much on the performance side, maybe worth exploring. We started looking really late in the game, so kudos to you for being on this board already! Best of luck.
Definitely email your AO for more information. Most BA programs don’t require a high level of proficiency. Some will even allow you to take lessons and re-audition if you don’t meet that not very high level. Don’t let it intimidate you.
Thank you for your response. He is going to visit Saint Olaf next Friday and he plans to meet with his AO, so I’ll make sure that he asks about the BA program.
My son auditioned and got into St Olaf BA program this year. They were still doing virtual auditions this year so he just had to record video of 2 pieces - details on what types of pieces were allowed were on the website. He’s a singer and I think he ended up doing one Brahms and one classical Italian piece. He’s a strong singer but only has 4 years of choir and 1 1/2 years of private lessons (on top of years of guitar so had some musical background prior to high school). I think for the BA it’s not that competitive.
Congrats to your son! Thanks for this info. I would hope that they take into consideration that there are students who want to study music theory or musicology, but may not be super strong performers. Is your son happy at St. Olaf?
Well, all decisions are finally in for our DS and we couldn’t be more proud of this guy for the way he has led his life for the past 18 years! He applied as a voice major, mainly to programs with dual degrees as well as colleges that would allow him to have a non-voice major while continuing lessons and performances on the side.
Accepted to Columbia/Juilliard combined program
Rejected at Curtis after in-person callback (his two friends get accepted for different voice types)
Accepted to Harvard/NEC
He also has a couple of other top 5 university acceptances. The plan at this point is for him to do a ton of research and frantically do visits this month!
He’s still a high school senior… applied for the major as part of applying to the school in general. Is your son a junior or a senior thinking of going there but hasn’t done the music application yet? St Olaf is looking less likely than some others for my son to end up choosing but it’s still in the running. My niece went there for Music Education and loved it.
My understanding is if a student is interested in musicology or music theory, the BA would be fine and no audition is usually required, or if there is one, the standards are not as high as for the BM in performance. There are lots of ensembles at St. Olaf from what I gather. My son has been admitted as a BM in cello there.
My son is a senior as well. He applied and was accepted at St. Olaf, but he didn’t audition for the B.A. program. I hope it’s not too late?!?! I imagine they let students audition once they are there and have figured out what they want to do??? Eek. Now I’m worried!
Does anyone know the answer to @Mainemom’s question? Her son got into St. Olaf but missed the music major application. Will they allow him in to the BA musicmajor? What should he do? Contact admissions? Contact the music department? A teacher?
