I’m applying for colleges for the fall 2016 semester, and I need to create a repertoire for part of the required information to be a music education major. The problem is, I don’t know what that is or how to do it! I am currently a senior in high school who does both concert band and (competitive) marching band/pep band. I play the saxophone, mainly the tenor, but have played alto, soprano, and baritone as well. Can anyone help me for what I need to do?
The schools are most interested in the solo (and possibly etude) repertoire you have studied, what solo repertoire you have performed and as an addition, those ensemble works in which you played major solos. If they haven’t given you a format, you have a lot of freedom to present yourself in the best light. For example, you might organize a list of :
Instrument (Alto, Tenor, Bari)Name of Solo Composer Public Performance(check or blank).
Instrument Etude (opus or name of book) Composer
If you’ve performed major solos in ensemble literature, set up a category for that, example:
Sax solo The Old Castle from Pictures at an Exhibition, Modest Mussorgsky, performance with Local Orchestra
Have you played jazz? If so, set up another category and indicate solos there.
Oops!!! Boy am I irritated that all my nice formatting didn’t come through! I somehow posted this and can’t edit again. But, I think you get the idea - good luck - there may be sax or wind players out there that can give you more specific advice.
By the way, if you are listing a number of solo works, I would alphabetize by composer. Another possible order is to start with the most difficult work you have studied, leaving the easier to fall to the bottom of the list. I would separate by the different instruments - tenor, alto, soprano, etc. and not mix these up. Think of the easiest format for someone to glance at and get the best picture of your greatest accomplishments!
ADDITIONS:
I haven’t ever had a solo YET, because the music we play usually only features the flute or trumpet (though I was told I would have a solo later in the year). I’m not sure exactly what kind/genre of music we play, but we usually just have whole-band pieces that we spend a few weeks-months learning for concerts and a concert band contest.
Do you have lessons wirh a private teacher? That is where I would expect to see most of your “solo” repertoire coming from - for example: Ibert - Concertino da Camera or Handel - Allegro from Sonata in G. This type of solo would be something you performed, probably with piano, for solo contest, church or other venue. If you are studying privately, this is also the teacher who would be assigning etudes, either individually or in a book, scale studies, etc.
If you are studying through band only, I think it might be good to ask your director for some guidance. He/she might be able to help you format the materials used for full band, sectionals, etc to show the type of instruction you have had and repertoire you have played.
A couple of thoughts, and I apologize if they are obvious and/or you have already done them:
1)You should be thinking of schools, and seeing what they require for repertoire, to make sure you are practicing the right things. For example, Orchestral instruments (at least in BM), tend to weight heavily on orchestra excerpts rather than solo works, because there often isn’t a lot of solo rep for them (whereas with Violin and Cello it is all solo works, etudes, sonatas, etc). That said, there could be solo pieces for sax they might want to see, it is why it is important to look at the school’s websites. More importantly, the requirements can vary, so you might find you need to do a piece type X for school A, but not for B and C schools. Having the right rep prepared is going to be a lot more valuable than the format.
2)One way to list the repertoire is by the school’s requirements. So for example, if the school requires an orchestra excerpt from a post 1920 piece, an excerpt from a romantic piece, a solo piece from X period, a solo piece for Y period (and obviously, this is not about the sax, this is a hypothetical), you might want to list it like this:
Post 1920 piece: XXXXX by aaaaaaa bbbbbbbb
Romantic piece: MMMMM by cccccc ddddddd
Orchestral Excerpt, Romantic: The Sax Solo from “Pictures at an Exhibition” in “The Old Castle” (doesn’t have to be a solo piece, obviously)
Orchestral Excerpt, Modern: “Second Movement of Bartok symphony number 6, measures X to Y” (assuming Bartok even wrote sax parts in his orchestrations).
What you put down should be based on what the school is looking for. If for example, they have a requirement “piece at applicant’s choice, post 1920”, then you would want to talk to your teacher(s) about something you have played, or are capable of playing, to use.
Again, I think the format is going to be less important than figuring out what they want and being able to play it. I would work with your teacher(s), get the requirements of the various programs, see what is common, what is unique, and using the requirements, figure out what you can play already (with the idea of working to polish it up) and what you need to work on between here and the audition.