All auditions are approximately 5 – 8 minutes long except percussion auditions which are approximately 10 minutes. While it is unlikely, please note that audition judges may ask any candidate to sight read. The CYSO Excerpt Lists can be found at the bottom of this page.
Note that students will indicate in the audition registration form whether they plan to play the orchestral excerpts or not. These excerpts are only for students who wish to be considered for Symphony Orchestra or Philharmonic Orchestra. If a student isn’t sure whether they should audition for these ensembles, we suggest looking at the excerpts with their teacher to see if it feels like an appropriate piece for their level.
If a student will not be playing the excerpts, they should prepare two contrasting (fast/slow) movements or solo pieces that they feel comfortable with, usually pieces they’ve already been working on in lessons or with their school ensemble.
Strings
- Two contrasting movements or solo pieces
- Orchestral Excerpt provided by CYSO*
*The orchestral excerpt is only required if you wish to be considered for placement in Symphony Orchestra or Philharmonic Orchestra (Sunday orchestras). You do not need to prepare the excerpt to be considered for placement in Concert Orchestra, Debut Orchestra, Accelerando Strings, Preparatory Strings, or Overture Strings (Saturday orchestras).
Winds & Brass
- Two contrasting movements or solo pieces
- Three orchestral excerpts chosen by student fromCYSO’s Orchestral Excerpt list.* Note that you must play at least 1 excerpt from each list, A and B, for your instrument. For example, you can pick 1 excerpt from list “A” and 2 from list “B” for a total of 3 excerpts.
*The orchestral excerpts are only required if you wish to be considered for placement in Symphony Orchestra or Philharmonic Orchestra (Sunday orchestras). You do not need to prepare the excerpts to be considered for placement in Concert Orchestra or Debut Orchestra (Saturday orchestras).
Percussion
- Keyboard solo or etude chosen by student, may be performed on either marimba (4 1/3 octave) or xylophone (Solos by G.H. Green, Bach, or other silmilar solos are recommended)
- Snare Drum solo or etude chosen by student (Solos by Pratt, Delecluse, Peters, or other similar solos are recommended)
- Keyboard orchestral excerpt chosen by student from CYSO’s Orchestral Excerpt list*
- Snare Drum orchestral excerpt chosen by student from CYSO’s Orchestral Excerpt list*
- Timpani orchestral excerpt chosen by student from CYSO’s Orchestral Excerpt list, tuning required*
*The Keyboard, Snare Drum, and Timpani orchestral excerpts are only required if you wish to be considered for placement in Symphony Orchestra or Philharmonic Orchestra (Sunday orchestras). You do not need to prepare the excerpts to be considered for placement in Concert Orchestra or Debut Orchestra (Saturday orchestras).
Percussionists: Please note that the judges will only have time to listen to approximately 2 minutes or less of your solos/etudes. All percussionists must bring two copies of each solo-etude prepared for the audition.
Harp & Piano
- Two contrasting movements or solo pieces
- Harp: Two excerpts chosen by student from CYSO’s Orchestral Excerpt list*
- Piano: Two excerpts chosen by student from CYSO’s Orchestral Excerpt list*
*The orchestral excerpts are only required if you wish to be considered for placement in Symphony Orchestra or Philharmonic Orchestra (Sunday orchestras). You do not need to prepare the excerpts to be considered for placement in Concert Orchestra (Saturday).
2020-2021 CYSO Excerpt List
You may download the excerpts for each instrument by clicking on the instrument in the list below. Please review all excerpts, as they may have been updated since last season.
Percussion
Timpani
Snare Drum
Keyboard (xylophone)
