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Pre-College Majors and Requirements

About this Program

The WPMA Pre-College is a program for students of elementary through high school age who exhibit the talent, potential, and accomplishment to pursue a career in music. It runs on Sundays and occasionally Thursdays from mid-August through May.

Pre-College offers a complete curriculum of music instruction that requires a considerable amount of time and commitment on the part of the students and families. Recognizing the importance of early training and disciplined study in music, the Pre-College provides an environment where artistic gifts and technical skills can flourish.

Eligibility

There are no minimum age requirements, but all applicants must demonstrate a high level of proficiency in their instrument to audition. WPMA Pre-college is only open to violin, viola, and cello at this time.

Faculty & Visiting Artists

Amy Chang, Viola

Martin Gueorguiev, Cello

William Pu, Violin

David Coucheron, Violin

James Kim, Cello

Additional Guest Artists

Auditions

Auditions may consist of pre-recorded submissions, interviews, and in-person rounds.

Application Timeline

  • Prescreening Deadline — July 1
  • Prescreening Results Announced — July 5
  • In-person Audition — August 2
  • Audition Results Announced — August 8

Repertoire Requirements

Applicants must submit a screening video with the application to be considered for the live auditions. Prescreening videos must be recorded in the last 3 months. Applicants will be notified of their live-audition status no later than three weeks prior to the audition date.

Accompaniment is optional and not required for the Prescreening round. There is no accompaniment for the Live Audition round.

All applicants must play from memory.

Violin Requirements
Prescreening
  • A three-octave major and accompanying melodic minor scale with arpeggios selected from Carl Flesch’s Scale System
  • A 5-7 minute solo performance excerpt that best demonstrates their musicianship and technical abilities

Live Audition
  • A three-octave major and accompanying melodic minor scale with arpeggios selected from Carl Flesch’s Scale System
  • A 5-7 minute solo performance excerpt that best demonstrates their musicianship and technical abilities
  • Étude no. 12 from Rodolphe Kreutzer’s 42 Studies or Caprices for Violin
Prescreening
  • A three-octave major and accompanying melodic minor scale with arpeggios
  • A 5-7 minute solo performance excerpt that best demonstrates their musicianship and technical abilities

Live Audition
  • A three-octave major and accompanying melodic minor scale with arpeggios
  • A 5-7 minute solo performance excerpt that best demonstrates their musicianship and technical abilities
  • Any one étude of the applicants choice (Kayser, Kreutzer, Dont, Rode, Campagnoli, or Fiorillo)
Prescreening
  • A four-octave major and accompanying melodic minor scale with arpeggios, selected from either Julius Klengel’s Technical Studies for Cello vol. 1 or Ivan Galamian’s Scale System for Cello vol. 1
  • A movement from an unaccompanied Suite for Solo Cello by J. S. Bach
  • A concerto movement selected from one of the following:
    • Saint-Saens no. 1 in A minor – 1st or 3rd movement
    • J. Haydn in C Major – 1st or 3rd movement
    • E. Lalo in D minor – 1st or 3rd movement
    • E. Elgar in E minor op. 85 – 1st and 2nd movements, or 4th movement
    • D. Shostakovich no. 1 in E flat Major, op. 107 – 1st movement
    • Or a comparable selection from the standard cello concerto repertoire

Live Audition
  • A four-octave major and accompanying melodic minor scale with arpeggios, selected from either Julius Klengel’s Technical Studies for Cello vol. 1 or Ivan Galamian’s Scale System for Cello vol. 1
  • Any one étude of the applicants choice from David Popper’s High School of Cello Playing Op. 73 or Alfredo Carlo Piatti’s 12 Caprices for Cello, op. 25
  • Two contrasting movements from an unaccompanied Suite for Solo Cello by J. S. Bach
  • A concerto movement selected from one of the following:
    • Saint-Saens no. 1 in A minor – 1st or 3rd movement
    • J. Haydn in C Major – 1st or 3rd movement
    • E. Lalo in D minor – 1st or 3rd movement
    • E. Elgar in E minor op. 85 – 1st and 2nd movements, or 4th movement
    • D. Shostakovich no. 1 in E flat Major, op. 107 – 1st movement
    • Or a comparable selection from the standard cello concerto repertoire

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