University of Southern California
Admission
Thornton School of Music > Admission > Auditions

Auditions

Spring 2010 Admission

Applicants for the spring semester of 2010 must make arrangements for an audition by directly contacting the department of their major. For contact information of various Thornton departments click here.

Fall 2010 Admission

Typically for live auditions, certain instruments are scheduled on Saturday and other instruments are scheduled on Sunday. Specific determinations regarding this are not made until audition scheduling begins after December 1 after the prescreening review. Therefore, it is recommended that applicants planning to audition live in Los Angeles keep their schedule open for the full weekend until their audition appointment is confirmed. Where possible for programs auditioning on more than one weekend, scheduling preference is given to undergraduate applicants for the first weekend and graduate applicants for the second weekend.

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE TRAVEL PLANS OR PURCHASE TICKETS UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION THAT YOUR AUDITION HAS BEEN SCHEDULED.

2010 audition dates are as follows:

  • January 23 & 24, 2010: all programs
  • February 6 & 7, 2010: Choral (undergraduate), Piano, Popular Music, Strings, Vocal Arts
  • February 7 & 8, 2010: Strings
  • February 13 & 14, 2010: In the event that auditions fill up for classical Piano and Popular Music, additional audition times will be scheduled for this weekend, however appointments are assigned for the previous two dates before this final weekend is opened.

Applicants are urged to carefully review audition requirements for their particular major in the application requirements section of this Web site. Applicants who indicate in the Thornton Supplementary Application that they plan to perform an audition in Los Angeles will automatically be scheduled for an audition appointment until the schedule is full. Some exceptions to this standard procedure are listed below. Email confirmation of the audition appointment will be issued to the applicant at the email address provided in the application from the Thornton admission office once it is scheduled.

Please also note the following policies which affect many Thornton programs.

  • Some Choral and Sacred Music applicants, based on review of the required audition tape, will be invited by the faculty to perform an audition in Los Angeles. These auditions will not be held on the regular Los Angeles audition dates, but will take place on dates to be arranged at the time of invitation.
  • Jazz Studies, Classical Piano, Strings, Classical Guitar, Studio/Jazz Guitar, Vocal Arts, Popular Music and Flute applicants - Based on review of the required pre-screen audition recording by the faculty, some applicants will be invited to perform an audition in Los Angeles on a scheduled audition date.
  • Auditions are not automatically scheduled for Organ applicants. Applicants are encouraged to contact the organ department at (213) 740-7703 to make arrangements for the required audition.
  • All DMA applicants who pass the prescreen review are required to perform a live audition in Los Angeles. Similarly, all Vocal Arts applicants applying for Graduate Certificate are required to perform a live audition in Los Angeles.

Accommodations

Audition confirmation comes via EMAIL ONLY. Please do NOT make travel plans or reservations for a Thornton audition until you have received this email confirmation. Students traveling to Los Angeles for an audition may wish to make reservations at the following facility:

Radisson Hotel Los Angeles Midtown at USC

Rooms include complimentary continental breakfast, computer dataport and complimentary high speed internet, in room safe box, refrigerator (all rooms), 24-hour business center, fully equipped 24-hour fitness facility, heated outdoor pool and Jacuzzi

For reservations:

Last updated: June 21, 2009