School of Music
Review the drop-down menus below for specific repertoire requirements.
Applicants should prepare two standard orchestral excerpts in contrasting styles. Unaccompanied
The organ instruction method that is taught at Loyola University is grounded in good basic piano technique, an approach that was taught in the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries. Proponents of this method were French organ virtuosi and teachers like Charles Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré, and their American counterparts like Lynnwood Farnam, Harold Gleason, Mildred Andrews, Catharine Crozier and Clyde Holloway. In the strictest technical sense, if the prospective student has developed a solid piano technique, they need not have yet had any organ lessons. The piano repertoire level necessary would necessarily include some of the Bach Two-Part Inventions and some Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier. Works by later composers would include: Mozart Piano Sonatas; earlier Beethoven Piano Sonatas; Mendelssohn Songs Without Words; Chopin Preludes and Waltzes; and, smaller-scales works by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms.
If the prospective student has already had organ study, they should prepare at least two organ works as follows:
1. An original organ composition by Johann Sebastian Bach, preferably of at least average difficulty, such as:
- Any of the Preludes, Toccatas or Fugues, including the smaller-scale early ones
- Any chorale preludes, including the Orgelbüchlein
- A movement from any of the Trio Sonatas
2. A second piece of contrasting style and time period of at least moderate difficulty. Preferable would be an original organ composition written in the 19th century, such as:
- Anything by Felix Mendelssohn or Johannes Brahms
- Any of the twelve major organ compositions of César Franck -Anything by Charles Marie Widor, Alexandre Guilmant, Eugène Gigout or Léon Boëllmann The second piece may also be by one of Bach’s predecessors or contemporaries such as François Couperin, Dietrich Buxtehude, J. G. Walther and Vincent Lübeck.
Also acceptable are works from the 20th or 21st Centuries, such as:
- Anything by Louis Vierne, Joseph Jongen, Jean Langlais, Marcel Dupré or Maurice Duruflé ;
- Anything by Olivier Messiaen or Jehan Alain;
- Any Movement from one of the three organ sonatas of Paul Hindemith;
- Original organ compositions by American composers.
If the student has learned how to play hymns, they will also be asked to play a standard hymn with minimum preparation time.
If the prospective student is auditioning at the organ, they will be given preparation and practice time at the organ used for the audition, and should plan to arrive in New Orleans at least two days before the scheduled audition date to have ample time to prepare. The identity of the builder and the specification of the organ will be sent to the prospective student ahead of time, as well as information about the church or synagogue in which it is located. The instrument for the audition will be selected to suit the repertoire of the prospective student; hence, the student should submit the list of audition repertoire at least two weeks before the audition date.
Music Education applicants will need to interview and audition for admission to Loyola. Please prepare to audition with your primary instrument and see the requirements per instrument in the sections above.
Applicants can register for both their audition and interview through your Loyola Application Portal. You should have received access to this portal 24 hours after submitting your application.
Questions? Contact Dr. Ed McClellan
Music Therapy applicants will need to interview and audition for admission to Loyola. Please prepare to audition with your primary instrument and see the requirements per instrument in the sections above.
Applicants can register for both their audition and interview through your Loyola Application Portal. You should have received access to this portal 24 hours after submitting your application.
Questions? Contact Dr. Meg Frazier
Music Industry Studies (BM) applicants will need to interview and audition for admission to Loyola. Please prepare to audition with your primary instrument and see the requirements per instrument in the sections above.
Applicants can register for both their audition and interview through your Loyola Application Portal. You should have received access to this portal 24 hours after submitting your application.
Questions? Contact Timothy Kappel
Popular and Commercial Music applicants will need to audition for admission to Loyola. Please prepare to audition with your primary instrument by reviewing these requirements.
Applicants can register for their audition through their Loyola Application Portal, which they should have received access to within 24 hours of submitting their application.
Questions? Contact Kate Duncan
Hip Hop and R&B applicants will need to interview for admission to Loyola.
Applicants can register for their interview through their Loyola Application Portal, which they should have received access to within 24 hours of submitting their application.
Questions? Contact Kate Duncan