Instrumental Auditions

To audition for the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, you first have to complete the School Selection Process for the School District of Philadelphia located HERE.

AUDITIONS FOR THE 2023 – 2024 SCHOOL YEAR WILL BE HELD IN PERSON.

Audition Requirements for Instrumental Music

Thank you for selecting Rush Arts as one of your possible high schools, and thank you for being interested in Instrumental Music.  As you are aware, students who apply must meet certain criteria and then audition for their chosen art major.

The audition will consist of two parts:

  1. A musical performance
  2. An interview

 

1. FOR THE PERFORMANCE:

Choose Two Scales or rudiments (percussion) of your choice: 
— Please prepare two scales of your choice to perform for your audition.

— You may choose two scales in any key that are comfortable and familiar to you. For example you may choose C major, and G major. Please see the attached pdf for examples of all 15 major scales you can choose from. You may perform these in one or two octaves.

— Percussionists/drummers may either perform two scales on mallets or choose two rudiments of their choice. Some examples of rudiments would be paradiddles, flams, or rolls.

HERE IS THE SHEET MUSIC => The 40 International Drum Rudiments OR Major Scales

Choose Two Pieces of Contrasting Style:
— Choose two pieces of music that you feel best represent your playing.

— Your two excerpts could be two different parts of the same song, but should show some variety in your playing. For example, you can choose a slow and a fast piece or a classical and a jazz piece.

— Your excerpt can be any part of the song, and should be between 8-16 measures long.

 

2. FOR THE INTERVIEW

Please reflect on the following questions prior to the audition, as there will be a brief interview:

— Why do you want to study Instrumental music at the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush

— Why do you feel music is important? How has music impacted your life?

— Tell us about something–a school subject or skill–that you struggle with. What do you do to deal with that struggle?

FOR UPDATED INFORMATION ON AUDITIONS, CHECK BACK HERE AFTER THE SCHOOL SELECTION PROCESS CLOSES ON October 27, 2023 at 11:59pm.