What is Pre-Screening?

Pre-screening is, for lack of a better term, a “weeding out” tool for the audition process. It’s usually submitted by the student in the form of an abbreviated recording/portfolio and is usually due sometime between November 1-December 1.

Pre-screening allows universities and conservatories to reduce the amount of final auditions they hear. This allows them to ensure that they are not in a position to have more students auditioning than they have capacity to hear on audition days and ALSO to ensure that students don’t dedicate their time and resources to complete a full audition if they are not competitive enough to be admitted. While it might feel daunting, it’s ultimately a win-win for the student and the university/conservatory.

Pre-screening requirements vary from school to school and from year to year. While any/all instruments/programs could require pre-screening, it’s most common for voice, violin, flute, piano, and composition. Note that schools aren’t looking for something heavily produced, but they do want the best sound quality you can achieve with the resources you have available.

It’s always important to check the music application/audition requirements after September 15th to make sure you have the most accurate information. I would even encourage you to reach out to the school directly just to check your understanding and be in touch with the faculty to check that your repertoire selection meets their requirements.

That’s all for now, folks! Talk soon.

-Veronica