Auditions & Music Scholarships

Winona State offers auditioned music scholarships to students who want to be admitted into a music major or minor program.

Music scholarships are also available for students who want to continue to be involved in music by participating in our large ensembles.

Auditions for music scholarships take place during the spring semester of every academic year. This can also serve as your program admission audition.

Music Scholarship Audition Dates

Music scholarship auditions for the 2025-26 academic year will be held on Feb. 1 and March 1, 2025. 

Renewable yearly awards range from $500 – $3,000.

Schedule a Scholarship Audition

Pre-Recorded Auditions

While the WSU Music Department does accept pre-recorded auditions, strong preference is given to students who audition in person.

Contact Dr. Daniel Sheridan, Music Scholarship Coordinator, for more information if you are unable to travel to the WSU campus for your audition.

Audition Materials

Here’s information to help you prepare for your audition. 

The audition requirements for the brass area are:

  1. Chromatic scale and major scales (through four accidentals) using the full range of your instrument
  2. One movement from a major work such as a concerto, sonata, or concert piece
  3. An excerpt, piece, or song from any musical style that best demonstrates your musical ability (such as an etude, another solo piece, a jazz transcription, etc.)
  4. You may be asked to sight-read

Contact Dr. Melanie Brooks at melanie.brooks@winona.edu if you have questions.

The audition requirements for the percussion area are:

Snare Drum

  • Concert Style
  • One etude from Mitchell Peters’ “Intermediate Snare Drum Studies” or Anthony Cirone’s “Portraits in Rhythm”
  • Suggested Peters Etudes: 12-15
  • Suggest Cirone Etudes: 4, 5

Rudimental

  • One etude from Charley Wilcoxon’s “The All American Drummer” or a similar contest solo
  • Selected etude should demonstrate a wide variety of rudiments including rolls and flams
  • Short sight-reading

Mallets

  • One two-mallet solo or etude
  • Suggested composers – GH Green, Mitchell Peters
  • Suggested etudes – Any from Goldenberg’s “Modern School for Xylophone”
  • Short sight-reading
  • Be prepared to demonstrate all major scales
  • Optional four-mallet solo of performer’s choice

Optional Audition Materials

Students are encouraged, but not required, to submit an additional solo/etude on Timpani, Drum Set or Multi-Percussion.

Contact Alex Ortberg at alex.ortberg@winona.edu if you have questions.

The audition requirements for the piano area are:

  1. Piano students auditioning for scholarships must prepare two pieces from different stylistic periods to be performed from memory
  2. Suitable repertoire could include a contrapuntal work by J.S. Bach, a first movement from a Classical sonata, a lyrical piece or a technical study by a Romantic composer, or a piece representing a 20th-century stylistic movement
  3. The selections should demonstrate both technical skills and expressive capabilities.

Contact Dr. Deanne Mohr at dmohr@winona.edu if you have questions.

The audition requirements for the string area are:

  1. One movement from a major work such as a concerto, sonata, or concert piece
  2. An excerpt, piece or song from any musical style that best demonstrates your musical ability (such as an etude, another solo piece, a jazz transcription, etc.)
  3. You may be asked to sight-read

Contact Dr. Cullan Lucas at cullan.lucas@winona.edu if you have additional questions about your audition.

The audition requirements for the vocal area are:

  1. Two songs in contrasting styles from memory with piano accompaniment. Songs performed for state solo competitions are appropriate. You will need to sing a song in English and one in a foreign language
  2. Sight-reading

Songs from “26 Italian Songs and Arias,” published by Alfred and edited by John Glenn Paton, are good audition pieces, as are songs from “The First Book of Soprano, Mezzo-soprano/Alto, Tenor or Bass/Baritone Solos,” published by G. Schirmer and compiled and edited by Joan Frey Boytim.

Another suggestion would be repertoire from “Thirty-six Solos for Young Singers,” published by Hal Leonard and compiled and edited by Joan Frey Boytim.

Contact Dr. Alan Dunbar at aldunbar@winona.edu if you have questions.

The audition requirements for the woodwind area are:

  1. Chromatic scale and major scales (through four accidentals) using the full range of your instrument
  2. One movement from a major work such as a concerto, sonata, or concert piece
  3. An excerpt, piece or song from any musical style that best demonstrates your musical ability (such as an etude, another solo piece, a jazz transcription, etc.)
  4. You may be asked to sight-read

Contact Dr. Daniel Sheridan at dsheridan@winona.edu if you have questions.

Other Scholarships

In addition to the general scholarships at WSU, students in the Music programs can apply for many scholarships from the WSU Foundation.

Apply for WSU Foundation Scholarships
Contact the Music Department 
Music Department
Dufresne Performing Arts Center 146

507.457.5250

Dr. Daniel Sheridan
Music Scholarship Coordinator, Professor

DuFresne PAC 236

507.457.5253

Email Daniel Sheridan
Marybeth Lenhardt
Office Manager
Email Marybeth Lenhardt