Apply to the Seminar | New York String Orchestra Seminar

The 2024 New York String Orchestra Seminar takes place December 19–28. Technically advanced string, wind, and brass players and timpanists between 16 and 23 years of age are encouraged to apply and submit digital auditions July 15 - September 18, 2024.
Sixty-two students will take part in an intensive program that combines daily orchestral rehearsals under the baton of Maestro Jaime Laredo and chamber music sessions with some of the most renowned artists of our time. In less than ten days, students will be ready for two professional-level concerts presented by Carnegie Hall. Seminar days run from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (schedule is subject to change). Participants must commit to the full schedule for the entire ten days, taking part in all orchestral and chamber music sessions.
No time is available during the seminar for students to work individually on solo repertoire or excerpts, and the seminar is not recommended for students who intend to use their winter break for audition preparation.
There is no fee to participate.
- Application Information
  
  Eligibility Requirements
  Must be a technically advanced music student between 16 and 23 years of age
  Must be enrolled full-time in an educational institution
  Must be a U.S. citizen or legal resident or be studying in the United States on an F1 visa
  Must be available, with no exceptions, from 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 19, through 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 28, 2024
  Application Submission Requirements
  Application form
  $30 application fee (waivers are available for those with demonstrated financial need)
  Proof of health insurance
  For applicants under 18, a permission form completed by a parent or guardian
  MP3 audio audition. (Only previous seminar participants are exempt from this requirement. These participants must submit all other required documents and the application fee by the deadline.)
  Video auditions are by invitation only. Those who pass the MP3 audition will be invited to submit an audition video. We will not hold live auditions for the 2024 New York String Orchestra Seminar.
  Instruction, local housing, transportation, and meals are provided at no cost to participants (valued at $4,000); however, all those accepted to the program must arrange and pay for their own travel to and from New York City.
  Application and Audition Timeline
  July 15, 2024: The application opens.
  September 18, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET: The application and MP3 audition are due.
  September 26, 2024: All applicants receive application status notification.
  October 15, 2024, 11:59 p.m. ET: Video auditions are due.
  November 15, 2024: All applicants are notified of their audition results.
  December 19–28, 2024: The New York String Orchestra Seminar takes place in New York City.
  December 24, 7:00 p.m.: Carnegie Hall Presents New York String Orchestra
  December 28, 8:00 p.m.: Carnegie Hall Presents New York String Orchestra
- Auditon Round 1: mp3 repertoire
  
  Requirements
  1. The application recording(s) should be between 10 and 15 minutes long.
  2. The recordings must be in mp3 format (we will not accept videos or other audio formats).
  3. Play the excerpts in the order listed; upload them in a single file. (You may record the excerpts as separate takes and edit them into a single file.)
  4. Your recordings must be unaccompanied. We cannot accept recordings with piano.
  We recommend that you listen to recordings of any of the works you are not familiar with to gain an understanding, and ask your teacher for input.
  Violin
  Mozart: First movement/exposition of a concerto
  Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting concerto of your choice
  Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (from the beginning to 7 measures after Letter D)
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  Opening – m. 9
  mm. 78 – 105
  Movement 2
  m. 90 – end (violin solo)
  Movement 4
  mm. 22 – 29
  mm. 62 – 78
  mm. 92 – 132
  mm. 164 – 183
  Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1
  Movement 1: Letter L – Letter N (mm. 152 - 190)
  Movement 3: Opening – Letter A (Opening - m. 17)
  Viola
  J. S. Bach: One movement of your choice from any suite for solo viola
  Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting concerto of your choice
  Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (from the beginning to Letter D)
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  mm. 157 – 185
  mm. 321 – 343
  Movement 2
  mm. 31 – 39
  mm. 53 – 63
  Movement 3
  mm. 33 – 45
  mm. 58 - 71
  Movement 4
  mm. 220 – 249
  Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1
  Movement 1
  15 bars after S – 5 bars after T (mm. 283 - 299)
  Cello
  Exposition of the first movement of either Haydn Cello Concerto in D major or Haydn Cello concerto in C Major
  Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting major concerto of your choice
  Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (from the beginning to Letter D)
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  Opening – m. 9
  letter A m. 21 – m. 38
  mm. 317 – 354
  Movement 2
  mm. 6 – 13
  mm. 46 – 76
  Movement 3
  opening – m. 19
  Movement 4
  mm. 20 – 26
  mm. 234 – 249
  Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No 1
  Movement 1
  opening 8 bars
  four bars before B – five bars after C (mm. 34 - 52)
  Letter H – four bars after K (mm. 114 - 144)
  Movement 3
  9 bars after opening – Letter A (mm. 9 - 16)
  Bass
  J.S. Bach: One movement of your choice from any suite for solo cello
  Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting work of your choice
  Mozart: Symphony No. 35 "Haffner"
  Movement 1: mm. 13 – 48
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1: Letter E (m. 161) – m. 189
  Schubert: Trout Quintet
  Movement 1
  mm. 165 – 173
  mm. 181 – 194
  Flute (Flute I)
  J. S. Bach: Work of your choice*
  Contrasting solo work of your choice*
  Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, scherzo (solo at the end)
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  mm. 8 – 21
  mm. 206 – 269
  Movement 4
  mm. 22 – 46
  Gounod: Petite Symphonie
  Movement 2: mm. 64 – 81
  Oboe (Oboe I)
  J. S. Bach: Work of your choice*
  Contrasting solo work of your choice*
  Brahms: Violin Concerto
  Movement 2: solo
  Rossini: La Scala di Seta
  Andantino solo (m. 5 – No. 1)
  Allegro solo (pickup to No. 2 – No. 3)
  Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 1
  Movement 2: Opening oboe solo to 1 measure after rehearsal No. 1
  Mozart: Serenade No. 12
  Movement 4: Opening to Letter F (m. 96) (no repeats)
  Clarinet (Clarinet I)
  Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, movement 1 exposition
  Contrasting solo work of your choice*
  Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, scherzo (first page)
  Beginning through B
  D through G
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1: letters B–C
  Movement 2: 3rd bar of B – m. 48
  Movement 3: opening – m. 23
  Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, K. 581
  Movement3: Trio II solos
  Movement 4: Variations 1 and 4
  Bassoon (Bassoon I)
  Mozart: Bassoon Concerto, K. 191, Movement 1, exposition
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  mm. 70 – 88
  Mozart: Symphony No. 36
  Movement 3
  mm. 40 – 56 (no repeat)
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  Movement 3
  1 before 9 to 10
  Pickup To 12 to 3 after 12
  Carl Nielsen: Woodwind Quintet Op. 43
  Movement 4
  Variation VII (solo bassoon variation)
  Horn (Horn I, except as noted below for Strauss Don Quixote)
  Mozart: either Horn Concerto No. 2 or Horn Concerto No. 4
  Movement 1: exposition
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 2: solo
  Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, opening calls
  Strauss: Don Quixote, variation 7, 4th horn
  Wagner: Siegfried, short call
  Brahms: Horn Trio, Op. 40
  Movement 2, mm. 286 – 312 (starting one measure before meno allegro)
  Trumpet (Trumpet I)
  Haydn: Trumpet Concerto, Movement 1 (exposition and development)
  Contrasting solo work of your choice (four minutes' maximum)
  Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition, opening
  Stravinsky: Petrouchka, ballerina solo
  Respighi: Pines of Rome, offstage solo
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 2, last 7 bars
  Movement 3:
  bar 101 through first ending repeat and play bar 87
  m. 403 – pickup m. 427
  Timpani
  Mozart: Symphony No. 39, Movement 1, introduction (minimize bars of rest), 1 to 21
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1, Letter Q – end
  Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, Movement 4
  Sibelius: Finlandia (2 bars before Allegro to Letter H, no repeat)
  *A movement or excerpt is acceptable if necessary because of time constraints.
  Our thanks to Luck’s Music Library for making these excerpts available.
- Invitation-Only Audition Round 2: Video Repertoire
  
  Those who pass the preliminary MP3 audition will receive an email by September 26 with instructions for completing the video audition and accompanying informational form, as well as a link for upload.
  Note: Reference PDFs of the excerpts will not be available until July 15, 2024.
  You must submit a single video either played in one take in the listed order; or you may record your solo works in one take, orchestral excerpts in another, and chamber excerpts in a third; however, the three takes mustbe edited into a single video before submission.
  Note: Works must be played in the order listed, and you may not turn the camera off between excerpts, though you may take a moment between to prepare yourself (leaving the camera running).
  Video auditions must be unaccompanied.
  Do not take repeats in any of the listed repertoire.
  Rests within an excerpt should not be counted over three bars.
  The video audition should be between 10 and 15 minutes, including pauses between works. For this reason, we recommend that you base your solo work on the amount of time it takes you to play your assigned excerpts.
  
  Keep in mind that this is an orchestral program. The deciding factor between two players of equal merit is the level of preparation and execution of the repertoire excerpts. Preparation of these excerpts should be as meticulous as the preparation of the applicant's chosen solo works.
  We strongly recommend that you become familiar with the complete instrumental part for each work from which excerpts have been assigned. In some cases, the music is in the public domain, but if not, it is worth a visit to the library or the expense of purchasing a part in order to be well prepared. We also recommend listening to recordings.
  Your private teacher is a valuable resource. Be sure to ask for their assistance as you prepare.
  Please note: We do not require you to use any specific edition for your audition; you may use any edition available to you. However, measure numbers, rehearsal letters, etc., do vary between editions, so please compare your edition with the download provided if any question arises.
  Please also note that if you simply prepare the excerpt download and do not familiarize yourself further with the piece (looking at a score, acquiring a complete part, or even listening to a recording to familiarize yourself with the work, so that you can play your excerpts with that knowledge of context), your audition may not be competitive.
  
  Violin 1
  Mozart: Concerto of choice, exposition of the first movement
  Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting work of your choice
  Mendelssohn:Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (beginning - 7 measures after Letter D)
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  Movement 1: Rehearsal No. 11 - Rehearsal No. 12
  Movement 3: Rehearsal Nos. 8 - 9
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  Opening – bar 9
  bar 78 – bar 105
  Movement 2
  bar 90 - end (violin solo)
  Movement 4
  bar 22 – bar 29
  bar 62 - bar 78
  bar 92 - bar 132
  bar 164 – bar 183
  Beethoven: String Quartet, Op. 59, No. 1
  Movement 1
  Letter L - Letter N (mm. 152 - 190)
  Movement 3
  Opening - Letter A (opening - m. 17)
  Dvorak: String Quartet, Op. 96 "American"
  Movement 1
  No. 4 - 4 bars before No. 6
  Movement 2
  Opening - No. 1
  No. 2 - No. 3
  Viola
  J.S. Bach: One movement of your choice from any suite for solo viola
  Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting concerto of your choice
  Mendelssohn:Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (beginning - Letter D)
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  Movement 3: Rehearsal Nos. 8 - 9
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  bar 157 – bar 185
  bar 321 – bar 343
  Movement 2:
  bar 31 – bar 39
  bar 53 – bar 63
  Movement 3:
  bar 33 – bar 45
  bar 58 - bar 71
  Movement 4
  bar 220 – bar 249
  Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1
  Movement 1: 15 bars after S - 5 bars after T (mm. 183 - 199)
  Dvorak: String Quartet Op. 96 "American"
  Movement 1: first four bars
  Smetana: String Quartet
  Movement 1: opening - letter A (opening - m. 31)
  Cello
  Haydn: One movement of your choice from any concerto for cello
  Exposition of the first movement of a contrasting concerto of your choice
  Mendelssohn:Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (beginning - Letter D)
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  Movement 2: Rehearsal No. 1 until 8 bars after Rehearsal No. 1
  Movement 3: Rehearsal Nos. 8 - 9
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  Opening – bar 9
  letter A, bar 21 – bar 38
  bar 317 – bar 354
  Movement 2
  bar 6 – bar 13
  bar 46 – bar 76
  Movement 3
  opening – bar 19
  Movement 4
  bar 20 – bar 26
  bar 234 – bar 249
  Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1
  Movement 1
  opening 8 bars
  four bars before B - five bars after C (mm. 34 - 52)
  Letter H - four bars after K (mm. 114- 144)
  Movement 3
  9 bars after opening - Letter A (mm. 9 - 16)
  Dvorak: String Quartet Op. 96 "American"
  Movement 2
  No. 1 - No. 2
  No. 3 - No. 4
  Bass
  J.S. Bach: Solo cello suite of choice—one movement*
  Contrasting concerto of choice—exposition of the first movement; no cadenza
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1: Letter E (m. 161) - m. 189
  Movement 2: mm. 46 - 60
  Mozart: Symphony No. 35
  Movement 1: mm. 13 - 48
  Movement 4: mm. 134 - 197
  Schubert: Trout Quintet
  Movement 1
  mm. 165 - 173
  mm. 181 - 194
  Movement 4
  pickup to m. 61 - m. 80
  
  Flute 1 (piccolo where noted)
  J.S. Bach: Work of your choice
  Contrasting solo work of your choice
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  mm. 8-21
  mm. 206-269
  Movement 2:
  m 91 – end
  Movement 3
  mm. 33-54
  mm. 87-120, no repeat
  Movement 4
  mm. 22-46
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  Movement 1
  mm. 104-134
  Movement 3
  mm. 5-12
  mm. 94-105
  mm. 144-157
  Movement 3 (piccolo)
  mm. 84-89
  mm. 147-157
  Gounod: Petite Symphony
  Movement 2: mm. 64-81
  Oboe 1
  J.S. Bach: solo work of your choice
  Contrasting solo work of your choice
  Mozart: Symphony No. 36 in C "Linz" K. 425
  Movement 1
  mm. 30-122
  Movement 3
  Trio- mm. 32- 56 (no repeats)
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  Movement 1
  Reh. No. 17 to end
  Movement 2
  Opening Oboe Solo to 1 m. after Reh. No. 1
  Movement 3:
  Reh. No. 6 to Reh. No. 10
  Reh. No. 12-Reh. No. 14
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1
  mm. 25 -33
  Movement 2
  mm. 17 - 43 (Note there is a misprint in some editions on beat two of m. 41: The third sixteenth note should be B sharp, not B natural.)
  Movement 3
  mm. 38 - 58
  mm. 130 - 152
  Mozart: Serenade No. 12
  Movement 4: Opening to Letter F (m. 96) - no repeats
  Clarinet 1
  Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, Movement 1: exposition
  Contrasting solo work of choice
  Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream—Scherzo
  Beginning through B
  D through G
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  Movement 1
  Fig. 2 - 3
  Fig. 4 - 5
  Fig. 10 - 12
  Fig. 14 - 15
  Fig. 16 - 17
  Solo after Fig. 18 to end
  Movement 3
  Fig. 6 - 8
  Fig. 11- 12
  Fig. 12 - 14
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 1: letter B - C
  Movement 2: 3rd bar of B - m. 48
  Movement 3: opening - m. 23
  Mozart Clarinet Quintet, K. 581
  Movement 3: Trio II solos
  Movement 4: Variations 1 and 4
  Bassoon 1
  Mozart: Bassoon Concerto, K. 191, Movement 1, exposition
  Contrasting movement from a concerto, sonata, or work for bassoon alone (or étude) of your choice
  Mozart Symphony No. 36 in C "Linz" K. 425
  Movement 1
  mm. 8-13
  mm. 42-58 downbeat
  Movement 3
  m 40-56
  Barber Violin Concerto
  Movement 3
  4 bars before 5 to 5 bars after 7
  1 bar before 9 to 10
  pickup to 12 to three after 12
  Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
  Movement 1:
  mm. 70 - 88
  mm. 197 - 205
  Movement 2
  mm. 1 - 4
  Movement 3
  mm. 1 - 42
  Carl Nielsen: Woodwind Quintet Op. 43
  Movement 3: Variation VII (solo bassoon variation)
  Horn 1 (except in Strauss Don Quixote)
  Mozart: either Horn Concerto No. 2 or Horn Concerto No. 4
  Movement 1: exposition
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 2: solo
  Movement 4: solo
  Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel
  opening calls
  Strauss: Don Quixote, variation 7, 4th horn
  Brahms: (Horn) Trio Op. 40
  Movement 2: mm. 286-312 (starting one measure before meno allegro)
  Trumpet 1
  Haydn: Trumpet Concerto, movement 1 (exposition and development)
  Contrasting solo work of your choice (4 minutes' maximum)
  Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition, opening
  Stravinsky: Petrouchka, ballerina solo
  Respighi: Pines of Rome, offstage solo
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 2: final 7 bars
  Movement 3:
  bar 101 through first ending repeat and play bar 87
  m. 403 - pickup m. 427
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  Movement 2
  5 bars before Rehearsal No. 7 through third bar after No. 7
  Movement 3
  Rehearsal No. 11 to Rehearsal No. 12
  Rehearsal No. 14 to sixth bar of Rehearsal No. 15
  Timpani
  Barber: Violin Concerto
  opening of last movement
  7th bar of #2 for 6 bars in the last movement
  Brahms: Symphony No. 1
  Movement 4: Letter M to 3rd bar of Letter N
  Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra
  Movement 4: entire
  Movement 5: bars 550-572
  Sibelius: Finlandia
  Six before Letter F through Letter I, with no repeat at Letter H
  If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
  Our thanks to Luck’s Music Library for making these excerpts available.
- Typical Seminar Daily Schedule
  
  Instruction, local housing, transportation, and meals (valued at $4,000) are provided at no cost to participants; )however, all those accepted to the program must arrange and pay for their own travel to and from New York City. Local participants may choose to stay in their own homes if they wish.
  9:00 a.m.: Charter bus from hotel to rehearsal hall
  10:00 a.m.: Orchestra rehearsal
  1:00 p.m.: Lunch
  2:00 p.m.: Orchestra rehearsal
  4:00 p.m.: Break
  4:30 p.m.: Chamber music prep period
  5:30 p.m.: Chamber music coaching session
  7:30 p.m.: Dinner
  8:30 p.m.: Charter bus from rehearsal hall to hotel
  NOTE: You are expected to leave your evenings available for seminar activities until 10:00 p.m. each day, as the schedule is subject to change and will vary for sectionals, rehearsals with soloists, injury avoidance workshops, special activities, and performance days.

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