High School Band
Audition Excerpts

2025-26

NCKMEA will use the KMEA All-State Winds and Percussion Audition Excerpts.

Audition Procedure for Wind Players

1. A chromatic scale slurred up and tongued down. Quarter Note MM= 60. Play the rhythm, articulation, and range as written on the scale sheet. Memorization is not required.
2. One major scale, as written on the scale sheet, with up to 4 sharps or 4 flats. Quarter Note MM= 60. Play the rhythm, articulation, and range as written on the scale sheet. Memorization is not required. All scales will start on the notes indicated on the scale sheet for their instrument. Each scale is non-transposed (i.e., if a trumpet player is asked to perform a C scale, they will be expected to perform a C scale on their instrument, not a C concert scale.) The major scale for each instrument will be posted by the band chairpersons on the morning of live auditions.
3. Sections of the required etudes/solos listed below.
4. Sight reading

Audition Procedure for Percussion

1. Play Snare Excerpt
2. Play Tambourine Excerpt
3. Play Marimba Excerpt
4. Play Timpani Excerpt
5. Sight read on Timpani

Excerpt Errata
Any changes indicated as errata on the KMEA All-State Winds and Percussion Audition Excerpts page will be observed for NCKMEA district auditions.

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Excerpts for District Auditions

Piccolo

• Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" (Bernstein)
• The Chimes of Liberty (Goldman)

Flute

• L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2 "Minuet" (Bizet)
• The Black Horse Troop (Sousa)
• 25 Studies No. 25 (Drouet)

Oboe

• Suite in Eb, Chaconne (Holst)
• Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 VII (Dvorak)
• Forty Progressive Melodies No. 8 (Barret)

Bassoon

• Lincolnshire Posy "Rufford Park Poachers" (Grainger)
• The Marriage of Figaro "Overture" (Mozart)
• 50 Advanced Studies No. 21 (Weissenborn)

Clarinet

• Overture to "Egmont" Op. 84 (Beethoven)
• Sea Songs (Williams)
• 32 Etudes No. 15 (Rose)

B♭ Bass Clarinet
E♭ and B♭ Contra Bass Clarinet

• Rhapsody in Blue (Gershwin)
• Lyrical Etude, Eb Major (Baermann)
• 21 Foundational Studies (Schroeder)

Alto Sax

• Lincolnshire Posy "Horkstow Grange" (Grainger)
• Symphony in Bb II (Hindemith)
• 48 Studies No. 19 (Ferling)

Tenor Sax

• Chester (Schuman)
• Third Symphony IV Finale (Barnes)
• 48 Studies No. 19 (Ferling)

Baritone Sax

• Symphony in Bb II (Hindemith)
• Lincolnshire Posy "The Brisk Young Sailor" (Grainger)
• 48 Studies No. 19 (Ferling)

Trumpet

• Florentiner March (Fucik)
• Symphony No. 27 IV (Shostakovich)
• Celebrated Studies No. 3 (Bosquet)

Horn

• Capriccio Espangnol (Rimsky-Korsakov)
• American Overture (Jenkins)
• 28 Etudes No. 10 (Franz)

Trombone

• The Stars and Stripes Forever (Sousa)
• Handel in the Strand (Grainger)
• Melodies Etudes No. 15 (Rochut)

Euphonium

• Colonial Song (Grainger)
• The Klaxon (Fillmore)
• Melodius Etudes No. 16 (Rochut)

Tuba

• Overture to Rienzi (Wagner)
• Variations on "America" Var. V (Ives)
• Etude No. 3 (Kopprasch)

Percussion

• Snare - Etude No. 3 (Smikahl)
• Crash Cym. - Symphony No. 4 (Tchaikovsky)
• Marimba - Cascades (Calbeck)
• Timpani - Rotation No. 3 (Wickersham)
• Sight Read on Timpani