UCSC ensemble practicing in front the music center lawn.

Lessons

Lessons

Music majors and minors with a curricular need for lessons receive priority enrollment. Other students will receive individual vocal or instrumental lessons only as space is available, and those students in individual lessons must concurrently enroll in an appropriate ensemble as determined by the instrumental or vocal instructor. To arrange lessons, you must contact the instructor (see a list of our applied instructors below). Instructor schedules are posted upstairs in the Music Center. Please scroll down for more information.

Auditions & Juries

Please continue scrolling down this page for more information regarding Auditions (Advisory, Proficiency, Bachelor of Music, Scholarship, Senior Recital) and Juries (Bachelor of Music).

Ensemble Auditions: The vast majority of our ensembles require that students attend the first meeting of class, and/or contact the instructor prior to class. Please see the Ensembles page for more information.


Applied Lesson Instructor Directory

NameInstrumentCampus EmailOther EmailOffice Location
Paul ContosSaxophonepcontos@ucsc.edupdcontos@gmail.com281
William CoulterGuitarbillski@ucsc.edubillski@ucsc.edu277
Maria EzerovaPianomvezerov@ucsc.edumvezerov@ucsc.edu128/123
Bruce FosterClarinetbrfoster@ucsc.edu
Viviana GuzmanFluteviguzman@ucsc.eduN/A
Charles HamiltonLow Brass (Jazz Ensembles)chrhamil@ucsc.eduflugelboneprod@aol.com
Erin IrvineBassooneirvine@ucsc.eduerin-irvine@hotmail.com268
Roy MalanViolin/Violarmalan@ucsc.edurmalan@ucsc.edu273
Christopher MallettGuitarcmallett@ucsc.educbmgeetar@gmail.com277
George MarshDrum Setgmarsh@ucsc.edumarshdrum@icloud.com116
Richard RoperTrumpetrsroper@ucsc.edurichardroper1@yahoo.com138
Vanessa RuotoloCellovruotolo@ucsc.eduvanessa123@earthlink.net268
Emily SinclairVoiceevsincla@ucsc.eduevsinclair@gmail.com278
David SmithJazz Bassdsmith32@ucsc.educrookedtoemusic@gmail.com
Susan VollmerHornsvollmer@ucsc.edusvollmer2001@yahoo.com271
Sheila WilleyVoice (Opera)swilley@ucsc.eduSheilakwilley@gmail.com272
William WinantPercussionwwinant@ucsc.edusteakatto@hotmail.com115
Chia-Lin YangPianocyang67@ucsc.eduN/A147
Gabriel YoungOboegyoung5@ucsc.edugabey07@gmail.com271

How to Enroll in Lessons

Please email the instructor of your instrument directly to inquire about lessons. If you are a declared or proposed Music major/minor, please include that information in your email, and please note whether your degree program requires lessons. We recommend emailing the instructor at least 2-4 weeks prior to the start of the quarter in which you are hoping to enroll.

If you are accepted into lessons, see instructions on how to enroll below:

Once you have been accepted into an applied lesson instructors studio, please fill out the 2024 – 2025 Digital Lesson Application.

Once your instructor provides you with an enrollment code, please follow these instructions to enroll:

  1. Go to “My UCSC” and click on “Enroll” (Do NOT click on “Search”)
  2. Then, click on “Add
  3. The page that opens should have a “Class Number” field where you can enter a number in the box.
  4. Enter the “Class Number” written above
  5. Check that the correct course and instructor appear in your shopping cart
  6. Proceed to “Finish Enrolling

Lesson Auditions

NOTE: Only some of our applied instructors host formal auditions to join their studio – if this applies to the instrument you are interested in, that information will be below.

Voice Auditions – Fall 2024 Information & Sign-Up Sheet: click here

Please contact the instructor directly to inquire about lessons.


Lesson Types

MUSC 6130 -minute lower-division lessons (for 1st/2nd year students)2 credits
MUSC 6260-minute lower-division lessons (for 1st/2nd year students)3 credits
MUSC 63lower-division group lessons (for 1st/2nd year students){3 students min}2 credits
MUSC 16160-minute upper-division lessons (for transfer and 3rd/4th year students)3 credits
MUSC 161A30-minute upper-division lessons (for transfer and 3rd/4th year students)3 credits
MUSC 161Bupper-division group lessons (for transfer and 3rd/4th year students)(min 3 students)2 credits
MUCS 16260-minute advanced lessons (for advanced students – large workload is expected of the students, as well as a public performance during the quarter taken)5 credits
MUSC 196B60-minute senior recital prep (for students performing their senior recital that quarter)5 credits
MUSC 26160-minute lessons for graduate students. All associated fees apply.
Please contact the applied instructor & department graduate advisor for more information.
3 credits

Cost of Lessons

Lesson TypeLesson NumberCost# lessonsInformation
One-hour lessonsMUSC 62, 161, 162,
196B, 261
$650/quarter10Declared or proposed Music majors & minors will receive $150 scholarship credit (undergraduate only)
Half-hour lessonMUSC 61, 161A$350/quarter10Declared or proposed Music majors & minors will receive a $75 scholarship credit (undergraduate only)
Group LessonsMUSC 63, 161B$100/quarter10All students in group lessons will have their lesson costs fully covered by a Department scholarship

Lesson Policies

  • Missed Lessons – If the instructor’s schedule permits, an attempt will be made to make up lessons missed due to student illness for a maximum of two lessons. Unexcused absences will not be made up. Students arriving up to 10 minutes late are entitled to the remainder of their lesson time. The instructor may cancel the lesson with no makeup for students arriving more than 10 minutes late.       
  • Withdrawal from Lessons – Refund Policy: To be eligible for a refund, the student must notify the instructor AND the Music Department Office as soon as a decision has been made to discontinue lessons. If the student is not enrolled in lessons but takes more than three lessons, the full amount of lessons will be charged to their student account.                                                                                               
  • Withdrawal from individual lessons with a 75% refund of the quarterly fee is only possible prior to and including the third lesson. If the student is not enrolled in lessons, but took anywhere between one-three lessons, a 25% charge will be made to their account.

Auditions and Juries

(at the end of Music 30A)

All students pursuing the B.M., or Western Art Music concentration of the B.A., taking Music 30A, including music minors, will be scheduled for a juried audition on their major instrument or voice at the end of fall quarter.

Note: that this audition is advisory only. You will be heard by a faculty committee of three members, who will be asked to judge your current performance ability: elementary, lower intermediate, advanced, etc. The purpose of the Advisory (Music 30) audition is to apprise you of your present level and to inform you of what, if any, work is needed for you to pass the required Proficiency (Music 150H) Audition next year. You will receive a copy of the evaluation form with the committee’s comments, as will your private instructor. Performance levels must be demonstrated on a standard orchestral instrument, piano, harpsichord, voice or guitar. You should prepare two contrasting pieces and major and minor scales.

If you are a declared music minor, or intend to declare a minor, and therefore feel that you should not be required to take this audition, you must request permission from the Applied Music Coordinator.

(at the end of Music 150H)

All students pursuing the B.M., or Western Art Music concentration of the B.A., taking Music 150H must audition at the end of fall quarter. This includes those emphasizing composition and those who were judged at an “Upper Intermediate” or “Advanced” level on the Advisory Audition

At that time, students should exhibit at least an upper-intermediate level on their major instrument or voice, as defined by the following guidelines:

  1. tone production of high quality;
  2. all major and minor scales over the range of the instrument (except voice);
  3. performance of two contrasting prepared pieces.

B.A. students who may not yet be prepared to pass the audition should nonetheless play at least one piece. Original compositions are not permitted. Students must provide the jury committee with a copy of their audition pieces.

B.A. students must attain an upper-intermediate level as a requirement of the major. Two-quarter extensions may be allowed by the audition committee in rare circumstances; students must audition at the end of each quarter and demonstrate significant improvement each time. B.A. students who have demonstrated an upper-intermediate level on the Proficiency Audition are not required to take subsequent juries, although they are urged take at least one jury yearly for feedback from faculty other than their applied instructors.

Auditions for admittance to the B.M. program will be held on campus at the end of each Fall quarter.* A member of the Bachelor of Music Committee will sit on the juries. Students must get the approval of their applied instructor in order to audition. Students should be prepared to play three pieces or movements of a contrasting nature from at least two different stylistic periods. (Two contrasting movements from the same sonata or concerto may count as two of the three required pieces.) Students who have attained an advanced level on a previous audition are still required to audition.

Upper division students: Only students on an advanced performing level who have scheduled a recital date in their junior year, and who have auditioned no more than twice (the last audition possible being Fall of the senior year), will be allowed to change to a BM degree.

*Only junior transfer students entering UCSC in Winter Quarter may audition for the BM program in the Spring.

Continuing B.M. students are required to take two juries per academic year, at the end of fall and the end of spring quarters at the same time as auditions for B.A. students (Saturday following the last day of instruction), for continuing review and criticism on their major instrument. Repertoire for the auditions must be approved by the applied instructor. If a student does not attain, or maintain, an advanced level, the Bachelor of Music Committee will re-examine the student’s continued participation in the B.M. program in consultation with the applied instructor.

In order to present a senior recital, a student must attain an advanced level on the Proficiency Audition by June of her/his junior year.

In unusual cases, exceptionally accomplished undergraduate composers may be considered for a senior recital in composition. To be considered for such a recital, student composers must submit a portfolio of their works by the beginning of spring quarter of their junior year to the faculty member who has been their primary composition teacher. Portfolios will be assessed by all regular composition faculty; senior recitals will be approved or disapproved by the end of spring quarter.

To all instructors whose students are planning to play a senior recital: all the ensemble pieces should be coached or supervised personally by the instructor.

Competitions are held each May. To compete, a student must be nominated by her/his teacher. For first-year students, and transfer and re-entering students, auditions will be held at the end of fall quarter at the time of juries to accommodate those who were not enrolled the previous spring.

Students should be prepared to play three pieces or movements of a contrasting nature from at least two different stylistic periods. (Two contrasting movements from the same sonata or concerto may count as two of the three required pieces.) Auditions will last approximately 10 minutes; faculty may interrupt you during your piece. This has no bearing on their judgment. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance at these auditions, not on overall talent, potential, or financial need. If a piece is written with accompaniment, students must use an accompanist. If they do not, they are disqualified.

Once accepted to the B.M. program, students must take two juries per academic year: at the end of both fall and spring quarter, for continuing review and constructive criticism of proficiency at their primary instrument. 

If a student fails to participate in continuing B.M. juries, or does not attain, or maintain, an advanced level, and fails to maintain academic excellence, the Bachelor of Music Committee will re-examine the student’s continued participation in the B.M. degree in consultation with the applied instructor. In cases in which the B.M. Committee finds the student did not meet these requirements, the students will be dismissed from the B.M. program with an option to switch to the B.A. degree.

For more information, please see the Music Department Undergraduate Handbook (see “Additional Requirements” in the B.M. section)


Example Audition Material from the Standard Classical Repertoire

InstrumentAudition Material
BassMarcello Sonata; Scarlatti Sonata in C minor; Corelli Sonata in D major.
BassoonWeissenborn Studies, Book I; Ouradous Daily Scales and Exercises; Milde Op. 24, 25 Etudes in all keys.
CelloSaint-Saëns Allegro Appassionata ; Bach Prelude to G major Suite, Allemande to C major suite; Popper Etude No. l in C major.
ClarinetMozart Clarinet Concerto; Hindemith Sonata; Weber Concertino; Saint-Saëns Sonata.
FluteDonjon Etudes de Salon; C.P.E. Bach sonatas; Bloch Suite Modale; Mozart concertos in G or D; J. S. Bach sonatas; Fauré Fantasie; Hindemith Sonata.
GuitarBach lute suites (any movement); Villa-Lobos Preludes 1-5; Sor Studies (Segovia edition); Brouwer Studies; Ponce Preludes; Luys de Narvaez Diferéncias sobre Guardame las vacas.
HarpsichordBach Well-Tempered Clavier (any prelude or fugue except Book I, Prelude 1); Scarlatti Sonata.
HornKopprasch Studies, Book 1 or 2; Mozart concertos Nos. 2 or 3; B. HeidenSonata for Horn; P. Dukas Villanelle.
Oboe Telemann Sonata in A minor; Marcello Oboe Concerto; Albinoni Concerto in D major; Hindemith Sonata.
PercussionPortraits in Rhythm, Study 1 or 2 (snare drum); Begamo Style Studies, l-6 (mallets); Bach Bourrée Anglaise for solo flute (mallets); Telemann Canonic Sonatas; Peters Introduction and Waltz for 4 toms and cymbal.
PianoAny prelude and fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier; Mozart sonatas K. 280, 570, 309, 332, 333; Beethoven Sonata Op. 14; any Chopin nocturne (except the c minor, op. post.); any Brahms Intermezzo, Capriccio, or Rhapsody; any Debussy Prelude (Livres I or II) or movement from the Suite Bergamasque; any of the Gershwin Three Preludes; any of the Bartok Three Rondos; any Rachmaninoff Prelude.
SaxophoneKlosé Etudes; Gurewich Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra.
TromboneBlazevich Studies in Clefs; Rochut Melodious Etudes.
TrumpetBozza Badinage; Gibbons Suite; Latham Suite; Hovhaness Prayer of St. Gregory.
VoicePieces in at least 2 languages are required: Schubert Die Forelle ; Fauré Après un Rêve; Mozart “Vedrai Carino” from Don Giovanni; Debussy Beau Soir; StravinskyRicercare I (Cantata); Machaut (Ballade) Dousamis.
Violinsonatas and concertos of Händel, Corelli, Tartini, Vivaldi.
Violaétudes of Mazas, Sitt, Kreutzer.
Last modified: Sep 23, 2024