Application Process Advanced Certificate in Performance

1.  A Bach Prelude and Fugue OR comparable Bach work: Suite, Toccata or Partita 

2. A transcription of a work of Haydn or representative group of shorter keyboard works of D. Scarlatti, Rameau, etc.  

3. Any two substantial 20th or 21st Century compositions. 

 The submitted program should total four works and must be at least 50 minutes in duration, representing works from the Baroque, Pre-Classical/Classical and 20th/21st century.

1. A Baroque or Classical composition 

2. A major sonata  

3. A substantial 20th or 21st century composition   

4. One additional work with piano accompaniment or five standard orchestral excerpts representing the applicant's area of interest.    

The submitted program should be at least 50 minutes in duration.

Four contrasting pieces from the following periods:  

1. A piece written before 1750   
2. One Classical or Romantic piece  
3. One Spanish or South American piece  
4. A piece written after 1900    

The submitted program should total 20-30 minutes in duration.

1. A Bach Prelude and Fugue (four or five voice) or other major Bach work: Suite, Toccata or Partita  

2. Two works in contrasting national styles  

3. Figured-bass accompaniment: provided to the applicant in advance   

The solo repertoire submitted should total approximately 45 minutes in duration.

1. A work by J.S. Bach

2. A pre-Bach work

3. A 20th or 21st Century work

4. One other contrasting work

The submitted program should total 30-45 minutes in duration.

ACP percussion candidates may prepare either Option A or Option B. 

Option A: Three solo works (snare drum, timpani, mallets) plus orchestral excerpts.  

Option B: Four solo works (snare drum, timpani, mallets and multi-percussion)      

Recommended multi-percussion works:  

• Rebonds A (Xenakis)  

• Rebonds B (Xenakis)  Side by Side (Kitazume)  

• She who Sleeps with a Small Blanket (Volans)  

• Ashanga (Kevin Volans)   

Or similar instrumentation and level. Contact the percussion Area Head, Prof. Huang, at aiyun.huang@utoronto.ca  with your choice of multi-percussion works ahead of time if it is not on this list.  

Recommended orchestral excerpt list: 

•  Timpani:  
  Beethoven
  Symphony No.9  —1st movement (18 before S to the end)    

• Snare:  
  Rimsky-Korsakov
  Scheherazade—3rd and 4th movements     

• Xylophone : 
  Gershwin
  Porgy and Bess (first excerpt)  
  
  Messiaen                 
  Oiseaux Exotiques (no. 4-7; no. 26-31)  

• Orchestral Bells:                            
  Mozart                     
  Magic Flute  

• Cymbals:                     
  Rachmaninoff         
  Piano Concerto No. 2 (no. 32; no. 37) 

• Tambourine:  
  Dvorak                     
  Carnival Overture    

*If you have difficulty accessing percussion instruments for the 2025 Admissions cycle, please contact Area Head, Prof. Huang, at aiyun.huang@utoronto.ca for alternate requirements.

1. A work by J.S. Bach – a Prelude and Fugue, Toccata, or 3 movements from a Partita or Suite

2. A Classical Sonata 

3. A substantial Romantic work 

4. A 20th or 21st Century work - we welcome works by a Canadian, female, under-represented BIPOC or LGBTQ2S+ composer, or a composer from your own cultures and traditions.

 The submitted program should be at least 50 minutes in duration.

1. A major work by Bach 

2. A major Classical or Romantic Sonata  

3. A substantial 20th or 21st-century composition (preferably Canadian after 1960)  

4. One additional work representing the candidate's area of interest.  

The submitted program should be at least 50 minutes in duration, representing works from four different periods from Baroque to the 21st century.

1. One opera aria and one aria from an oratorio, cantata or motet in the original language.  

2. No fewer than four art songs in a foreign language representing styles of the 17th to 21st Centuries. 

3. No fewer than two English art songs composed after 1960. 

No fewer than four languages should be represented in the audition repertoire.  The submitted program should have no less than eight pieces.  

Applicants are welcome to include one additional selection in any language or style which is relevant to their heritage or musical background.

1. A Bach Prelude and Fugue (four or five voice) or other major Bach work: Suite, Toccata or Partita. 
2. Two works in contrasting national styles. 
3. Figured-bass accompaniment: provided to the applicant in advance

Applicants will be provided a soloist at the audition and assemble an excerpt at sight.

1. Two contrasting movements of unaccompanied Bach
2. One Gabrielli or Antoni Ricercar 
3. Two movements of a Geminiani sonata 
4. One movement of a Barrière sonata

Applicants are expected to play their audition on an instrument with gut strings, using a historical bow.  

Contrabass, tuned in 4ths (overhand or underhand bow): 

1. A complete Baroque sonata originally for cello played in the low octave of the bass and sounding one octave lower than it would on the cello; and 
2. One movement of a Classical era piece that was written for a bass tuned in 4ths  

Contrabass, tuned in 5ths (overhand or underhand bow): 

1. A complete Italian Baroque sonata originally for cello played in the low octave of the bass, lying in the same place as it would on the cello, and sounding one octave lower than it would on the cello; and 
2. Two movements of a Bach cello suite, played in the low octave of the bass, lying in the same place as it would on the cello, sounding one octave lower than it would on the cello  

Viennese Violone (4 or 5 strings), tuned a F# D A (F natural): 

1. A complete Classical era concerto for Viennese violone 
2. One of the solo movements for Viennese violone Haydn’s symphonies #6, 7, 8, 31 or 72  

D Violone: 

For an entrance audition as a D violone specialist, applicants must audition on a smaller size of the viola da gamba, such as the G violone or bass viol.

G Violone: 

1. The violone part to G.P. Cima’s Sonata for violin, violone and b.c. or the violone part to Buxtehude’s Trio Sonata in D major for viola da gamba, violone and b.c. 
2. A 16th or early 17th-century solo piece from the viola bastarda repertoire or a fantasia/canzona for ‘basso solo’ by an early 17th-century composer. 

Viola da Gamba: 

1. Two contrasting movements of virtuosic high Baroque music for bass viol 
2. One of Telemann’s unaccompanied Fantasies for bass viol or an unaccompanied movement for bass viol by C.F. Abel or 2 contrasting pieces from the lyra viol repertoire.

1. Two contrasting movements of unaccompanied Bach (from either the cello suites or Violin Sonatas and partitas) 
2. Two contrasting movements from a Baroque or early Classical concerto written before 1775 (such as Telemann, Stamitz, or Graun)
3. Two contrasting movements from either Marais or Couperin Pièces de viol (in transcription)  
4. Two contrasting movements from a Baroque or early Classical sonata written before 1775 (such as Giardini, Flackton or a violin, gamba or cello sonata in transcription)

1. Two movements of unaccompanied Bach 
2. Two movements of a French sonata such as Couperin, Leclair or Senaillé 
3. One 17th-century Italian sonata such as Castello, Pandolfi or Uccellini 
4. One 17th-century Austrian or German sonata such as Biber or Schmelzer

Two baroque solo sonatas in contrasting styles performed on period instruments.

1. One opera aria and one aria from an oratorio, cantata or motet in the original language 

2. No fewer than four art or lute songs representing styles of the 17th to 20th centuries 

3. No fewer than one English art song composed after 1960 

A minimum of seven pieces and three languages should be represented in the audition repertoire.

All applicants must submit the ACP Application Form and the corresponding audition/interview fee ($75.00 CAD) by the posted deadline. All application fees are non-refundable. 

ACP Classical application

ACP Baroque application

Official academic transcripts

* Secondary & post-secondary transcripts required

Applicants must arrange to have official transcripts sent directly from all academic institutions to the Faculty of Music; this includes high school and all post-secondary institutions attended.

If you have studied in a language other than English, you must submit both the official transcripts in the original language and notarized translations of your transcripts.

Electronic official transcripts must be sent directly from the institution to the Faculty of Music at undergrad.music@utoronto.ca. The Faculty of Music reserves the right to request a hard copy of your official transcript at any time.

If your institution is not able to send transcripts electronically, then final transcripts should be sent directly from the issuing institution to the following address: 

Admissions & Recruitment Officer

Faculty of Music, University of Toronto

80 Queen’s Park., Rm. 145

Toronto, ON  M5S 2C5

Programs from recent performances

*Recitals, opera roles, chamber music, or concerto performances

Demonstration of performance experience is shown through the submission of two (2) programs from your most recent performances. This may include recitals, opera roles, chamber music, or concerto performances.

Copies of programs must be submitted directly to undergrad.music@utoronto.ca by the posted deadline. 

Three letters of reference

Three (3) letters of reference are necessary. Your references should be individuals who can write a letter commenting on your musical qualifications objectively and are not related to you. 

For referees:  These letters are confidential and must be sent directly to the Faculty of Music to undergrad.music@utoronto.ca with the subject line “Reference for ACP Applicant”. Please attach the letter as a PDF and ensure that it includes the following: your full name, the applicant’s full name, your contact information and signature.

Audition information

In-Person: 

Auditions Dates:  Auditions will take place between February & early March.

You will be notified of your audition/interview dates as soon as possible after the completed application has been received and processed. 

All in-person auditions will be held at the Edward Johnson Building. A warm-up room will be made available to you 30 minutes in advance of your scheduled audition time.

At the audition, you will be asked to perform repertoire as prepared according to the audition requirements. There will also be a brief interview component with the faculty panelists to get to know more about you, your musical background, and your goals.

By Recording:

Applicants who live more than 300kms from Toronto and opt to audition by recording must submit their recordings by February 1 following the recorded audition guidelines and submission instructions.

Once all recorded materials are received, an online interview will be scheduled with the faculty panelists to get to know more about you, your musical background, and your goals.

Accessibility: If you require an accommodation for the audition/interview due to a disability, please contact undergrad.music@utoronto.ca by the application deadline.

Accompaniment guidelines

Applicants auditioning on accordion, guitar, harp, harpsichord, organ, percussion or piano do not require any accompaniment for their audition.

All other applicants (brass, strings, woodwinds, voice) must audition with a collaborative pianist as accompaniment.  Applicants are responsible for arranging their own accompanists and the cost of this service.

A list of potential accompanists is available by request by contacting undergrad.music@utoronto.ca 

Recorded audition guidelines

• The audio-visual recording must be of good quality (although professional not required).  
• Please review the audition repertoire guidelines and accompaniment guidelines for your instrument prior to making the recording.  
• Identify yourself by clearly stating your first and last name, your instrument, and the program to which you are applying.  
• The performer must appear in the video frame. For instrumentalists, the head and both hands must be clearly visible. For vocalists, the performer must face the camera and the upper body and face must be clearly visible.  
• Each piece must be performed in one take.  
• No edits or enhancements are permitted.  
• Any performance submitted should have been recorded within 6 months of the audition deadline.

Recorded audition submission instructions 

• Create an online folder (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive) where you can upload all performances of your chosen pieces. 
  • Upload your recordings to a streaming service (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud). Create a playlist for your recordings and provide one stable direct link to this playlist which you will email to undergrad.music@utoronto.ca by the posted deadline.  
  • You do not need to provide links for each individual recording, a link to the playlist is sufficient. 
  • Your recordings should be formatted for streaming, not downloading (the above platforms should do this for you automatically).  Please note that we do not accept downloadable recording files (e.g. MP3)  
  • Video submissions must be viewable/accessible for at least 6 months.  Do not set viewing of the link to expire.
• Double-check that your URL links open to the correct videos and do not contain any error messages prior to submitting them.
• Once you have uploaded all your recordings to your online folder, email undergrad.music@utoronto.ca with the subject heading: ‘ACP Recorded Audition Submission’. The body of your email should indicate your full name and instrument, along with one stable link to your online folder.

Applicants who are unable to submit their video by these methods, must contact the Faculty of Music directly at undergrad.music@utoronto.ca well in advance of the application deadline for alternate instructions.    

Audition Results

Admission results will be released in late April to applicants who have completed the audition/interview process and submitted all supporting documents.

Applied Teacher Selection

Upon accepting an offer of admission, newly admitted students will have the opportunity to indicate their preferred instructor(s) for their PMA485Y1 – Applied Lessons.  Teacher assignments are determined by the Performance Office and are sent out in the summer.

Scholarships & Fees

Scholarship opportunities are limited for ACP applicants; any offer of scholarship would be included in an offer of admission letter.

Refer to fees and financial aid resources.

ACP Classical Audition Schedule will be posted here in December!

ACP Baroque Audition Schedule will be posted here in December!