Students wishing admittance to the B.F.A. in Jazz and Contemporary Music or B.S. in Music Technology degree programs must pass an instrumental or vocal audition. An audition is not required for admission to the B.A. in Music degree.
The instrumental or vocal audition places music students into the Applied Music program. It is highly recommended that students pass an audition before enrolling at UNC Asheville.
Auditions are held twice yearly in person at the UNCA campus.
Upcoming Audition Dates
Our official audition dates for the 2025-2026 academic year are November 23, 2024 and January 25, 2025.
If you missed our official 2024-2025 audition dates and would like to audition before the Fall 2024 semester, fill out the audition application and someone will contact you to schedule an audition.
Audition Procedures
Step One: Submit Your Application 
You must complete your Application for Music Audition (Required!):
Submit Your Audition Application
The deadline for submitting your application is one week prior to the audition date. Applications received after the deadline will shift to the next available audition date.
To gain priority consideration, submit your UNC Asheville General Application for Admission.
Step Two: Prepare for Your In-Person Audition
Audition Material
Approximately 10 minutes of material should be prepared according to the requirements below. Applicants for any of our three degree programs may follow either the classical or jazz/contemporary guidelines, or a blend of the two.
Audition: Supplemental Materials (inclusion is optional):
- One or more letters of recommendation specific to music
- Resume or C.V. detailing musical industry experience
- Portfolio including examples of musical projects, compositions, mixing projects, electronic media, multimedia, etc. with accompanying descriptions and details.
If you wish to submit any electronic documents to supplement your audition, you will need to create a google drive folder and follow these steps:
- Your Google Drive Folder should be titled: [year][semester]-[lastname]-[firstname] (for example: 2026Fall-Doe-Jane)
- Share your video with Professor Carolina Perez by including her email cperez4@unca.edu in your folder’s sharing system.
- Deadlines for folder sharing are as follows:
- November candidates must share folders no later than midnight, Friday, November 15th, 2024
- January candidates must share folders no later than midnight, Friday, January 17th, 2025
Step Three: Audition
November candidates will receive email notice on Tuesday, November 12th of their in-person audition or live video conference time slot and location. January candidates will receive this notification on Tuesday, January 21st.
If you have any specific needs or time constraints for your audition, please contact Carolina Perez (cperez4@unca.edu) directly.
Step Four: Music Theory and Piano Placement
The music theory placement exam will be given during orientation prior to the term, after acceptance into the Music School. This exam determines whether you must take Introductory Music Theory and Aural Skills before Music Theory and Aural Skills I.
The exam includes:
- Naming notes in treble and bass clef
- Identifying scales (major and 3 types of minor)
- Identifying simple intervals (by number and quality)
- Identifying major and minor key signatures
- Identifying major and minor triads
- Knowledge about time signatures
The piano placement exam determines whether you must take Class Piano. You will be asked to play major and minor scales, hands together.
Questions about the process can be directed to cperez4@unca.edu.