Orchestra excerpts list

At all NJO auditions and at the first round of EUYO auditions, musicians will be asked to play one piece from the NJO solo pieces list and a selection from the NJO orchestra excerpts list below. Although candidates may be asked to play only a selection of the orchestral excerpts, all of them should be prepared. Read more about the auditions on our Audition information page and the underlying pages.

Notes:

Double bass players should play their solo piece and orchestral parts in orchestral tuning.
Woodwind players should prepare a solo piece and all orchestra excerpts for their main instrument; preparation of orchestra excerpts for auxiliary instruments is not mandatory, but strongly advised. Read all about auditioning for auxiliary instruments in How to prepare.
For EUYO final round auditions, we refer to the EUYO orchestra excerpts list and to more information about EUYO auditions on the EUYO website.
Candidates only playing the EUYO first and/or second round auditions (and not the NJO auditions) need to prepare one solo piece from the NJO solo pieces list below and all EUYO excerpts.

You will find the list of orchestra excerpts below. This list was last updated on 6 October 2020.

Violin

Violin concertmaster / (co-)principal
Brahms - Symphony No. 1 - II

Violin
Brahms - Symphony No. 4
Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Mozart - Symphony No. 39
Strauss - Don Juan

Viola

Viola (co-)principal
Stravinsky - L'oiseau de Feu
Strauss - Don Quixote

Viola
Strauss - Don Juan
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 5 - I
Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Bartók - Concerto for Orchestra

Cello

Cello (co-)principal
Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2

Cello
Strauss - Ein Heldenleben
Beethoven - Symphony No. 5
Brahms - Symphony No. 2 - II
Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream

Double bass

Double Bass (co-)principal (orchestra tuning)
Mahler - Symphony No. 1 - III
Stravinsky - Pulcinella - VII

Double Bass (orchestra tuning)
Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 - III
Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 - IV
Mozart - Symphony No. 40 - I
Strauss - Ein Heldenleben

Flute

Flute
Dvořák - Symphony No. 8 - IV
Prokofiev - Peter and the Wolf
Rachmaninov - Symphonic Dances - I
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 6 - I
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concert No. 1 – I, II, III

Flute: Piccolo
Bizet - L'Arlésienne Suite
Dukas - The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Ravel - Bolero
Ravel - Piano Concerto - I

Oboe

Oboe
Strauss - Don Juan
Smetana - Die verkaufte Braut
Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin
Beethoven - Symphony No. 3
J.S. Bach - Ich habe genug BWV 82 (until the fermata; up to and including measure 34)

Cor Anglais
Dvořák - Symphony No. 9 - II
Rossini - Guillaume Tell

Clarinet

Clarinet
Beethoven - Symphony No. 6
Berlioz - Benvenuto Cellini
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
Ravel - Daphnis et Chloe
Verdi - La Forza del Destino

E-flat Clarinet
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
Ravel - Bolero

Bass Clarinet
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto
Mahler - Symphony No. 6

Bassoon

Bassoon
Brahms - Violin Concerto - II
Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 9 - IV - V
Stravinsky - Le Sacre du Printemps

Double Bassoon
Mahler - Symphony No. 4 - I - II
Ravel - Ma Mère l'Oye

Alto saxophone

Bernstein - Symphonic Dances from the West Side Story (only 15-40, 141-167, 400-437, 581-589 and 632-669)
Gershwin - I Got Rhythm (only the fragments between brackets: the third measure after rehearsal mark 1 to 2 / the sixteenth measure after 6 to 7 / the seventh measure after 11 to the second measure of 19)
Shostakovich - Jazz Suite No. 2
Rachmaninoff - Symphonic Dances