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Academy & Excellence Auditions

Show yourself and be heard!

To be admitted to one of the talent programs at Muziekschool Amsterdam you must audition. Auditions take place every year around June. If you are not (yet) a student at the music school and are taking music lessons elsewhere in the city, you are welcome to come and show us your talent and motivation. Highly motivated and talented musicians from 9 to 20 years old are invited to audition for the academies of classical, jazz, or pop music. Following a successful audition, you may enroll in the academy of your choice.

 

Academy and Excellence auditions June 2022

Auditions in 2022 take place on the following dates:

  • Academie Klassiek location Centrum-Oost
    Saturday, June 18
  • Excellence Klassiek location Zuid
    Saturday, July 2
  • Pop Academy location Osdorp
    Saturday, June 18
  • Jazz Academy location Centrum-Oost
    Friday, June 17

 

Closing dates for application

You may apply for auditions until the following dates:

  • Academie Klassiek Thursday, June 2, 2022
  • Excellence Klassiek Sunday, June 12, 2022
  • Jazz Academy Sunday, June 12, 2022
  • Pop Academy Sunday, June 12, 2022

You will be contacted regarding the time of your audition after the closing date.

Apply via the green button below

Preparation for the audition Pop Academy, Jazz Academy, Academie Klassiek

When you apply for the audition, please add a link to a live recording of yourself to the application form.

We ask you to prepare two contrasting pieces to perform that clearly show your affinity with your musical genre. A total of 5 to 10 minutes playing time per audition is available. Be well prepared so that your audition goes smoothly. 

The committee pays attention to the following:

  • Level of ability based on age and years of study
  • Talent as demonstrated by musicality, technique, and ensemble playing
  • Creativity
  • Motivation
  • Affinity

Students auditioning for the Academie Klassiek do so without the accompaniment of a pianist or CD, etc.

For more information, please contact:
leon.van.mil@muziekschoolamsterdam.nl for the Jazz Academy.
joachim.bosboom@muziekschoolamsterdam.nl
for the Pop Academy.
angenieta.de.bie@muziekschoolamsterdam.nl
for the Academie Klassiek.

Good luck with your preparations.

Preparation for the audition Excellence Klassiek

An audition takes about 25 minutes in total (including playing, consultation with the committee, and a short talk). During your audition you will show what you have to offer musically and technically. If you require piano accompaniment, please let us know in advance.

A good audition program consists of:

  • Loose technique (scale and chord playing). You play a few scales and (broken) chords and show some variations in the way they are performed on the instrument concerned (e.g. legato/staccato, slow/fast, various stroke types, major/minor).
  • 2 Etudes, different in character from each other
  • 2 somewhat longer or 3 somewhat shorter repertoire pieces*, different in style period, character, key.

*Only pieces from the classical repertoire that were originally composed for the instrument. So for example no pop songs, salon music, 4-mains, film music, etc. If you compose music yourself, we would like to hear a piece.

The level of difficulty in technique and repertoire should be in accordance with your age.

A short musical test may be part of the audition. For example, we might ask you to play a simple melody, to think up a line to go with a given preface, or to think up a few chords to go with a melody (piano).

After your audition there will be a short interview with the audition committee where you can explain your interest in Excellence Klassiek.

If you have questions, please contact peter.kranen@muziekschoolamsterdam.nl.

Good luck with your preparation.

How to proceed

The committees evaluating the auditions are composed mainly of external members. Students for the Academie Klassiek will audition without the accompaniment of a pianist and without the accompaniment of a CD etc. This allows the committee to evaluate all auditioners in the same manner.

If, after your audition, you receive notification that you have been admitted to the academy of your choice, your next step is to enroll in the lesson program.