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Ottawa: Music audition and interview

Audition repertoire is set by the School of Music; the interview is a brief conversation, not a written piece

Admission to the Bachelor of Music and combined music degrees requires an audition on your major instrument, followed by a short interview with a faculty member.
What it’s really asking

The audition asks whether you can play at the level the program requires; that is the real decision. The interview that follows asks something gentler: who are you as a musician, and is Ottawa a good mutual fit? The faculty member wants to know you and to answer your questions, not to grade your speech.

Why they ask it

For Music, performance carries admission, so the smartest preparation is musical. The interview matters because it is a genuine fit check. Students who treat it as a graded oral exam come across as stiff; students who arrive with real questions about studying at Ottawa come across as serious and self-directed.

Three ways in
Know why you chose your repertoire

Prepare the required repertoire thoroughly and be ready to say, in one or two sentences, why you chose the pieces you did.

Have a real reason for Ottawa

Bring a clear, honest reason for wanting to study at Ottawa specifically (a teacher, the bilingual setting, a particular ensemble).

Bring two genuine questions

Have two real questions about the program ready so the interview becomes a conversation rather than an interrogation.

✕  Weak opening

“I have loved music since I was very young and I cannot imagine my life without it.”

✓  Strong opening

“I chose the Prokofiev for my audition because its second movement forced me to fix a phrasing habit I had hidden behind for years.”

✦ Annotated example · Cello audition and faculty interview. Written by EssayLens to teach, not a real applicant’s essay. Tap a highlighted line →
Thank you for hearing me today. For my audition I have prepared the Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, the first movement of the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto in A minor, and a contrasting study by Popper to show my faster passage work. 1I chose the Bach because I have spent the last year learning to let the implied harmony, not just the notes, shape my phrasing, and I wanted to play something where every choice about bow speed is exposed. 2I began cello at nine in a community music program in Gatineau, and I have played in our regional youth orchestra for three years, the last as principal cellist, which is where I first had to lead a section and count rests I could not afford to miss. 3What I most want from the Bachelor of Music here is the chamber music coursework and weekly studio lessons, because I learn fastest when I am accountable to other players in a room. 4I am comfortable rehearsing and taking instruction in both French and English, so a bilingual studio is something I am looking forward to rather than worried about. 5After the degree I would like to keep performing while also teaching younger students the way my first teacher taught me, and I am happy to answer any questions about my preparation or to play any of the pieces again.6
  1. 1For the audition, opening by clearly stating repertoire (a Baroque work, a Romantic concerto movement, and a technical study) shows the balanced, contrasting program a music faculty expects on the major instrument.
  2. 2In the brief interview, articulating a thoughtful reason behind a repertoire choice signals musical maturity, which is exactly what the faculty conversation is probing for.
  3. 3Concrete background with a leadership detail demonstrates ensemble experience and reliability, qualities a performance program values beyond raw technique.
  4. 4Naming specific program features (chamber coursework, studio lessons) shows genuine fit with this school rather than a generic desire to study music anywhere.
  5. 5A short bilingual signal matters at Ottawa, where studying and being coached in both official languages is part of the environment.
  6. 6Closing with a clear long-term goal plus an open, flexible offer reads as poised and coachable, the impression a faculty interviewer remembers from a short conversation.
Stuck? Start here
  • Why did you choose each piece in your audition program, in one sentence each?
  • What specific, honest reason makes Ottawa the right place for you (a teacher, the bilingual setting, an ensemble)?
  • What two genuine questions do you have about studying music at Ottawa?
Before you submit
  • My required repertoire is fully prepared and I can explain my choices briefly.
  • I have one specific, true reason for wanting Ottawa, not a generic compliment.
  • I have two real questions ready so the interview is a conversation.

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