Thanks for your interest in auditioning for the 2026-27 instrumental jazz ensembles! If you have any questions after reading the instructions below, contact jazz director Mike Titlebaum at mtitlebaum@ithaca.edu.
The date of the live auditions are still TBD. To be fair to all, auditions will be done “blind”, behind a screen, so that the ensemble directors will not know who is playing. In order to maintain anonymity during your audition, do not speak to the faculty. If there are any questions, there should be a proctor in the room who you can whisper to.
Everyone will have a sheet music PDF to download and will have a play-along mp3 to play with at the audition (except drums). In addition to the prepared music, there will be a short sight-reading excerpt.
ALL NECESSARY DOWNLOADS, INCLUDING PDFs of SHEET MUSIC AND PLAY-ALONGS YOU WILL USE FOR THE AUDITIONS ARE AVAILABLE HERE:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/h2wnckn4dxnhfx4dkd9zw/ALdooo-OWtgSzd23twTHEPw?rlkey=pgx4us1ovh2js49il928ya08f&dl=0
NOTES FOR INSTRUMENTS:
For all horns (wind/brass players): Download the sheet music PDF of "A Day in the Mediterranean" transposed for your instrument (PDFs of several transpositions are available), and the play-along called “A Day in the Mediterranean playalong.mp3.”). Notice it sounds quite similar to the jazz standard "A Night in Tunisia." You'll play along with the track for your audition. After the 8 bar intro, play the first chorus, then improvise from the solo break through bar 72, then play the written melody until the end. If you do not yet feel comfortable improvising, you can just rest through the improvisation section, but do play the ending section. If anything winds up being in an uncomfotrable register, change octaves for that section of the piece to make it more comfortable and easy. After that, there will also be a short sight-reading excerpt.
For woodwind doublers, if you play flute or clarinet, download the transposed PDF versions of "A Day in the Mediterranean" for those instruments. During the audition, you’ll restart the play-along for each instrument you play. There is no need to improvise solos on more than one instrument – just play the written melody on your doubles.
For trumpeters, that sight-reading excerpt will be split into those who'd like to try the lead trumpet chair (it will have somwhat higher notes) and all the others. I will also ask you to choose a key for a slow, one-octave, ascending major scale ending with the highest note you'd feel comfortable playing on a concert/gig. Please notice the word comfortable. Do not ever try to play up to an uncomfortably high note.
For trombonists, that sight reading will be split into tenor and bass trombone. I will ask tenor trombonists to play a slow, one-octave, ascending major scale that would end with the highest note you'd feel comfortable playing on a concert/gig. For bass trombonists, it will be the opposite -- a slow, one-octave, descending major scale ending with the lowest note you'd feel comfortable playing. Please notice the word comfortable. Don't try to play to any uncomfortably extreme notes.
For drummers: Download the PDF "Drums - Audition Piece - Too Many Things.pdf." For your audition, play the piece by yourself, imagining the big band you'd be playing with. To help you prepare, there's a demo MP3 called "Drums - Audition Piece - study demo, not for playalong." you can use to get the piece into your head. For the audition, play the excerpt as if you were playing drums in the jazz ensemble -- including fills, setups, kicks, comping, dynamics, and everything else as appropriate. After that, there will also be a short sight-reading excerpt to play. After the sight-reading, I may ask you to play a few more things, such as trading 4's between you and an imaginary sax soloist, or demonstrating a few additional common styles like bossa nova, samba, fast bebop, or maybe some others.
For bassists: Download the sheet music PDF “Bass - Blue Dolphin Street - Sheet music for bassists” and "Bass - Blue Dolphin Street - playalong for auditions of bassists.mp3." For your audition, start the track and follow the directions in the sheet (Play a bass line under the sax the 1st time through, play melody the 2nd time, improvise a solo the third time, and play basslines again the last time). There'll also be a sight-reading excerpt after.
For pianists and guitarists: Download the sheet music PDF of "A Day in the Mediterranean" transposed for your instrument (PDFs of several transpositions are available), and the play-along called “A Day in the Mediterranean playalong.mp3.”). Notice it sounds quite similar to the jazz standard "A Night in Tunisia." You'll play along with the track for your audition. After the 8 bar intro, play the melody on the first chorus, then at bar 40 follow the directions on the sheet, comping for 16 bars, then improvising a solo for 16 bars before playing the shout at 72. For the shout at 72, play the melody and/or the chords under it. If you do not yet feel comfortable improvising, you can comp chords through the improvisation section.
I'm looking forward to working with you!
-Mike