High School Auditions

"That's enough. Thank you."

If you are an 8th-grade music student and would like to audition for any of NYC's performing arts High Schools, now is the time to get to work! Ask your PRIVATE TEACHER to help you select an audition piece, and sign up for one of my RECESS HELP SESSIONS for extra coaching.

If you are a VOCALIST, check out THIS PAGE to see a list of appropriate songs that you can use to help you choose your audition piece.

At the BOTTOM of this page is a very helpful document about auditioning, including dates, addresses, and audition requirements for schools. PLEASE download it and read it!

If the Date listed is TBD, they have not been updated on the school's website.  Contact Mr. Weaver for more current information.

You Must register with Mr. Weaver for most auditions

ALWAYS BRING TWO COPIES OF YOUR AUDITION PIECE!!!

ALWAYS BRING YOUR 7th Grade REPORT CARD & TRANSCRIPT!!

ALWAYS BRING A PEN AND PENCIL!!



All of the following information is from LAST YEAR.

Check back frequently to look for current information.


Talent Unlimited H.S.

Dates and Times tbd

300 East 68th Street

New York, NY 10065

Talent Unlimited H.S. Audition Info

------------------------------------ 

La Guardia H.S.

Dates and Times tbd

100 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10023

Laguardia H.S. Audition Info

------------------------------------

Frank Sinatra H.S.

Dates and Times tbd

35-12 35th Avenue (Queens)

New York, NY 1110

Frank Sinatra H.S. Audition Info

------------------------------------ 

Special Music School High School

Dates and Times tbd

122 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, NY 10023

Special Music School Audition Info

------------------------------------ 

Professional Performing Arts School

Dates and Times tbd

328 West 48th Street

New York, NY 10036

PPAS Audition Info

------------------------------------ 

Brooklyn High School of the Arts

Dates and Times tbd

345 Dean St

Brooklyn, NY  11217

Brooklyn H.S. of the Arts Audition Info

------------------------------------ 

Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music

Dates and Times tbd

2780 Reservoir Ave

Bronx, NY 10468

Celia Cruz H.S. Audition Info

------------------------------------ 

Fort Hamilton H.S.

Dates and Times tbd

8301 Shore Road

Brooklyn, NY 11209

Ft. Hamilton H.S. Audition Info

------------------------------------ 

Edward R. Murrow H.S.

Dates and Times tbd

1600 Avenue L

Brooklyn, NY  11230

Edward R. Murrow H.S. Audition Info

Each high school has different requirements, but there are a few things that all of them require. Here is the advice I give my students every year: DON'T JUST AUDITION FOR ONE SCHOOL. Audition for ALL OF THEM, even if you don't want to go there. It gives you great experience, you get much better at handling your nerves, and you give yourself a LOT more options when it comes to choosing a school in November. I'm sure you've all heard of kids who take the SHSAT and dream of going to Stuyvesent. Then March rolls around and they don't get accepted because it's an INCREDIBLY competitive school, and the kid falls apart; they have no idea what to do with themselves. If you ONLY audition for one music school and you don't get in, you have no options. If you audition for ALL of them, you have some choices. Auditions are scary, challenging, and unfair. Be smart, and try out for ALL of the schools you can.

Stuff you need for your audition:

1. Your Audition Piece

If you're taking private lessons, your private teacher will help you choose an audition piece. If you're not taking lessons... WHY NOT?!?!? Check out takelessons.com and find a teacher that fits your needs and budget. I can give you basic audition coachings, but a real private teacher will get you sounding great in a very short time. In the meantime, here's a list of songs (classical, folk, musical theater) that the schools like to hear. Go down the list, find a recording on YouTube, find a song you like, google the lyrics, and start learning it. In my experience, kids who go into auditions singing a pop song do not get accepted into these schools. 


2. Singing Pitches

Your auditioner will play some notes on a piano and ask you to sing those notes back. This test is given to vocal AND instrumental students. I'll help you practice this skill, even if you're terrified of singing. Here's a game that you can practice with. 


3. Tapping Back Rhythms

Your auditioner will tap some rhythms for you and ask you to tap those rhythms back. This test is given to vocal AND instrumental students. I'll help you practice this skill.


4. Scales / Rudiments

INSTRUMENTAL ONLY (not vocal) - These aren't required by all schools but they are required by many. Wind players, be able to play at least 4 major scales up and down, 2 octaves, at a fairly quick speed (quarter note equals 100 beats per minute is a good target speed). Be prepared for your auditioner to ask YOU to pick a scale and then THEY will pick a scale, so start practicing ALL 12 MAJOR scales so you'll be ready. Percussionists, be able to play at least 2 rudiments from each family (Rolls, Diddles, Flams, Drags) in the traditional Slow-Fast-Slow pattern. I would learn WAY MORE than 2 rolls... try single stroke roll, double stroke roll, 5-stroke roll, 7-stroke roll, 9-stroke roll, etc.


5. Sightreading

INSTRUMENTAL ONLY (not vocal) - This isn't required by all schools but they are required by many. In Pre-COVID times the auditioner would give you a piece of music you've never seen, give you one minute to look at it, then ask you to play it the best you can. With COVID changing things around, I don't know if they're going to do sightreading this year, but be ready.


---------------------------------------------------------


This is going to be a great experience for you all, and you're going to grow as musicians and learn a lot about your own strength and character, whether or not you are accepted into a school. Remember, it's INCREDIBLY unfair that there are just a few Music high schools in NYC, and INCREDIBLY unfair that you're going to be competing against other students who have been taking private lessons from great teachers since they were very young children. I can't guarantee you'll get into a school, but I CAN guarantee that if you put in the work, you'll be proud of the job you did at each audition.

NYCDOE High Schools with 

AUDITION-ONLY Music Programs

This is a BASIC list of schools that require an audition to enroll. This list is offered so you have a starting point for your research - please see the NEXT list of schools that DON'T require auditions


Manhattan

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts (03M485): Instrumental Music program (M80L)

Special Music School (03M859): Voice, Instrument, and Composition (A85A)

Talent Unlimited High School (02M519): Instrumental Music (M42P)


Brooklyn

Brooklyn High School of the Arts (15K656): Instrumental Music (K47K)

Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts (13K265): Instrumental Music (K42E)


Queens

Forest Hills High School (28Q440): Academy of Instrumental and Vocal Music (Q19P)

Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School (30Q501): Instrumental Music (Q40K)


Bronx

Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music, The (10X442): Concert Band / Jazz Band / Piano (X33A) & Instrumental Music: Orchestra / Strings (X33M)



NYCDOE High Schools with 

Music Programs that DON'T require auditions

This list was compiled with the input of MANY music teachers on October 8, 2022. As you are reading this it will IMMEDIATELY become obsolete (as is the nature of music education in this city), but it’s an attempt to gather high schools with instrumental music programs as a resource for 8th-graders who are in the process of choosing a high school.


Bronx

DeWitt Clinton High School (10X440)

Fordham High School for the Arts (10X437)

Harry S Truman High School (11X455)

High School of American Studies at Lehman College (10X696)

Theatre Arts Production Company School (TAPCo) (10X225)


Brooklyn

EBC High School for Public Service - Bushwick (32K545)

Edward R. Murrow High School (21K525)

Fort Hamilton High School (20K490)

Grand Street Campus (one music program serves these 3 schools:

James Madison High School (22K425)

John Dewey High School (21K540)

Midwood High School (22K405)

Performing Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) (19K507)

Urban Assembly School for Music and Art (13K350)

Xaverian High School (Private Day School Grades 6-12)


Manhattan

Beacon High School (03M479)

Eleanor Roosevelt High School (02M416)

Lower Manhattan Arts Academy (02M308)

Manhattan / Hunter Science High School (03M541)

New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math High School (NEST+m) (01M539)

NYC iSchool (02M376)

Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing & Visual Arts (03M415)

Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (WHEELS) (06M348)


Queens

Bard High School Early College Queens (24Q299)

Bayside High School (26Q495)

Benjamin N. Cardozo High School (26Q415)

Forest Hills High School (28Q440)

Francis Lewis High School (26Q430)

High School for Arts and Business (24Q550)

Long Island City High School (30Q450)

Maspeth High School (24Q585)

Newtown High School (24Q455)

Townsend Harris High School (25Q525)

William Cullen Bryant High School (30Q445)


Staten Island

Curtis High School (31R450)

Port Richmond High School (31R445)

Staten Island Technical High School (31R605)

Susan E. Wagner High School (31R460)

Tottenville High School (31R455)