Music Auditions & Scholarships
Your musical talent can make an OWU education more affordable. Incoming students can audition for Music Scholar Awards worth up to $45,000 per year.
Students who have applied and been admitted to OWU and are seeking a music scholarship are required to audition. Music Scholar Awards range up to $45,000 per year for students seeking a Music Major. These scholarships replace academic merit awards and are not stackable. Music Performance Awards range from $ 1,000-$ 4,000 per year for music majors and performance minors, and are added to any merit scholarships you receive with your OWU admission decision. Each award is renewable annually for no more than four years, provided the student:
- Maintains a major or performance minor in Music.
- Achieves a minimum GPA in music courses of 2.75 at the end of their first year and 3.00 at the end of succeeding years.
Note: Audition dates will close as soon as the schedule is filled, so please complete your application as soon as possible to hold a spot on one of our audition dates. If you apply to OWU within the final week of February, we cannot guarantee an accompanist. All auditions must be completed by February 28, 2027.
How to Audition
The Performing Arts faculty strongly recommends in-person auditions for the Music Scholar Awards and Music Performance Awards. To secure an audition date, please complete the audition application form as soon as you know you're interested in pursuing a scholarship. To finalize the schedule for all participants, audition application forms will close about 7-10 days before each audition date. If needed, we may arrange virtual auditions. If the audition dates don't work for you, please complete the audition application form and select the option to request an alternate date.
Students who audition but are not offered a Music Scholar Award are eligible to receive their merit scholarship offer in addition to the Music Performance Award ($1,000-$4,000), based on talent, program/ensemble needs, and available funding.
2026-2027 Music Audition Dates
- Saturday, November 14, 2026 – OPEN
- Saturday, January 23, 2027 – OPEN
- Monday, February 15, 2027 – OPEN
- Sunday, February 21, 2027 –OPEN
- Sunday, February 28, 2027 –OPEN
About OWU Music Scholarships
- Music Scholar Award: Up to $45,000/year for our strongest auditioning students. These would replace academic merit awards and would not stack with other merit scholarships.
- Music Performance Award: $1,000–$4,000/year. These awards may be stacked with other academic merit awards to support Music majors and Performance minors.
The Financial Aid Office, in consultation with the Performing Arts Department, will administer the music scholarships. The scholarship will be credited as a tuition waiver if you are not receiving need-based aid. In the event that you qualify for need-based financial assistance in excess of the scholarship, the Financial Aid Office will determine your total financial aid package, incorporating the merit scholarship, grants (if applicable), loans, and work/study. Fifty percent of the scholarship will be given in each of the two semesters.
After the March 1 deadline, merit scholarship awards are no longer available, but students interested in a music major at OWU may still audition for admittance to the music program before May 1. Students may also pursue a music major without a spring audition by choosing fall courses typical of a first-semester music major and auditioning for the music faculty by the end of the fall semester. (The first-semester jury often serves as the audition.)
It is expected that you will accept or reject the scholarship offer as soon as possible, but no later than May 7.
Prepare for Your Audition
For more information, here is a tip sheet (PDF) for making recordings.
Additional tips are available for:
Brass | Composition | Keyboard | Percussion | Strings | Voice | Woodwinds
What to Expect
In-person auditions are 10 minutes in length, followed by an interview with the Performing Arts faculty. Please be advised: if your performance exceeds 10 minutes, your pieces may not be heard in their entirety. If submitting a video recording, all works should be performed in full. In either case, make appropriate cuts to the piano accompaniment so the soloist is not idle for more than about 20 seconds.
Applicants for the Music Performance Award may prepare either one or two pieces from the requirements list. For instrumentalists, if only one piece is offered, it should be a non-etude work.
Questions?
Learn more about our Music majors and minors. For more information about the audition process, please contact the Performing Arts academic assistant, Lisa Hill, at lahill@owu.edu or call 740-368-3700.
