Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:10–9:00 pm at the
Mondavi Center
2 units
offered Fall, Winter, and Spring
The CRN number to register for MUS 141 will be given to all
applicants admitted into the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra AFTER
the auditions are completed.
Audition
Requirements, Fall Quarter
2026
General Auditions
Two contrasting pieces (one fast, one slow). Ideally one of
these should be an orchestral excerpt
Expect some sight-reading
Audition for Principal Positions
One piece (concerto movement or equivalent) plus two
contrasting orchestral excerpts
Sight-reading
Expect to play about 1–2 pages of your prepared pieces; you
may be stopped in audition due to time constraints.
Schedule an Appointment
10-minute appointment slots are available Monday, Sept. 21,
from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.,
and 2:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.
in Room 1148 (“Strings Studio”), Pitzer Center.
Check out these resources for the
specific excerpts
Information here is for audition context and is not yet set up on
the Mondavi Center website.
Program
Jessie Montgomery: Hymn for Everyone (2021)
Alma (Schindler) Mahler: Five Songs, arr. David and Colin
Matthews
Dimitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 in G Minor (“The Year
1905”)
About the Composers
Jessie Montgomery is a Grammy Award-winning
composer, violinist, and educator whose music weaves together
classical traditions, vernacular styles, improvisation, and
poetry. She recently completed a three-year term as the Chicago
Symphony’s Mead Composer in Residence and is currently a doctoral
candidate at Princeton. She was named Performance Today’s 2025
Classical Woman of the Year.
Alma Mahler (1879–1964) was a Viennese composer
and pianist whose own creative work was cut short early in her
marriage, when Gustav Mahler pressed her to give up composing.
The small number of songs she completed, mostly written before
that marriage, are prized for their intensity and late-Romantic
lyricism. She later became a central figure in Vienna’s
fin-de-siècle artistic circles.
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) was among the
most significant composers of the Soviet era, alternately
celebrated and denounced by the state throughout his career. Best
known for his symphonies, string quartets, and film scores, he
wrote Symphony No. 11, “The Year 1905,” as a programmatic
memorial to the Bloody Sunday massacre — one of his most overtly
historical and political works.
The UC Davis Symphony Orchestra (UCDSO) is committed to
presenting repertoire from different periods and styles at the
highest artistic level. Members also pride themselves in
performing works by students, faculty, and visiting composers.
Established in 1959, the orchestra has performed in many cities
in Northern California, as well as in Australia, Canada, France,
French Polynesia, and Spain. As of 2013, the UCDSO has grown
to approximately 110 members and is a resident ensemble of
Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center. In August, 2021, the UC Davis
Symphony Orchestra will have an album released on Centaur
Records, becoming one of a handful of university orchestras in
the world to release their recordings professionally on CD and
all digital platforms. Visit this link for
more information.
