Overview
At Colorado State University, you’ll work alongside dedicated faculty and students to develop the knowledge and skills for excelling in a variety of fields. The world-class University Center for the Arts is located in Fort Collins, consistently ranked as one of America’s top cities with a collaborative and thriving arts community.
The Colorado State University voice area provides students with excellent opportunities for vocal, artistic and personal growth. Each member of the voice faculty provides a nurturing, yet challenging studio environment. The emphasis of process over product allows students develop a solid platform of vocal technique for realizing their personal artistry.
All voice student study with the full faculty of professors of voice. In addition to a seminar for freshman voice majors that supports their transition to collegiate study, voice majors spend the Fall semester of their Freshman year by participating in individual lesson rotations with each of the voice faculty. In their second semester of study, voice majors are placed with a single teacher for the remainder of their degree program to further promote personalized and engaged care for the student throughout their study at CSU.
Voice students have the opportunity to perform in a variety of styles and formats, as both soloists and ensemble members of choirs, opera and musical theater productions, as well as chamber music collaborations. Voice students perform a jury each semester and sing on voice area and departmental recitals throughout the year.
Study With
Voice Events
Spring 2025 Be a Voice Major for a Day
News
A First Look at Xerxes: Colorado State University’s Fall Opera
By Nicole Towne, SMTD Publicity Intern In just a few weeks, Colorado State University’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance will present the opera Xerxes written by George Frideric Handel. The opera, presented by the Ralph Opera Program at CSU and directed by Voice Professor John Pierce, takes the sixteenth century piece and sets it […]
Music Student Finds Her Voice, Opera World in Germany
German language class. Voice lessons. Rehearsal after rehearsal. Angela Lamar’s daily schedule was nearly dawn to dusk, but the rigorous agenda was worth it for the rare opportunity to perform in Germany for the summer. Alongside approximately 20 other American students, Lamar participated in a study abroad program in Freiberg, Germany focused on exposing students […]
A Big Night of Music
Brought to you by the Ralph Opera Program, The School of Music, Theatre and Dance presents: A Little Night Music By Brooke Poulson, SMTD Publicity Intern A Little Night Music will be a lot more than just a little night of music when it debuts in Griffin Concert Hall at the University Center for the […]
Auditions
Undergraduate Voice Audition Information
Audition Information and Suggested Repertoire (all music majors and the minor)
I. Prospective first-year voice majors in Vocal Performance, Music Education, Music Therapy and Bachelor of Arts will demonstrate vocal technique as well as musical skills:
- Perform two prepared vocal solos from memory (see repertoire suggestions below). A piano accompanist will be provided. Bring your sheet music in the key you are singing.
- The interview includes a short theory diagnostic/skills assessment for voice, that consists of a short line of sight-singing (students may sing this on their choice of “la” or solfege), and a short rhythmic pattern that students will clap out. This short diagnostic allows music faculty to see where you are in theory knowledge but is not a barrier to admission to our program.
II. Audition Repertoire: solos are comparable to songs that would be prepared and memorized for high school All-State Choir auditions and solo/ensemble competitions. Prepare two contrasting selections:
- One art song or aria* in Italian or English
- A second art song or aria in English, Italian, German, French, or Spanish (one musical theater, spiritual, or folk song selection may be substituted for either song).
*Opera arias from the 19th century (Puccini, Verdi etc.) are discouraged for freshman singers. Opera or oratorio arias from the 17th and 18th century are appropriate (Handel, Caldara, Scarlatti, etc.).
III. Suggested Repertoire – selections from:
- The First Book of Soprano (or Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone) Solos
- The Second Book of Soprano (or Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone) Solos
- 26 Italian Songs and Arias, (Medium High or Medium Low)
- Folk Songs for Solo Singers, (Medium High or Medium Low) – (published by Alfred)
IV. Audition Dress – Professional dress is recommended: skirts/dresses/dressy slacks for women; dress slacks/dress shirt for men. Please, no jeans, T-shirts, or sneakers.
V. Transfer Student Auditions
- Perform two prepared vocal solos or arias from memory, appropriate to your training and experience. A piano accompanist will be provided. Bring sheet music in the key you are singing. Bring a performance resume and/or repertoire list if you have one.
- Demonstrate musical skills as requested.
VI. Voice students seeking the Music Education or Music Therapy degree path will also have an interview with faculty from those areas.
Graduate Voice Audition Information
Graduate Voice Prescreening Requirement
When applying to the graduate school, please upload a video of your pre-screening selections through the digital portfolio attached to the application. The video upload should include performances of two selections from the following:
- An oratorio aria or 17th-18th Century piece
- An operatic aria
- One German art song
- One French art song
- One American/British/Canadian art song in English
- An oratorio aria or 17th-18th Century piece
- An operatic aria
- One German art song
- One French art song
- One American/British/Canadian art song in English
Please provide a typed program listing your selections.
PLEASE NOTE: Incoming students will be evaluated on diction the first week of classes in their first semester of study. Students will take a diction diagnostic exam, which will test their spoken and written diction skills in English, Italian, French and German lyric diction.
