Organ

BA in Performance

Overview

This degree programme includes exposure to diverse repertoire for the organ from the Renaissance to the present day, historical performance practice and improvisation, performance opportunities at Salzburg Cathedral and other venues, and offers an inspiring atmosphere for artistic development.

Modul Overview

General information

This degree course is oriented around current developments and performance practice in the arts, as well as the latest, most up-to-date research in the academic disciplines involved. The goal of the BA in Performance is the practice-oriented and academically sound professional preparation for the following fields:

Soloist
Chamber musician
Orchestral musician (e.g. in chamber/opera/symphony orchestras, orchestras and ensembles for contemporary music, ensembles for historical instruments)
Freelance artist

The goals of the BA in Performance at the Mozarteum University are artistic maturity and independence, critical self-reflection and evaluation, and the artistic and scientific ability to interpret musical works from all periods. The BA in Performance will equip students to pursue their chosen profession and to fulfil artistic, pedagogical and organisational tasks within cultural life.

The curriculum is competence-oriented. After completing the Bachelor's programme, students should:

be able to master their instrument and present themselves professionally
be free and independent in their artistic work
be able to deal critically with artistic and academic issues
be able to play professionally in an orchestra/ensemble
be able to work as a team-player in an artistically constructive way as a member of a chamber music formation or ensemble
have acquired comprehensive knowledge of various playing techniques
have acquired comprehensive knowledge of the orchestral repertoire and mastery of the relevant orchestral parts and the solo and chamber music literature of various periods
have basic knowledge of stylistics and repertoire
have gained insight into the repertoire and performance practice of both early and contemporary music
have acquired comprehensive knowledge of music theory and musicology and be able to apply this in practice
have mastered the basics of scholarly working practices and be able to analyse, interpret and write about artistic content in a grounded manner
be able to use audiovisual media for self-presentations (such as competition submissions, demo recordings, internet presentations etc.)
have gained insights into the areas of physical and mental health maintenance, self-management and performance optimisation
have further developed their individual interests beyond their own subject area through targeted selection of elective subjects in the spirit of lifelong learning

The eight-semester bachelor's degree programme is modular in structure. Each module comprises teaching and learning content that has been combined to form thematically and didactically meaningful units of study. The names and content descriptions (study objectives) of the individual modules, the number of ECTS credits to be achieved for each module, and the type of performance assessment are specified in the curriculum. The module descriptions refer to the corresponding learning outcomes and competencies. The Bachelor's programme is a face-to-face programme and cannot be offered - not even in part - as a distance learning programme. The courses from the Principal Study, as well as in other One-to-One Tuition, are designed to build upon each other. Prerequisite for enrolment in courses from the Principal Study or One-to-One Tutition is a positive evaluation of the previous semester (from the second semester onwards).

The curriculum provides an overview of the courses to be completed, which are grouped into modules.

The courses are visible online in Curriculum Support:

Link to the curriculum

A prerequisite for beginning a bachelor's degree (BA) is passing an audition. Auditions take place once a year and consist of various partial exams. All information about the audition can be found under “Information about the admissions procedure” further down the page.

A high school diploma is not necessary.

PLEASE NOTE: You can only apply for study programmes for which you have not yet obtained a degree!

Students of the Bachelor's programme are encouraged to complete a semester abroad. Semesters 5 and 6 of the degree programme are particularly suitable for this. In addition to subject-specific competences, a study period abroad can also lead to the acquisition and deepening of:

Subject-specific foreign language skills
General foreign-language skills (language comprehension, conversation, etc.)
Organisational skills, through independent planning of everyday student life in international administrative and university structures
Knowledge about international study systems, as well as broadening one's own subject perspective
Intercultural competences

Examinations and assessments taken during studies abroad can be approved by the Director of Studies as equivalents to compulsory subjects, elective sujects or free elective subjects required by the Mozarteum University for your degree course. The documents required for the approval procedure are to be submitted by the applicant immediately after their exchange semester.

Details at International Affairs.

Information on the admissions process

A prerequisite for admission to the Bachelor's degree programme (BA) is passing an audition, for which applicants must register online via Muvac.

PLEASE NOTE: Applicants can only apply for degree programmes for which they have not yet obtained a degree!

Applicants are then invited to an on-site audition, which consists of several partial examinations.

The steps necessary for registration are detailed below. Applicants who have already studied at an Austrian university should start with step 3.

1. Create a basic account in MOZonline
2. Once in the MOZonline account: fill in the mandatory statistics UHstat1 (pre-registration for studies) and make a note of the application number that is sent by email upon submission of this information.
3. Create an application account in Muvac
4. Fill out your own profile in Muvac (minimum requirements: personal data, information on expertise matching the desired degree programme, in the CV: current employment and information on previous training)

During the application period:

5. Select your desired degree programme in Muvac (Browse -> Studies)
6. Fill out the application form in Muvac ("Apply now"), being sure to enter your application number (see step 2) or Austrian matriculation number in the appropriate field

Detailed instructions with screenshots can be found here.
Please take a look at the FAQs about registration in Muvac if you get stuck at any of the steps.

Communication during the application process takes place via Muvac or email, depending on the degree programme. Please ensure that you can be contacted at the email address entered in your profile throughout the entire application process and regularly check whether you have received any new messages in Muvac. You can set your own profile to inform you of any new messages in Muvac by email (Account settings -> Notifications).

If your contact details change, please update your profile yourself.

Online registration during the application period via the application portal Muvac (Please note: Registration is only possible if all required information and documents have been submitted!)
Once the online application has been processed: invitation to on-site audition. The invitation will be sent via Muvac.
The invitation to audition on-site must be accepted or rejected in Muvac; information on the audition programme in the principal study must be provided if required by the instrument/degree programme in question
participation in the on-site audition
Upon passing the audition and being offered a place: invitation to enrol in the degree programme
Enrolment (in person) during the general admission period

The repetition of composite parts of the audition in case of failure is not permitted; the audition can only be repeated in its entirety and only in the next academic year. The audition can be repeated an unlimited number of times.

The programme presented must include pieces typical of the organ repertoire from several styles or periods, taking into account technical and stylistic diversity. The following must be prepared:

Three complete works from different stylistic periods, one of which must be by J.S. Bach
Sight-reading

Examination in basic knowledge of general music theory (written and oral), including an aural test.

Requirements in the written part of the examination (approx. 60 minutes):

•   Notation of melodies from memory
•   Continuation of given melodies
•   Composing a short melody to a given text
•   Noting down one-part and easy two-part melodic dictations as well as rhythmic dictations
•   Forming all triads and seventh chords including inversions (especially dominant-seventh chords in root position and 3rd inversion)
•   Recognising and notating simple figured basses as well as harmony functions and harmony steps in a musical context

Requirements in the oral part of the examination (5-10 minutes):

Sight reading
Recognising and naming intervals and simple chord progressions
Singing triads (in inversions) and dominant seventh chords (in root position only)
Identification of harmonic steps and dissonant neighbour notes
Performing an extended cadence in major and minor in two different keys (on piano or guitar)

Sample exam questions and further help for preparation can be found HERE.

Audition lasting approx. 10 minutes. The following works must be prepared:

an etude by Cramer or Czerny: Art of dexterity
a three-part invention or a work of comparable difficulty by J.S. Bach
a moderately difficult classical sonata movement (e.g. Haydn or Mozart)
a moderately difficult, shorter work of the Romantic or Modern period

All applicants whose first language is not German must prove their German skills by the time of enrolment at the latest.

Required language level: at least A2 (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages GER 2001)
Information on the approved language certificates can be found HERE

Exam A - Instrumental audition to determine artistic aptitude: 3.6.2025
Exam B - Music theory & aural skills: 5.6.2025
Exam C - Elementary piano: 5.6.2025
Exam D - German language skills: certificate (to be presented upon enrolment)

overview of all current entrance exam dates

Please note that the Mozarteum University Salzburg offers various support options at the time of your audition and during your studies if you have a disability or a chronic illness.

If this applies to you and you would like to take advantage of counselling, please contact Claudia Haitzmann: claudia.haitzmann@moz.ac.at or +43 676 88122 337.