Four strong recordings can still make an incomplete application. One might omit a required movement; another might show the hands beautifully while leaving the pedals out of view. Planning each school's submission before filming helps catch those problems while they are still easy to fix.
For Fall 2027 undergraduate classical piano performance, the three programmes compared here all require prescreening materials by 1 December 2026. The practical approach is to build one pool of well-prepared repertoire, then choose and package the recordings separately for each school.
Featured image: Charles Parker / Pexels.
What the three December submissions need
This comparison covers Juilliard's BM in Piano, Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music BM in Piano, and Eastman's BM Applied Music piano route. Music education, composition, jazz and graduate applicants have different requirements. The linked school pages give the complete rules and any exceptions.
Requirements checked 6 November 2026. On a phone, swipe the comparison sideways. Confirm the exact cutoff in each application portal and leave time for uploads to finish.
| School | Music for the prescreen | Recording and submission details |
|---|---|---|
| JuilliardBM Piano | A Chopin etude; a complete sonata from the permitted choices; and a substantial complete work by Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt or Mendelssohn. Beethoven Opp.14, 49 and 79 are excluded. Haydn, Mozart and Schubert choices are restricted to the school's list. Etudes, nocturnes, short dances and waltzes do not satisfy the substantial-work category. | Video with hands and feet visible. Memorised playing, with faculty-approved exceptions for some modern works. No concertos. Upload movements separately, label composer/work/movement, and place your strongest file first. No editing or added effects. |
| Indiana JacobsBM Piano | A prelude and fugue from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier; a complete Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven sonata; a technically substantial Romantic work; and a twentieth- or twenty-first-century work. | Memorised video through the JSOM Supplemental Application, plus a complete list of repertoire performed or studied. No editing, artificial echo or electronic reverb. The piano must be suitable and in tune. The BM repertoire is the same for prescreening and the later audition. |
| EastmanBM Applied Music: piano | At least 30 minutes of solo music covering three stylistic periods, including an Allegro movement from a Classical sonata and a virtuoso etude by a permitted composer. Check the etude exclusions: Chopin Op.10 Nos.3 and 6, Op.25 No.7, and Rachmaninoff Op.39 No.2 are among the slow examples the school rules out. | Each movement may be recorded as a separate, unedited track. The undergraduate recording instructions require recordings from the past twelve months, allow files up to 2 GB and explain Portfolio uploads. They specifically require video for final auditions. |
The table describes three different selections from an eventual audition programme. Copying one list into every application can conceal a missing category or an insufficient duration. Give each school its own list, with a place to record which take will fulfil each requirement.
Build a shared pool before choosing the uploads
Begin with the music you can already play convincingly, then compare it with the requirements. In November, that is a better starting point than replacing a settled programme with five new works simply because they appear in somebody else's example. Your teacher can help judge which existing pieces represent you well and where a real gap remains.
The following is an illustrative repertoire pool for that discussion. It demonstrates how the categories can overlap; it is not an approved programme or a prescription for an applicant's level.
| Bach | Prelude and Fugue in C minor, Well-Tempered Clavier I, BWV 847. Identify and prepare both parts of the pair. |
|---|---|
| Complete sonata | Beethoven, Sonata in F minor, Op.2 No.1. All four movements belong in the pool; the first is an Allegro. |
| Romantic work | Chopin, Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23. Keep this complete substantial work separate from the etude requirement. |
| Virtuoso etude | Chopin, Etude in C-sharp minor, Op.10 No.4. This supplies a distinct etude candidate for review with the teacher. |
| Twentieth century | Debussy, Estampes, complete. Account for all three pieces rather than treating the set's title as proof that every required recording is present. |
For Juilliard's prescreen, this pool supplies the Beethoven sonata, Chopin Ballade and Chopin etude. For Indiana, it supplies the Bach pair, complete sonata, Ballade and Debussy set. An Eastman selection could use the Bach pair, complete Beethoven sonata, Chopin etude and complete Debussy set: four stylistic periods, including the Classical Allegro and the etude. Check that the selected performances reach at least 30 minutes before treating that package as complete.
The timing check has to use your performances. An album's track duration cannot tell you how long your chosen take lasts, and a work's title cannot prove that a 30-minute minimum has been reached. Enter each file's actual duration, sum the music you intend to submit and check it against the school's instructions. Do this while there is still time to record another eligible selection.
A shared pool still needs to pass each school's individual checks. For example, a Schubert sonata would need a separate Indiana decision because Schubert is not named in its BM sonata category. If your strongest repertoire falls outside a stated choice, seek an answer from the school before building the application around an assumed exception.
A complete work can still need several files
“Prepare the whole sonata” describes the music. “Upload each movement separately” describes its delivery. For a four-movement sonata, both instructions can apply at once. Eastman’s general recording guidance separates individual requirements into unedited tracks unless a department says otherwise. Check each portal's instructions when arranging the files.
Keep one clear record of the source takes and a separate list of what each school will receive. A filename such as Beethoven_Op2No1_I_2026-11-12_take03.mp4 tells you considerably more than final-final.mp4. That is a useful personal convention; follow any naming rule the destination gives you.
Before selecting a take, record its work and movement, date, duration and the reason you chose it. A brief note such as “steady ending; right foot cropped” immediately distinguishes a musical decision from a filming problem. It also gives your next session a purpose: either improve the playing or fix the view. Our guide to listening usefully to recordings can help keep that review focused on the music.
Download the piano prescreening submission planner (CSV). It contains the example repertoire below, school links and blank columns for your actual files, timings and upload checks. Open it in a spreadsheet and replace the example music with your programme.
Reusing a suitable take can save work, but check it against every destination. A recent, unedited performance may still have the wrong framing, omit a movement or exceed a file-size limit. Re-exporting a file and splicing performances together are different operations. Keep the continuous source take intact and follow the school's recording rules when preparing its upload.
Film a view that survives the whole performance
A close shot of the keyboard may look attractive while leaving the pedal work outside the frame. A shot that works in the middle register can also crop a hand when the music moves to the ends of the keyboard. Check a short test before recording a full sonata.
Put the camera in a stable position and test the widest movements you will make. Look at the recorded image, including the bottom edge, rather than judging only from where the phone is standing. Check that the piano, bench or music stand does not obscure the required view.
Record a short passage that includes quiet and loud playing, then listen back for distortion, background noise and an audible beginning and ending. Solve room and recording problems before the performance. Retain the complete, unedited performance when preparing the file for upload.
Once the setup works, practise giving the complete performance it needs to capture. Our performance-practice guide explores the difference between repairing a passage and keeping a run-through going. Use both kinds of work, and decide which you are doing before pressing record.
Keep the later audition in the plan
Juilliard's later audition adds Bach and a contrasting choice to the prescreen categories and normally requires a programme of at least 45 minutes. Eastman's final BM programme also expands to complete works across its listed categories. Its complete-works policy allows selections from certain sets; check the conditions before choosing one movement. Both schools' detailed Juilliard and Eastman lists belong in your longer-term plan.
The format of that next stage also matters. Juilliard's Fall 2027 audition schedule places classical BM piano auditions in New York from 28 February through 5 March. Indiana lists January and February dates and a separate final-recording option. Eastman lists February on-campus dates and a 1 February final-recording deadline for approved remote applicants. Those later dates do not extend the December prescreen deadline.
A preparation calendar should therefore hold two milestones: what must be ready to submit now, and what must remain in playing condition for the next stage. Avoid polishing the December selections so exclusively that the rest of the programme disappears from your week. The practice-log guide explains how to keep a useful record of the next task without writing a diary essay after every session.
Use the remaining November sessions deliberately
For an applicant whose repertoire is already substantially prepared, a workable submission plan might look like this. The dates are illustrative working dates, not a promise that unfamiliar repertoire can be learned in the remaining weeks.
- By 10 November: settle the three lists. Check the exact degree and cycle with your teacher. Mark the complete works, required etude, missing movements and any exception that needs a school response. Create a separate list for each prescreen.
- By 17 November: review usable recordings. Inspect dates, framing and sound, measure the selected takes and identify which replacements are actually needed. Run the filming test before booking or using a longer recording session.
- By 24 November: build each upload package. Check every movement against the list, use the required file arrangement, and preview the files on the application system where possible. Finish the non-performance materials too; Juilliard's separate introduction video needs its own time.
- Before 1 December: confirm completion. Leave room for failed transfers or a file the portal cannot process. Check the application's own completion status and retain its confirmation. A file sitting on your computer is not a submitted prescreen.
If you prefer to keep the musical plan in an app, Practis, our web app, lets you make separate planned programmes using pieces from your collection, with dates and entered durations. For this example, three programmes can point to the shared repertoire while keeping the selections distinct. Keep the schools' requirements and submission confirmations with your application files; the diary supports your preparation.
At the next lesson, bring the three school lists and the recordings you think are usable. The productive question is specific: which required piece, movement or take still needs work before the application can be complete?
