Here are some of the most commonly requested pieces at band/orchestra auditions. If you don’t have a good orchestral excerpts book, you should strongly consider buying one; these books contain most of the common excerpts, and save you from a) buying parts individually and b) searching for the solos. Some of the older orchestral parts are available for free (and legally, even!) from online sources like the Petrucci Music Library.
- Mozart Clarinet Concerto: various sections, but most often the beginning of the first or second movement
- Beethoven Symphony No. 6: solos from the first and second movements
- Brahms Symphony No. 3: solo in the second movement
- Mendelssohn, “Scherzo” from Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Rimsky-Korsakov,Capriccio Espagnol. Scheherezade is also frequently requested
- Schubert Symphony No. 8, second movement
If you’re interested in Eb clarinet, Berlioz‘s Symphonie fantastique is by far the most commonly requested piece – there’s an important solo in the fifth movement. For bass clarinet, Don Quixote by Strauss is essential, and Stravinsky‘s Rite of Spring is also a good choice.
Canadian Clarinet 