Let me ask you guys something. I need an opinion, here....

My college audition is next week. I was a bit overzealous in picking reperotoire. I have a snare, 4-mallet, and timpani solo that are pretty much solid. I was trying to prepare the first movement of the Creston Concertino, but I don't think it's going to happen within the next week. Unfortunately, I don't have any other 2 mallet solos prepared. I could easily prepare one-two pages of it, and just play that. Is that considered appropriate - or looked down upon? If it's alright, what page should i go for? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I don't think that it is a great idea to play only a part of a piece for an audition, especially when you've already got three pieces prepared aside from it, with one of them being a mallet solo. Just my opinion.

As far as auditioning with an excerpt of a piece, I would say it depends on the schools you are auditioning for, and how well you play the excerpt. I was overzealous myself in choosing a mallet piece for auditions and tried to whip Musser's Etude in Ab in shape over the span of a month, with only a xylophone to practice on (I wasnt taking private lessons either). By the time the auditions rolled around I could only play a portion of it. I think that the faculty I auditioned for were more put off that I had no real knowledge of the piece and played it at a much slower tempo than written. I think as long as you find a portion of the Creston that shows off your ability, and play it well, you should be fine, especially with all your other material. Hope my bad experiences can help you have better ones! Good luck!