US auditions

I just wanted to put my own two cents worth in here. I found it to be ridiculous that the St. Louis audition required you to play the Bach B-minor Mass solo and then the low horn passages from Heldenleben right in a row. WHEN DOES ANYTHING LIKE THAT EVER HAPPEN IN A REAL LIFE ORCHESTRA SITUATION? That whole list looked bizarre to me. I mean, I have been playing in a symphony for over 20 years now, and I am continualy surprised at the silly audition process. I remember once in Indianapolis (I think...) years ago, I had to walk out, play Mahler 3 (the unison octave high bit in the first movement), totally alone in an unknown acoustic. The reality of that passages is completely different, where one has been playing already for about 15 minutes, used to blowing loudly in tune and in rhythm, "in sync" with 8 other players. Anyway, then they wanted me to play the solo from Ravel's Pavane. Like that'll ever happen in real life!! Following that I blasted through Beethoven 7 and then tip-toed through Mozart 40th. I ended this bizarre "surreal" situation with the low bit at the end of the 1st movement of the Shostakovitch 5.

That was weird.

Needless to say, they didn't hire anyone that day. Wonder why?

On the other hand, when I auditioned for the New York Philhamonic and the London Symphony a while back, I was given tons of time and played long stretches from works like Symphonic Metamorphosis and Mahler 9. I felt I could really show what I had to offer.

I have to say, coming from the European side of things, an audition in the US sounds like about as much fun as having a root canal done. Not that they are a picnic anywhere, but I have always hated the cattle call atmosphere. A couple of times I have been the victim of the mass warm-up room myself. I also did an audition in Barcelona and remember the painful cacophony (can it be that we were at the same audition, Rob? In 1996?) Since then, I have been able to create audition lists for the Flemish Radio Orchestra, and I try to make sure three elements are present: 1) the audition repertoire should reflect the current orchestral season, 2) different styles and ranges/demands should be represented, and most importantly, 3) less is more. I have never put together one of these monster rep lists with 30 excerpts or whole symphonies - where possible, I indicate the measure numbers or which passage we want to hear. After all, we want to find the best candidate who fits well in our ensemble, and we want to give the best players the best chances of succeeding. To come back to that Barcelona audition, I seem to remember they sent out a packet of excerpts that was over 80 pages long. Give me a break! It's usually not the best orchestras who do this, more often the 2nd and 3rd tier ensembles who seem to want to prove something by blizzarding you in silly excerpts.

But that's just my opinion!

and it was quite a memorable audition for me. Since I took both the 3rd and 4th horn auditions, I had even more music to learn! After the first audition I started to become sick from food poisoning and had a terrible second audition (both 3rd and 4th were on the same day). I also left my mute in the audition room and David Thompson was so kind as to bring it to the States and make sure it got returned to me nearly a year later (thanks David!).

Another thing I remember from that one was a girl finishing playing her audition, returning to the warm-up room in quite a state and vowing to quit the horn. Auditions can be mean animals.

Robert Douglass

visit me at http://www.robshouse.net

Greetings to all who are here. I came to the site as I had been advised that there were some pejorative statements regarding our orchestra or our auditions which I might wish to rebut. Well, while I certainly hate to think that Barcelona would stand out in my colleagues’ memories as one of their worst audition experiences, having now read the comments here I don't altogether disagree with most of what has been said. It is perhaps telling that the memory of an audition is quite a bit sharper for the person who played it than it is for the person who sat on the committee, and I don't recall in great detail the circumstances of that audition in 1996. I have sat on too many committees since then, and I think Alzheimer's is setting in... That audition would have been before the orchestra moved - in 1999 - to the new performing arts center, and so presumably that audition was held at the old Palau de la Musica. That modernista (which ironically means 100-year-old) hall is a work of art - and in fact a popular tourist attraction - but has lousy backstage facilities, and it was impossible to provide adequate warm-up facilities. There were only a couple of extremely live rooms (one aptly nicknamed "the swimming pool") which were sufficiently out of earshot of the stage. If that was one of the auditions that we had to hold down the street at the Casal del Metge chamber hall, even worse. The same backstage issues, plus a predictable earthquake in the hall every three minutes or so as the subway trains rumble beneath. Fortunately, those problems have been resolved now that we are in a modern – if generic – hall, with proper individual and sound-proofed warm-up facilities.

As to the huge stack of parts, that was, I'm afraid, the result of a bit of a difference of philosophy between me and the librarian at the time (who has since moved on to greener, or at least different, pastures). When I arrived in Barcelona, I inherited certain traditions with respect to our auditions - including the complete Strauss 2 being obligatory for all positions - which I have not chosen to change, for the very simple reason that they have served us quite well. But that is a discussion for another day.
One tradition that I thought could go by the wayside was that the orchestra would mail out copies of everything on the list to any candidate who signed up for the audition. Personally, when I am looking for a qualified, experienced player I like to be able to ask a variety of works, not only to observe a variety of styles, etc., but also to see how well-trained and generally knowledgeable the player is. If it were an acceptable practice to do so, I wouldn't even bother with a list, but would rather just say "second round - playing of a selection of excerpts from the standard orchestral literature". Honestly, if I ask you for Beethoven 7, Brahms 2, or Heldenleben, and you can't play anything in that part on the spot without any particular, specific preparation, I am probably not interested anyway. In fact, that is exactly how we run our exit exams at the conservatory here in Barcelona (but again, that is a story for another day). So, when I got here I kept, more or less, the audition lists that were in place when I arrived (which have probably 15 works or so for any given position) with just a few modifications, but I was not interested in specifying just one or two short passages from each work, since I wanted to know if the candidates knew the repertoire and were ready for the job, as opposed to having intensively drilled a few short excerpts. So, when the librarian insisted that I define the passages to be played, I basically put a bracket at the beginning and end of each work, and the librarian felt compelled to send out essentially the whole part for each work. My apologies to anyone who felt overwhelmed by the stack of paper that resulted, and to the trees which gave their lives for our horn auditions…

Finally, in response to Kerry's observation regarding priorities at U.S. auditions, I am in wholehearted agreement. There was a time a generation ago when most horn players in the U.S. seemed to live in fear of their “difficult” instrument and make accuracy their primary consideration in horn performance, orchestral and otherwise. I thought for a while that our generation was maturing beyond that approach, but in recent years I have again been getting the impression that the top priority for too many players - and too many juries - seems to be get the notes at all costs. Although I respect the craft displayed by such players, the results leave me cold. In a concert, an audition, or a competition, I will take the exciting player over the cautious player every time.

Best wishes,

David Thompson

The audition in Barcelona did a great deal to prepare me for later auditions, some of which I was to win. It also gave me the courage to actually perform Strauss II with an orchestra less than a year later - one of the most memorable performances of my career. While I can't speak for the girl who vowed to quit the horn that day in Barcelona, I would like to add that it was a positive experience for me.

I do wish I had a recording of the warmup room, though. I've never heard anything like it - those first 6 notes of the Strauss coming out of 15 horns continuously, nearly simultaneously...

Robert Douglass

visit me at http://www.robshouse.net

There is no doubt that the audition process is flawed but all of us must pass through this system on the way to an orchestral job. I think it could be helpful to frustrated musicians to look at the process from the other side.
As everyone is aware, the audition committee is made up of orchestra members and, in higher rounds, the Music Director of the orchestra. These people are hoping to find excellent candidates from which to select a colleague. This is our only look at someone that will be an integral part of our musical lives for many years. We have just a small window of time in which to learn how this person plays their instrument and performs music. In about five minutes of playing in prelims, we need a read on many musical styles as well as sound, rhythm, dynamics, and on and on. There needs to be a variety of tasks asked of the auditionee in order to give them the opportunity to show the committee their talents. The committee wishes to find the best player-musician for the job just as much as all the auditionees wish the chance to prove themselves in the orchestra on the job. It does not help to bemoan the situation other than to realize everybody is striving for the same goal – playing incredible music.(Please see "full version" for last paragragh)
Finally, I would like to point out some of what is disseminated on forums like this is not accurate. For instance, in the last Phoenix Symphony Principal Horn audition (2/05), the excerpt asked from the Schumann 3rd Symphony was in fact a section of the 4th movement and nothing from the 2nd movement. The committee also allowed the semi-finalists to play a couple minutes in Strauss’ Don Juan in order for them to show an extended look at what might actually occur on the job. At the end of the final round, the decision was to continue looking for that one musician who possesses all the attributes being sought. Not everything you read is factual and after a little commiseration, it would be best to go practice and audition or otherwise enjoy your life. Know that orchestras, such as the Phoenix Symphony, are searching for ways to make the audition process easier for auditionees and for finding fine players, which by the way, is how I happened upon your blog this morning. In real life, the orchestras are honestly looking for that talented, versatile musician that will flourish within the orchestra.