How To Audition For An Orchestral Job - a committee member’s perspective (part 2 of 2)

A day late, a dollar…gained. So, many rehearsals have conspired, but I'm back with part 2. Now that everyone who isn't auditioning has a better understanding of what an audition is, this might make more sense if anyone actually bothers to read it. C'es la vie.

So, after listening to all these people and combining it with the previous committees upon which I've sat and then mixing that in with my own audition preparation (successful and not) I've put together a list of things that I believe one must do to prepare. A quick Google search will lead one to a bunch of other such commentaries but this one is different, this one is very general and doesn't include things like "Record yourself and listen for where you might improve."

In no particular order, then:

• Learn your freakin' music, seriously, all of it. If you cannot start a piece and end a piece at the correct place then please do not even , even, even think about taking an audition.
• When you play your excerpts, please be certain that you are hearing the rest of the orchestra in your head. It will dramatically help your ability to count through the rests accurately. That's the half-second thing I mentioned.
• If taking the audition for only experience, be ready to win. I have seen many people who really need a job fail while those that are simply auditioning to learn how to do it walk away. If you cannot even possibly take a job (even if it means leaving school, you are likely studying for the job you just won, after all) then please don't do it. It is a tremendous waste of time for the committee.
• Orchestras almost always will play softer than you think they will, especially if you are coming from school. No evil comments about your school intendended, keep your coat on, sally. BUT it is true. School orchestras, even Juilliard, UMich, Rice, CIM, New England, whereever, do not push the soft envelope. They tend, however, to push the mezzo envelope. Not too loud, not too soft, not too fast, not too, well, anything. Accuracy is stressed, but not dynamics, especially soft dynamics. If you've already got a job, then I figure you already know this, but many don't. Build your reeds/technique, etc. to make a very wide dynamic range, especially toward the soft side. It will pay off. We eliminated a whole bunch of people because the Parsifal solos were too loud and/or, if played softly enough, unstable.
• Know when to and when not to use vibrato. Committees listen for the same things they would want to hear in the section and even though that line you're playing from the Bartok Concerto looks and sounds like a solo line, it ain't. There is a whole section playing with you and if you're vibrating through that it will make you sound like an, to use the new term, ass hat.
• Ditto with double-tonguing. Seriously, there must be enough of an overlap between your good fast single and your good slow double. While there is a bit of playing that gives you a choice, most of what you're playing in an audition is way standard and there is likely a preferred way to do it.
• Lastly, I suppose, don't over-warmup. Just don't. We know when you're tired. If you ain't got it by the time you fly out from home, you won't after playing six hours prior to your audition round. The fact that it takes you that many runs through the excerpt to make the technique feel comfortable is an indicator in the same way that a persistent headache is: something is fundamentally wrong. Seek help. Or, just work slower and more deliberately until you can play the damned excerpt cold, or at the most with a half-hour warmup. Even if you should fool the committee, there is always tenure later. Ever wonder why there are so many people who don't get it?