My First Professional Orchestra Audition

Auditions.

This word has always scared me a bit. Even reading the word gives me a little pump of adrenaline, thinking about playing for evaluation. Yet, the idea of auditions has also always intrigued me. What can I do under pressure?

This summer, I decided to apply for a nearby orchestra audition, mostly because professional auditions are so far an untouched realm. I had some fear I needed to deal with. 

A week before my audition, I almost pulled out because my piccolo excerpts were not where I wanted them. I was imagining going into the audition room, starting, and stumbling all over my excerpts in embarrassment. 

Then, I centered and told myself, "Who cares if you stumble all over your excerpts? You're playing for a curtain. They don't know you and won't even remember who you are if you stumble. Go play anyway just to say you did!"

So I went. I showed up and checked in, surprisingly, in a parking garage underneath the performing arts center. I was directed to a warm up room with the other 18 flutists/piccoloists. ( You can imagine 19 piccolo players in one very echo-filled locker room! ) I brought my headphones in preparation for the mass warm up room and put them in. I switched between my favorite, relaxing Christian contemporary music, some tuning drones, and a metronome click. I had no control over anyone else's playing and wanted to stay centered in my own world. 

I was Flute #6 and soon enough, it was time for me to play: Brahms 4, Mendelssohn "Italian," Rossini Semiramide. Thankfully, the volunteers at auditions and competitions always seem to be friendly, with smiles on their faces that put me at ease. I played my excerpts, not perfectly. I walked out of the audition space feeling like the excerpts had gone not too bad, but not good enough to advance.

I sat outside the locker room space waiting for the results. Before the preliminaries had finished, the moderator came back and announced some finalists: "Flute 6." I had to ask again who she had said, and then processed it enough to realize, "I'm flute 6!" 

I sat around chatting with some flutists while we all waited on more results. I eventually wandered back into the acoustically live locker room to warm up for the next round. Before I knew it, the moderator came back and said, "It's time for the finals. You're first...are you ready?"

I answered, "Yes," and followed her back to the audition space.

"Flute 6...we liked your Rossini, but we would like to hear more dynamic contrast. Can you play the excerpt again, focusing on dynamic contrast and creating as beautiful a line as possible?"

I played the excerpt, and actually played a wrong fingering in the first measure because nerves got to me - oops! I just started over and played it fine. 

Next, the principal flute came from behind the curtain and we played Bartok Concerto for Orchestra and Prokofiev "Classical" Symphony. We played each excerpt twice, with me following her promptings of what she wanted me to do.

Again, I left feeling like I did not too bad considering it was my first audition. I looked around and realized there were only three flutists left, including myself. I was surprised! 

I didn't win the job, but I did get offered a substitute position with the symphony. I guess the moral of the story is, even if you are afraid to do something, just give it a try and do it anyway! The worst that happens is you make a few mistakes and leave with an experience. The best that happens is that you surprise yourself and go beyond your expectations.