Conductors are Your Audience

This time of year the topic of seating auditions is a big one for college students. I do my best to help all students prepare for these auditions at ASU, and have over the years I believe done better with this each year.

Of course you want to play well, but one thing to keep in mind as you plan your performance is who you are playing for? Who is your audience? Your teacher?

In the case of ASU, while I am there to advocate for students in seating auditions, really you are playing for the ensemble directors. And not to add too much stress to the event, they have long memories so you want to make a good impression, either a good first impression or, if you are a returning student, the impression that you have made progress. You want in the audition not only to show that you are someone who has control of a variety of dynamics, is musical, plays in tune with good rhythm, and has a good tone but also you want to impress them as a reliable asset for their ensembles. Don’t keep them waiting around; arrive early, dress nicely, have any forms filled out in advance, greet them properly, etc.

Another thing that should be mentioned in relation to conductors and seating auditions is I find it interesting how ensemble directors can hear things just a bit differently from each other and from me. I have found at ASU they will tend to be in close agreement about the best and worst players but will rate those in the middle differently. As, really, it is all about how one weighs the positive and negative aspects of your playing on an individual basis. This is also to say that some things are just out of your hands. I have heard it said this way, you could be a great apple but if they are shopping for oranges that day you are not what they were looking for. Prepare well, do the best you can, but in the end just move on and do your best to make the most of your seating result and improve further.