August 26, 2008 by John Ericson

Archived under: Auditions, Deep thoughts

My Worst Audition


ASU has auditions for ensemble seatings for horn on Wednesday and Thursday. Most music students at colleges in the United States are now in the midst of similar seating auditions.

I have posted various things on auditions and performance success over the years. I wish I could say I always played at my best in auditions! But reality is I have had a variety of experiences like everyone else out there. I to this day still recall my first audition for ensemble seatings in college to be one of the worst auditions I ever took. It was for the director of bands at my undergraduate school. I don’t know why exactly it was so bad. I thought of myself being a good player but I put too much pressure on myself wanting to impress him in the audition, was very nervous, and I think I basically missed a lot of notes.

The main note would be, if things don’t go well in your seating auditions, pick yourself and try to figure out how to do it better next time. You will have good and bad days, and learning how to set up yourself for more good days is an essential skill you must learn over time.

JOHN ERICSON has wide-ranging experience as an orchestral player, soloist, and teacher.» About John Ericson » More articles » Horn Notes Edition » Contact

Related to this article


  • The Audience at Your Audition, Round by Round
    Several students are taking auditions now in the studio. Part of playing an audition well is knowing who you are playing for. For an entrance audition for a school the audience is the horn teacher. For an orchestral job, eventually you are playing for the conductor....
  • Stick With It
    I have had several students take professional auditions lately and have one general piece of advice: stick with it. While you have to go into any audition to try to win, audition preparation is in fact cumulative. You will be more consistent after several serious audition...
  • 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...
  • Keep Drilling the Accuracy
    While there is much to say for a good tone and musicality, one sad fact is that it is hard to be accurate on the horn–but we simply have to be accurate if we want conductors and audience members to get excited about our playing. Not...

Comments ()


My Worst Audition
Published on August 26, 2008 by John Ericson

Archived under: Auditions, Deep thoughts
John Ericson & Bruce Hembd
on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.