On Taking Auditions

I have been asked lately several times in person and by E-mail about auditions and what philosophy to take about auditions and horn students. The answer divides into three sub topics.

When to start taking professional auditions

1. The first and foremost reason to start taking auditions is because there is a job open that you want to win. I am really not into the “taking an audition for experience” thing. You are wasting your own time in addition to the time of everyone else concerned. Auditions are something you take seriously with the idea of playing your best because you want to win the job.

2. Another reason to start taking auditions is because you have at least most of the excerpts you need to learn worked out well. Your underlying technique is getting there and your knowledge of excerpts is growing. If you are not making progress in this area, think about changing schools or teachers.

3. A final element to start is you have at least a bit of a resume going, you have worked with some good teachers and have done some good work where you are. Be sure to show your resume to mentors before you mail it out, it will need a lot of editing.

When to keep taking auditions

1. If you still think you can do better on the next audition, keep trying.

2. Playing your excerpts for a number of different teachers is really of value at this point. What happens is that your playing may be exactly like one person wants but it ends up being not at all what another wants. In this time frame you have to be figuring out how to hit that “average” performance that most people will like.

3. Related to that, try to keep performing the works that come up on auditions as much as you can. In this respect it may be to your advantage to be in school, but summer festivals and community groups can be great resources. What you learn is over time you can begin to sound like you really know the excerpts, you get beyond an etude-like rote-learning version and can begin to really make music.

4. And keep working on that resume.

When to stop taking auditions

1. You probably won’t win your first audition. It takes a few tries to get the feel for how it works and how to get your chops the best for that moment on stage. Plan on at least 5-10 serious tries to win a job. If you have not advanced by then, you need to re-tool your playing and seriously examine why you are not advancing. And fix the problems.

2. Life does catch up with you at some point. Personal and financial concerns are something to really consider. To win a job you need to be 100% serious about the audition. In this respect it does help actually to go to a less expensive school as a student, you will not be nearly as in debt. Students don’t often think ahead that far and it cuts short their audition career.

3. Finally, there is a point where you know you have practiced for example Tchaik 5 as many times as it is possible to practice it in one lifetime without winning a job. Exactly when that point comes will vary from person to person but by about the time you hit 20 serious auditions you are certainly getting toward that point.

It is a big topic for sure with no clear answers, but for sure to win a job requires very careful preparation with good teachers and mentors. Good luck!