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For the final component of my auditions for some years now I have settled into a fairly simple and short sight-reading passage. For grad applicants I have them read the passage in F and then transpose it to a number of keys. It should be easy!
Public Service Announcement: Horns need to transpose well
In a way it is a gauge of what your teachers have valued and covered in lessons, and is also a gauge of if you have much orchestral experience.
But also, I do this to quantify better where you are in relation to the goals that you will likely express to me. Because …
Second PSA: Orchestral players must transpose well
Most applicants for grad degrees have serious interest in orchestral horn playing. Transposing well is a must. You can’t go to a gig and be fumbling around on a simple horn in D passage of the type I’m having you sight read.
This is another reason why you should not at all be using transposed parts at all in a grad audition. Looping back to the topic of Strauss 2 in an earlier part of this series, if you can’t play Strauss 2 from the Eb part maybe your Eb transposition should be better? Or, imagine how good your Eb transposition would be if you worked out Strauss 2 from the Eb part!
Aside: What about Mozart concerto horn parts?
The even less good thing I see often is using transposed parts for Mozart 2 or 4 in a grad audition. Of course, all of these things are not deal breakers but seriously, your teachers should be giving you honest feedback that includes a warning that you need to take off the training wheels and play from original notation parts only. It will pay off.
Aside: The topic of honest feedback
My final aside is that you do need to get some honest feedback from multiple sources to prepare a good audition. Feedback from people with enough experience to give you solid and helpful feedback toward a solid audition. Don’t prepare it on your own, thinking you can just revisit music from your recital or past lessons. No. The serious grad applicant needs to make things sparkle. With a final reminder that you goal out of the audition is to find a teacher who will give clear feedback and help you toward your goals. Good luck!
Conclusion: The future looks good
To close, I would like to end on a positive note. With the pandemic essentially over there should be a big uptick in auditions for good jobs in the horn world, as there have been a number of retirements and likely will be more in the next few years. It has been a tough few years for everyone, but those players ready for auditions will have some opportunities. It is a good time to be looking to improve yourself and to set some goals for your horn future. Good luck!
