There is nothing more stressful, demoralizing, and soul-sucking than an orchestral audition

Dear Alma,

I flew to Europe for a concertmaster audition at a major international orchestra. 

Half a dozen of us waited our turn. 

To my astonishment, two were called forward and left. We were told they had been upgraded to the final shortlist without having drawn a bow across strings. Is this normal practice?

Disgruntled

Dear Disgruntled,

There is nothing more stressful, demoralizing, and soul-sucking than an orchestral audition. It’s not only the tremendous about of practice, it’s the money (combination of turning down work to practice as well as the travel an accommodation to the audition), and the inability to be free musically. It’s like we practiced our whole lives to develop our opinions, our musical stamp, and now we have to remove all of those opinions one by one, until we are an empty shell of a zombie.

Everything you play has to be entirely perfect, devoid of your own personality, and following the bottomless pit of rules that change ever so slightly from orchestra to orchestra.

By the time you get to the audition, you nerves are frayed beyond recognition, like your skin has been peeled away and you are scrubbing yourself with a piece of sandpaper.

Disgruntled – every job interview has its own set of rules. We can’t know for sure what the backstory is of your particular audition, and it’s not really any of our business. Here are some possibilities, some of which I have seen. People can be passed forward if they are members of the orchestra, or have made the finals before. It’s up to the orchestra, there are no universal rules for this particular point, as far as I know.

In the end, our job is to show up and play our best, retaining our pride in our hard work and determination. Stay true to yourself, keep your nose to the grindstone, and you will find your place.

Questions for Alma? Please put them in the comments section or send to DearAlmaQuery@gmail.com

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