Singapore Symphony Audition


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Posted by Brian Frederiksen on March 08, 2004 at 10:41:27:

Micky asked me to post this under the Singapore thread. Problem is I was at a horn show all weekend and decided to take a weekend off from the computer so it's a bit late.

Here it
is............................................................................................................................
While it certainly may seem like a bum deal not getting invited to the dance, consider that they are not holding auditions JUST for the tuba position. They are, in fact, auditioning for several positions. For whatever reason, they have allotted themselves X number of days (with X numbers of hours allotted in each day) in a given city to hear hopeful candidates. It might be a good idea to try and understand where they are coming from......seek first to understand 1)Unless you have actually SAT through auditions on the other side of the screen, you can't possibly know how long can you can actively and attentively listen to Clarinet players dropping a beat in Daphnis et Chloe, or Trombone players air ball Bolero in one day before you start to see dead relatives.
2)If the traveling committee is comprised of members of the orchestra, they have OTHER obligations that they cannot fulfill while they are out globetrotting.
3)Those same people also, probably, have families, and while it would be perhaps "better" or "more fair" to everyone if they could allow several days at each city to hear all the applicants, it is not so "fair" to the committee or their families--"Sorry dear, I can't be at your birthday party, daddy needs to listen to "The Ride of the Valkyries". Little girl--"Daddy, what's a Valkyrie?" Thus, another fan of Muzak is born....
4)The orchestra probably has criterion, or mandatory minimums, that they adhere to for auditions. Once the audition billets are filled, or partly filled, they may look beyond those minimums to fill the remaining audition times. In order to keep things as on the level as possible, they probably assigned any open slots to people on a "first come- first served" basis.
5){for Craig}......TIME. You can digest a resume in about 30 seconds. You have to LISTEN to a tape.
6){for Craig}What should you put on your resume to get out of the first grease trap? Only the truth. Nothing else. Again, look at it from THEIR perspective. Yes, you want to give everyone an opportunity to get the job.
But you have limited time. WHAT do you do? You separate wheat from the chaff. HOW do you do it? You look at the resume. What is the first thing you will probably look for? Work experience. WHY? Because you want someone who can move into your vacant position with as little a blip on the radar screen as is possible. Example:"'So and So' from XYZ Conservatory has chops to burn but hasn't been invited because they haven't held a position in an orchestra. If they had invited, they CERTAINLY would have won it!
They can play CIRCLES around anyone else who shows up!" Well, maybe so.
But consider this- While they may have been to XYZ Conservatory, and played excerpts everyday with a trombone section of their buddies, and done recitals and competitions galore, what do the people reviewing the resumes have to show them that they are real team players? What do they have to show them that this person is flexible, easy to work with, and someone who will CONTRIBUTE to the organization? Even though it can be an incorrect assumption to make, that someone is all those things simply because they have held a position in one or two regional orchestras, it is PROBABLY a safer gamble than someone with no such experience.
7)They aren't only auditioning in the US. So, maybe someone who DOES have a job already, somewhere else, will audition for it. The circle continues...
8)Don't knock it 'til you try it. Living in a foreign country isn't for everyone. But for some, it is just what they need. It can give you an opportunity to learn about another culture and learn about yourself. It's all what you make of it...be "response-able".

Micky "who majored in things unmentionable, instead of tuba performance, but has, nevertheless, been invited to a few dances" Wrobleski




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