Audition

     There hasn't been much knitting or blogging as of late, because my real life is getting in the way.  Playing an opera 90 miles away every other day with assorted concerts in between is bad enough, but on top of that, I'm trying to get ready for a couple of auditions.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the lives of professional, classical musicians, an audition is like a job interview on crack.  This is how it works...orchestras post ads for open positions in the Union paper (yes, there is a musician's union, but don't get me started on that), and on various websites.  If you spot an opening of interest, you send them a resume.  After reviewing the resumes, the orchestras invite some, most, or all of the people to come the audition.  It depends on the orchestra and they're all different.  People are always asking me if the orchestras pay for my travel etc. and the answer is no, they most certainly do not. 
     So after one is invited to an audition, and often before, there is practicing.  Lots and lots of practicing.  This is an example of a typical list of pieces a violist is expected to play at an audition.  That's maybe 15-20 minutes of music.  I have been working on those excerpts in excruciating detail for the last ten years or so.  Yes, I can play them, but in order to win the job (we call it winning), it has to be more or less perfect at the exact moment you're asked to play which I find to be nearly impossible.  After weeks, or sometimes months, of practicing a particular list, I get on a plane and fly to a strange city for said audition.  There are usually anywhere from 30 to 120 other violists there competing for just one job.  Right off the bat, the odds aren't good.  Most auditions have "rounds."  For the first two rounds, the committee (the people judging you) are behind a curtain and you can't see them and they can't see you.  This is actually kind of nice.  I find that I play better when I can't see the judges.  It also prevents the committee from judging people with their eyes instead of their ears which is a nice concept.  For the final round, the curtain usually comes down and everyone can see each other.  I consider an audition a success if I get the the final round, even if I don't win, though there have been times when I've felt that I've played well in the first round and I've been cut.  You just never know.
     Because violists tend to be friendly, fun loving folks, at the end of any audition, there is often drinking.  Sometimes I run into old friends and acquaintances at auditions, sometimes I make new friends.  At one audition in Detroit, I made a new friend after being cut in the first round and we headed down the street to the nearest watering hole to have a couple beers.  He must have won a job somewhere, because I haven't seen him since.  There are some people you see at every audition and others that you never see again.
     The most noteworthy post-audition experience for me, however, was in Portland in 2002.  I showed up to the semi-final round and was ushered into a big room full of violists waiting to get their numbers.  Some orchestras do it this way which sucks because if you draw a high number, you have to sit around biting your nails for hours before you play.  Anyhow, I walked into the room and saw my old friend David from Oberlin looking all grumpy in the corner.  I had a huge crush on David throughout our time at Oberlin and was psyched to see him, so I went right over to him to say hello.  He was in no mood to deal with me, so I left him alone.  Some people are like this at auditions.  They don't talk to anyone.  I find it relaxing to sit and chat with whoever is willing, so that's what I tend to do.  Anyhow, David drew number 1 or 2, so he left the room right away and I didn't see him again.  Later that afternoon, I got a call on my cellphone from him, and we made plans to have dinner.  After dinner, we made out in his rental car, and to make a long story short, David is now my husband, Bob.  Bob's real name is David, but I pretty much only call him Bob.  That is definitely a story for another day, because I have got to practice.  You just never know what will happen at an audition.      

Comments

[Beth]

I love that story - David is actually your Bob!!! That's wonderful.

Good luck on the audition(s).

[G$]

Isn't it true that sometimes orchestras don't even hire anyone even though people have flown in from all over the country to audition? It seems to me that they shouldn't post an opening unless they have one. I simply don't believe that an orchestra in need couldn't find one qualified violist among 30+ people auditioning. Then again, I imagine the judges are probably a little persnickety.

[Laura]

See, this post is why I love blogging. Seriously! It is so fun to learn these kinds of things about other people's work. Plus, that is a great story about you and Bob. Here's hoping you win the Fort Worth position and get to be much closer to your favorite violist. :)

[Courtney]

Yes, it is true that sometimes after all of that audition nonsense, they don't hire anyone. Detroit has done this several times. It's not that they don't have an opening, it's that they don't think anyone is good enough. On the flip side, some orchestras like two people but only have one job, so they choose one and call the other one the "runner-up" just in case the winner turns the job down or wins a better job before they begin employment. This has happened to me twice and I have my current position because I was second best.

[Amy]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing how it works (I know nothing about all orchestra dealings.) Good luck!

[Diana]

Crap! I was having a nervous breakdown just reading about the interview. Thank God I don't make a living as a musician!

[knitannie]

that is such a romantic story!

[Shalini]

Auditions do suck the big one. I think I may never take another one again. But I say that every year...

[Mary]

That does sound nerve-wracking! And memorizing all that music -- yikes!

What a fantastic story of how you and David-Bob got together -- I love it!

I wish you success in your audition!

[Kitty]

Hee. I have never really thought of the audition circuit as fertile dating grounds. That was a funny day, the day you called me up and said "Guess who I made out with?". Hooray for Bob! The problem with audition hook-ups is that you are going to end up with violist on violist relationships. No offense, but that gives me the shivers. For me. But I guess that is what makes me Kitty, and you a happily married Courtney.