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    Mastering the Orchestra Audition
    Mastering the Orchestra Audition
    Mastering the Orchestra Audition
    Ebook130 pages1 hour

    Mastering the Orchestra Audition

    By Roger Frisch

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    About this ebook

    This detailed packed e-book, will walk you through every aspect of the audition process for your upcoming orchestral audition. Included is a 6-week step by step guide, how to find openings and invaluable audition tips. Also included are the Most Common Excerpts asked in orchestra auditions for all the instruments of the orchestra Plus the invaluable, extensive section on how to cope with Performance Nerves.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRoger Frisch
    Release dateFeb 17, 2017
    ISBN9781520633503
    Mastering the Orchestra Audition
    Author

    Roger Frisch

    Associate Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, Roger Frisch received his early musical training from his father, longtime Associate Concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, studying with Henry Meyer of the LaSalle Quartet, and a master’s degree from Indiana University, where he studied with the renowned pedagogue, Josef Gingold. Prizewinner of the Hermann Violin Competition and the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition, Frisch enjoys a wide-ranging career as soloist, chamber musician, pedagogue and orchestral player. Frisch frequently appears as soloist with orchestras in this country and in Europe. His solo repertoire with orchestras in the past few years has included repertoire from Modern to Baroque: Korngold Concerto, Lark Ascending, Brahms Double Concerto, Dvorak Romance, Mozart Symphonie Concertante, Vivaldi Four Seasons, Bottesini Duo Concertante, Arvo Paart’s Fratres, along with many others. He made his Carnegie Hall solo debut with orchestra in April 1992 and during the 1994-95 season Mr. Frisch was Concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony. He will be performing both the Scottish Fantasy by Bruch and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 by Bach during the summer of 2012 at the MasterWorks Festival in Indiana. A dedicated chamber musician, he was a founding member of the Minneapolis Artists Ensemble with which he recorded a number of 20th century chamber works in addition to a highly acclaimed recording of the Hummel Quintet. Since 1997 he has performed extensively throughout the United States and the country of Ukraine with the Kairos Trio, with flutist Michele Antonello Frisch and pianist Herbert Johnson. The Kairos Trio is dedicated in their performances to combining the performance of classical music along with the sharing of their Christian faith. In 2007 and again in 2008 he traveled to China for concerto appearances with orchestras in addition to recital performances, master classes and meetings with Christians in the underground churches. Mr. Frisch has recently revised and reissued his book: “The Orchestra Audition: How to Prepare” available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon and other book sellers. As a sought-after coach of young musicians auditioning for professional symphony orchestras, he frequently gives seminars around the country addressing the techniques of audition preparation. Mr. Frisch spends summers performing at a variety of music festivals. Along with a recent appearance at the MasterWorks Festival as soloist, he has appeared as violin soloist and faculty member at the Rocky Mountain Summer Conservatory and for five seasons was Concertmaster and solo violinist with the Wintergreen Music Festival in Virginia. He is presently on the faculty of Northwestern College, St. Paul, MN.

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      Book preview

      Mastering the Orchestra Audition - Roger Frisch

      PART I. FINDING YOUR AUDITION

      How to find available positions

      There are some old tried and true ways to find auditions, namely The International Musician magazine and the European version, Das Orchester magazine. I’ll go into detail on both of these in a minute. But first, since this book was originally published, many more options for finding openings have emerged online.

      1. One source of openings around the world is www.orchestraplayers.com. Orchestraplayers lists openings from all countries. The navigation on the far left of the home page allows musicians to search by instrument. This site often offers many details regarding the specific position, including salary.

      2. Auditioncafe.com is another wonderful source for openings around the world, as well as helpful tips and other useful information. The site is cleverly designed and easy to use.

      3. Of course, you also can simply use Google.com, Bing.com or another search engine and enter orchestra auditions in the search window.

      The more traditional ways to find openings

      The best and most comprehensive place to find current openings for symphony orchestras in the United States is from the American Federation of Musicians monthly magazine, The International Musician. You will automatically receive it if you join the union, which you can do by going to www.afm.org and looking for the listing of locals. Each local varies as to the initiation cost and annual dues, but you can expect to pay an average of $100 for the combined federal and local union initiation fee and an average of $100 to $200 per year in annual dues. Joining the musicians union gives you many benefits such as contracts, collective bargaining, pension, health insurance and instrument insurance.

      If you are not a member of the musicians union, you could always stop by your local union office to read their copy of the magazine or borrow a copy from a colleague who is a member. Orchestras of all sizes advertise openings in this publication, usually allowing two to three months’ notice before the actual audition. You’ll want to find out:

      Position(s) available

      Audition date

      Start date

      Salary/benefits

      Length of performance season

      Résumé/application due date

      Contact information

      If you are looking for openings in your specific area, you might also want to get a copy of your local musicians union publication, available at the local union office or from a member.

      Openings in European orchestras are most often advertised in Das Orchester, a monthly publication of the German orchestra musicians union. You can often find this magazine in university music school libraries or subscribe at www.dasorchester.de. There is an option in the upper right of the home page to display the site in English.

      Letter of interest

      Your initial communication with an orchestra will probably be an email to the contact person listed in the notice of the opening. If you feel more comfortable doing this by mail, it is perfectly acceptable. Remember: This is your first impression, so treat it like it may be the ONLY one. As in every step in the audition process, the impression you make here needs to have a positive impact. Your letter should be short – only a few sentences – while reflecting your enthusiastic interest in the position. Unlike a business format cover letter, save your detailed professional credentials for your resume.

      A suggestion from the Minnesota Orchestra personnel manager, Kris Arkis: Double check the spelling of the name of the contact person you are sending the letter to, and make sure you have the gender of the contact person correct. It’s hard to make a good impression with a letter or email with the contact person’s name spelled incorrectly, or addressing a woman as Mr. or vice versa. If in doubt, look up the person’s gender online.

      Here is an example of a letter of interest to the orchestra:

      Ozzie Piper

      432 56th Way

      Fort Wayne, Indiana 34221

      Opiper245@gmail.com

      Joan Smith, Orchestra Personnel Manager

      Montana Philharmonic Orchestra

      1234 Noteworthy Way

      Pleasantville, Montana 35221

      audition@montanaphil.com

      Dear Ms. Smith,

      I would like to apply for the Associate Principal Flute position with the Montana Philharmonic. I have many years of experience as an orchestral and chamber musician, as well as soloist. Please refer to my attached resume for more details as well as my contact information.

      I would like to request the audition excerpts and application at your earliest convenience.

      Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to receiving further information for the upcoming audition.

      Sincerely,

      Ozzie Piper

      Professor of Flute

      Stanton College

      Preparing your résumé

      Almost every orchestra requests a résumé before inviting you to attend an audition. Take care that your résumé is easy to understand and accurate. A poorly organized and sloppy résumé can make you look like a poorly organized and sloppy musician. Be honest and don’t exaggerate your qualifications; the people who will be looking at this document usually can sniff out embellishments. If you are early in your career and don't have multiple years of experience, resist the temptation to pad the résumé with non-professional activities and accomplishments.

      Unless a form is provided by the orchestra, include your résumé. Check for spelling and grammatical errors and avoid any distracting fonts. This is a business document, not an advertisement, so resist the urge to be too creative here – you will have a chance to show your artistic side later, once you are accepted to audition. If you need help with the format, consider using a résumé template. If you are using Microsoft Word, go to FILE then NEW, and

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