What separates audition winners from the rest of the pack?
I have listened to hundreds of auditions almost every instrument. I can tell you that the musicians who win auditions don't just have technical command of their instrument; they have a compelling musical story for every excerpt they play.
Read MorePreparing for an orchestra audition is a lot more complicated than most people realize. If you don’t work with an orchestra pro, you’re missing out of some of the most important details.
Read MoreWhen you are gearing up for an audition, you have a lot in common with athletes preparing for the Olympics. Musicians spend a lot of time thinking about technique, artistic imagination, and mental focus. But they tend to forget that auditions are extremely physical experiences.
Read MoreNo matter how well you practice, if you haven't taken the time to understand the mental aspects of performance stress, you risk having all of your hard work hijacked on stage by destructive thoughts and emotions.
Read MoreMake sure that your technical practice is grounded in your interpretation of the piece. Keeping the artistic vision first and foremost in your mind will make your technical work more efficient AND more fulfilling.
Read MoreHave you ever had a teacher in grade school, or maybe a frustrated parent tell you to pay attention, stop daydreaming, and get back to work?
Read MoreHear me now and believe me later: great auditions require great organization.
Read MoreHave you ever been scrolling through your Instagram feed, wasting time, and you suddenly see that your "dream" orchestra is holding an audition in four weeks?
What?!? Can I get my act together by then?
Read MoreIt has been a long year, and the end of the semester or the season is finally in sight. I, for one, am having major wanderlust and cannot wait for the season to be over.
If you've taken an audition, you probably had these thoughts--was my 8 weeks of intense preparation worth it?
Have you ever played an audition, thought you sounded great, but didn’t get advanced to the next round?
Have you ever wondered what the audition committee is writing while you’re playing your audition?
When I graduated from college, I was not prepared to be out in the professional world. How was I supposed to navigate this?
Every new year, I feel a sense of excitement and energy, inspiring me to set big resolutions. I'm an organized person, and I usually succeed.
It’s always a bit eye opening when you realize that what you have been telling your clients to do is exactly what you should have been doing yourself.
Recently, I was working on my computer and had to create an Excel Spreadsheet. Full disclosure: I never learned how to put one together, much less read one. It was always something that I figured I would do when I had time.
A lot of people I talk to often tell me that they are playing well, but not advancing to the next round. They are frustrated and stalled because they are doing the best they can.
One of the questions I hear is whether or not musicians should memorize their audition excerpts.
Have you ever had certain thought or phrase stick with you for years and years? For me, it was the first time I played the opening movement of Prokfiev’s Romeo and Juliet.
Yesterday I was on an audition panel for the American Viola Society, which is holding its biannual meeting in Los Angeles at the Colburn School. The candidates were all still in college and not yet on the audition circuit. It was a great experience for those young violists to experience what a professional audition feels like.
