Don't Underestimate Audition Preparation

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.

You know...later.

But then, something always came along that was more interesting and more important. So I kept putting it off. And then, bang! It was crunch time, and I had no idea what to do.

Because I didn't know what I didn't know, I underestimated the challenge.

This is pretty normal. Hindsight is 20/20, but the future is...blurry. Here's something that's clear to me now—the same way I was looking at Excel spreadsheets is how my students are looking at auditions. They're saying "I'll worry about that later."

I can tell you from experience, this doesn't work out. The people who cram are not the people who win. Why? Because auditions are more complex, more detailed, and much more difficult than people realize.

Who does win? It's the people who've been working at this for a few years (or more). Just like you, most of them crammed for their first audition and hoped it would be enough. After a few (or many) failures, they took a closer look at their preparation, found a coach, and got serious.

Learning things well (like excerpts) takes a lot of time. And if you want to win an audition, I’m sorry to have to tell you that you are wasting time right now if you are not working on your audition prep today.

So whether or not you sign up for my class on audition preparation, I want you to think about what you are doing TODAY to prepare for auditions in 2025 and beyond.

Think about it. And then click the button below so I can discuss your plans and add any pointers.

Or you can do it later. (But you probably shouldn’t if you are serious about this orchestra job stuff.)