Hi Robert, Although the circumstances and setting is rather different, my first successful audition was the second of two on the same day. The first was for English National Opera and involved playing the Hindemith Sonata (sans accompaniment) with Francis Bradley doing his best to upset me because he wanted the job for one of his pupils. I'm six foot and he was five two with his shoes on. He insisted on lowering the stand to his height and standing almost touching my bell. He then threw at me all the low horn solos from the Ring in H basso. I was angry but had to race across London to catch a train to Cardiff to audition for the BBC orchestra in Wales. Controlled anger makes me play better and I won the position - ending up as second horn.
Behind the screen? Never in the UK. Rounds one and two etc.? No. If they don't like you or your teacher - application and CV in the trash. Independent assessor? They used to come disliking the students of rival teachers. But the best make it and fortunately the system is better now. However, it is still possible to get a major job in London by invitation and without auditioning. Ralph R. Hall On 10 Aug 2011, at 18:48, Robert Ward wrote: > Hi all, > > Recently, I submitted this short piece of writing to The Sun > magazine for their monthly "Readers Write" pages. The topic was > "Rites of Passage" and although it was not chosen, I thought that > some of you might find it interesting to read. Hope you are all > enjoying this summer. > > **** > > It’s January, 1980. I’m squinting into the bright lights, standing > on the bare stage of the Opera House in San Francisco, trying to > make out the shapes of the committee seated in the audience that > will decide my fate. I’m gripping my horn, getting ready to audition > for a first-chair position in the San Francisco Symphony’s horn > section, and I have only two remaining rivals from a field that > started yesterday with 75 players from all over the United States. > An audition is the test that anyone who wants to play in a big-time > orchestra must pass, and how you play in those 15 minutes will > determine whether you become a member of an elite fraternity, or > return to a patchwork existence of uncertain freelance employment. I > try and clear my mind, willing myself to let go of what has come > before and keeping myself from imagining what my then 24-year-old > self cannot know about what lies ahead: a 30-year career, standing > ovations in the capitals of Europe, a circle of close friends and > colleagues, a complete Mahler Symphony cycle as first horn. > > It happens quickly, yet time is somehow elongated too. The Music > Director stands in front of me, uncomfortably close, and conducts me > alone in a prominent solo. I have to think fast to navigate a tricky > unexpected piece that they ask to try and trip me up (rhythm - it’s > all about feeling the rhythm, I say to myself, channeling my inner > metronome). My sound fills the hall with the power of Siegfried’s > Call, fearlessly waking the dragon. Then suddenly there is no more > music on the stand, I hear a smattering of individual applause, and > the three of us begin to wait together on couches in the Green Room, > awkwardly caught between camaraderie and competition. Only now does > my heart start to pound, wondering what the result will be, my mind > racing into the future. > > The wait seems interminable, but then - a knock. The job is mine. I > get handshakes and congratulations from the others, but their eyes > tell me what they are really thinking. I’m numb, hardly knowing what > to think, but later, back home in Denver standing under a > streetlight at the airport with the snowflakes gently falling as I > wait for a ride, I realize that everything has changed - the next > chapter is beginning and I wonder whether I’m ready. > > **** > > > Robert N. Ward > Principal Horn > San Francisco Symphony > [email protected] > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > post: [email protected] > unsubscribe or set options at > https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/ralph%40brasshausmusic.com Ralph R. Hall [email protected] Ralph R. Hall http://www.brasshausmusic.com _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
