Most young college students, as entering freshmen in our universities, are only beginning to formulate career goals. Some flounder even until their undergraduate study is completed and now facing a Masters program, their curriculum choices must be more specific. This is not true however with the budding young professional musicians. These young students have already spent 10 to 15 years studying their instrument, taking weekly lessons, preparing recitals and impromptu performances. Now as entering freshmen, these young musicians are just kicking it up another notch, practicing up to eight hours a day just in preparation for their weekly lessons — such is the competition they are facing.
One would think such preparation for a career would automatically lead to great rewards with the promise of a secure position and financial benefits. This of course is not the case in any field, however, there are certainly more opportunities in business. As a University Professor for 42 years, it became very clear to me that freshmen music majors entering my studio have a great love of music, display promising musical talent, and have no other specific career goals. At this point little thought is given to earning a living as a musician; they found success at a young age and continue to pursue their hearts desire.
With this in mind, let's consider what I call the Ultimate Interview. This chapter of my book deals with the long and arduous process of obtaining a tenured position in a major symphony orchestra. There are few if any job interviews that cover such a long period of time with enormous expense borne by the applicants. With as many as 300 candidates applying for one position, the likelihood of a young musician even being invited to audition in person is small. Students begin developing their audition skills even as undergraduate students, auditioning for places in their school bands and orchestras eventually reaching out to the community and actually securing paid positions in the area. They also participate in mock auditions to hone the skills of stepping on stage and performing in public with one chance to get it right. What can be accomplished with such ease in a practice room takes on an entirely new perspective when performing in public. The experience of rehearsing and playing concerts in school bands and orchestras would seem to offer confidence when taking an audition. But when the security of playing with dozens of your colleagues in these musical groups is now reduced to one person on a stage playing for a committee of your peers, knees become weak, a cold sweat may break out, hands shake, lips tremble, and fear sets in — we call this stage fright! Many talented musicians have had to forgo careers as professional musicians because of the inability to remain calm and in control when taking auditions. Those finding success in moving into the final phase of auditions will reach out further and further in the community, travelling to nearby cities or states to apply for positions in an orchestra— and adding valuable credits to their resumes along the way.
With this in mind, let's consider what I call the Ultimate Interview. This chapter of my book deals with the long and arduous process of obtaining a tenured position in a major symphony orchestra. There are few if any job interviews that cover such a long period of time with enormous expense borne by the applicants. With as many as 300 candidates applying for one position, the likelihood of a young musician even being invited to audition in person is small. Students begin developing their audition skills even as undergraduate students, auditioning for places in their school bands and orchestras eventually reaching out to the community and actually securing paid positions in the area. They also participate in mock auditions to hone the skills of stepping on stage and performing in public with one chance to get it right. What can be accomplished with such ease in a practice room takes on an entirely new perspective when performing in public. The experience of rehearsing and playing concerts in school bands and orchestras would seem to offer confidence when taking an audition. But when the security of playing with dozens of your colleagues in these musical groups is now reduced to one person on a stage playing for a committee of your peers, knees become weak, a cold sweat may break out, hands shake, lips tremble, and fear sets in — we call this stage fright! Many talented musicians have had to forgo careers as professional musicians because of the inability to remain calm and in control when taking auditions. Those finding success in moving into the final phase of auditions will reach out further and further in the community, travelling to nearby cities or states to apply for positions in an orchestra— and adding valuable credits to their resumes along the way.
The entire auditioning process for a major orchestra is outlined in detail in my book. What I would like to present now is an overview of this process. Openings in major orchestras around the world are found in The International Musician, the newsletter of the American Federation of Musicians. Audition committees will then scan the applications looking for 30 to 60 people to invite to perform in person. Candidates that are accepted will have to pay their own travel, hotel, and food expenses to participate. The process begins with a series of preliminary, semifinal, and final auditions— most behind a screen. It is not a small feat to continually perform these excerpts round after round to advance into the finals. At this level a wrong note, careless rhythm, slip of intonation, rushing the tempo, missing a dynamic marking, unclear articulations, or poor phrasing can end your audition. Imagine flying halfway across the country, sleeping in a hotel, waking in the morning and going to the hall for your preliminary audition of 10 to 15 minutes and not passing the first round. What can be more discouraging!
Unknown to those not familiar with this process, rarely is a candidate chosen as a winner from such an audition. Possibility 2 or 3 finalists will be selected. The conductor may decide to hear each one play a full week of concerts with the orchestra during the next season. This of course may take many months. The music director and audition committee will then decide if any of the finalists are qualified to be offered the position— if not the entire procedure begins again. If one person is selected, that person then proceeds to perform with the orchestra for two full seasons as a probationary member. At the end of each year, the committee again votes to decide if the person is satisfactory. If the committee votes yes, then the conductor decides if that person is satisfactory. Only then, is musician offered a tenured contract with the orchestra.
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