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Author: Johnny Galaga
Date: 2003-11-18 17:56
What's your best chair audition story ?
Mine was in my sophomore year of high school. At the end of my freshman year, I tried out for the Wind Ensemble, which was my high school's top performing band, and made it. I started out in Concert Band in my freshman year, which was the school's beginning, or "lowest" band, and sat 1st chair almost that whole year.
The clarinetists in Wind Ensemble were all juniors and seniors and were very good, way better than me, or so I thought. We only had 1 chair audition that year, and while we were waiting for the results, I played third part thinking that was what I would get. The better players seemed a little stuck up. They were typical rich kids.
Not having the money to buy my own instrument (unlike the others since this was a rather wealthy school even though I was not), I used a school instrument which was in lousy condition. This is what made the audition results so surprising.
One day I walked into the band room to get ready for rehersal. I was one of the first people in the room. No one knew the results were coming out that day. As I walked past the chalkboard, I noticed the results were posted on printed sheets of paper. Then I noticed my name was at the top of all the clarinets with the most points scored. I had gotten first chair ! I had beaten out the 3-4 people (who I thought were sort-of concieted) that I envied so much. Unbelievable. I was suddenly the top clarinetist in a school with about a 2,000 student population. To this day I still can't believe it. Everyone was shocked, inclusing my self. I even beat out the girl who was first chair the entire previous year.
This caused my playing to improve a lot that year, and I remained 1st chair for the rest of my high school education. It may not sound like much to the members of this list, but for me, it's something I'll never forget.
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Author: clarinetmajr
Date: 2003-11-18 18:36
Hmm... I always carry water into auditions with me, and once I spilled water all over the seat where people sit to play (by accident). I felt bad for the next person, but luckily there was a moderator who hopefully cleaned it up. This year I switched cases and I forgot my ligature (yikes!) Luckily someone had an extra that was rovner like mine so I was okay. Somehow despite my best efforts to undermine myself, I always do alright in auditions.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-11-18 18:50
District band auditions my senior year, November 1984. Room full of clarinetists called up one by one to play what the judges tell them.
I come up to play chromatic scale tongued in 16th notes from low F to high F and back down. To this day it's still my finest moment -- I absolutely nail it. The room is stunned for a couple of seconds, then I hear someone whisper "F**K!"
It's all been downhill since that glorious moment.h
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2003-11-18 19:47
A few years ago we had an audition behind a screen for 2nd trumpet in the Philharmonic, where one candidate didn't have one of his best days. After the piano introduction of Haydn's concerto he started and split the first note. Then we heard the Finnish equivalence of the f-word (much worse) and then... tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.... SLAM!!!
Alphie
Post Edited (2003-11-18 19:52)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-11-18 20:03
I've only auditioned once for Area Band in high school. Wrestling at that time took priority over band (now it wouldn't but that's now). I also get VERY nervous at scales. It's just very embarressing having your High School instructor ask you to try out telling you you can get a good seating and forgetting the C major and F major scale. As for sightreading, I tried to play it to the tempo of my nervously beating heart . . . and failed miserably. I ended up second to last chair. When my instructor told me afterwards (he was on the clarinet judging committee being a clarinetist himself) that he knows I should've made at least first clarinet with my skills at the time.
But I didn't cry . . . . I didn't cry . . . .
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-11-18 21:14
Why are you so seemingly obsessed with beating people at chair auditions in the US of A?? In all my school years playing in the band we just got placed where the director told us to sit. We didn't have to do the audition thing. Perhaps it was more causal here, who knows. This was in the 70s. Needless to say I was solo clarinet because I was miles better than any other player in the school at the time, but I didn't have a swollen head over it nor did I get death threats or jealous attacks from my 1st, 2nd, or 3rd chair colleagues - we just had fun playing good music. I know I'm going to get grief from this posting ...
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
Post Edited (2003-11-18 21:15)
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Author: potatohead
Date: 2003-11-18 22:37
Just out of curiosity, Johnny, who started this thread, you don't happen to be from Buchholz HS, do you?
-Maria
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Author: LeWhite
Date: 2003-11-18 23:05
I think in the US music is a competitive thing, whereas over here it is much less so, especially in high schools. Even at university level, there is no actual competition, even though there may be some behind the scenes sometimes.
We still just get placed in orchestra where they think we would benefit the most.
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Author: Wonkak Kim
Date: 2003-11-19 03:47
I moved to the US 4 years ago and had my first audition in high school. I recall my memories of the time when I just got to new high school and got all sacred. I made the last chair of the LOWEST band. Partly because I was not able to understand what my director was saying, since I was not preficient in English by then. I made the first chair in symphonic band, which was the top band, during my sophomore year. I guess that was a big jump... from the last chair of the lowest band to the first chair of the highest band. I made the district top band (wind ensemble) of Northern Virginia discrict XII and All State Band in the following year. And I made the first chair of the NOVA Senior Regional Orchestra in my senior year. I placed the highest score for VA all state orchestra (top group) but was unable to attend. So that's my audition story. All those successful audition gave me great motivation. They made me very nervous but improved me immensely fast. I am in the college now but we don't have chair audition here. They just rotate! -Won
Post Edited (2003-11-19 03:48)
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Author: Lisa
Date: 2003-11-19 03:55
diz--Yes, we are overly-competitive over here, mostly at festivals combining musicians from different schools. The highest chaired musicians get to advance to the next level, county, district, regional, state, all-east. In my small high school, chairing wasn't important to us within our own band. We knew who could do what consistently.
--I'm embarrassed to say that as an underclassman, I almost made PA all-state band on a plastic Bundy clarinet! I had a great mouthpiece and reed combination for that audition. And 3 more points would've also qualified me for all-east that year as well, yes, on a plastic Bundy clarinet. I'm kind of glad I didn't make it, if you know what I mean...
--For my senior year audition to qualify for districts (wooden clarinet by then), I crashed badly on a technical excerpt from K 622 that I could've played in my sleep. I couldn't recover from a simple mistake back then. Anyway, I was ranked 5th, with the first 4 being named to first part. Being ranked the highest second clarinet player, I was able to keep first chair at both districts and regionals, and made states that year. Playing the state's concert at the Philadelphia Academy of Music probably wouldn't've been possible for me to acheive had I been up against the best 1st clarinetists in my region. So it ended up being a good thing in disguise that I screwed up the Mozart months earlier.
I don't have any good audition stories from college, but being a non-music major, I was ranked first chair third and had a blast playing some great "one on a part" solos and trios within several pieces in the Wind Ensemble. (Philip Sparks' "In the Year of the Dragon" has some exposed 3rd clarinet solos in the slow movement.
--
Post Edited (2003-11-19 03:56)
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-11-19 04:47
Lisa ... wow, very erudite and "picture forming" writting. What was your major, prithee?
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Author: Lisa
Date: 2003-11-19 12:11
diz,
I was an elementary education major.
I teach first grade now, and appreciate your comment about "picture forming" writing. In my classroom, we talk about how our writing should also make a good "mind movie," that is, the reader should be able to form a mental image based on what was read (or heard, as I read aloud to the students).
I guess I practice what I preach without even realizing it. Thank you for your kind comments!
I forgot you're not American. I came back to add that first graders are 6-7 years old, very inquisitive, subborn and cute!
Post Edited (2003-11-19 12:13)
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Author: clarinetmajr
Date: 2003-11-20 00:04
Lisa, i'm from PA too!!! I did regions and districts (I think I was in district 11) right outside of Philadelphia. I never did make states... i missed it by 2 chairs with a bad reaudition on I what was Chester Overture ( it seems so easy now that I think i've played music much harder than this as a music major). They actually had states at the Academy of Music!!! That would be crazy~! I just can't see everyone in their band uniforms where the Philly Orch plays (or used to play).
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Author: Lisa
Date: 2003-11-20 02:43
clarinetmajr--Small world! District 6 here.
I also reauditioned on Chester Overture to break a tie in district's back in the '80s. And yes, the Academy of Music was a wonderful place to play. The states concert featured the band, orchestra and chorus, which made for a long concert. The finale (which I think they do every year) was Carmen Dragon's arrangement of "America, the Beautiful" with the orchestra playing and band and chorus singing. Then the next year the band would get to play it and the orchestra sang with the chorus.
I almost forgot how we used to wear our school's marching band uniforms onstage, unless you were from State College HS, whereupon you wore your "concert band uniform" instead. Geez! I've lost track of where my medals are. Thanks for the memories! 
Back to the original topic of chair auditions, you said something about your reaudition. Were you referring to being second chair on your part and going up against the two other second chairs to make states? Something about that process just didn't seem fair to me.
One year (before my time) they auditioned 1st clarinets on the last strain of "Salute to the PMEA" march. Anyone want to comment on that? I'm restraining myself...
Post Edited (2003-11-20 03:21)
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Author: lyn
Date: 2003-11-20 02:44
LOL I am also from PA, I teach students in Districts 7,11, & 12. It IS very competitive here. I am not sure why, but I remember what it was like when I was in school......and even way back then it was bad.
I will say that I have had interesting auditions. Not always because of the competition thing, though. Auditions in general are usually tale-worthy. Most times they have nothing to do with chairs, either.
Remembering one when they used to do separate district orchestra and band auditions, the guy who we all figured would be first chair went in for his audition, bent over to raise the stand and whack! Reed and mouthpiece went into the base of the stand. Split the reed, who knows what it did to his mouthpiece......I remember a bloodcurdling scream, then him bursting out the door, racing down the hall to get a new setup. And he got first chair anyway LOL.
As for my own experience, one of the better ones was when I was a freshman in college. A week into school we had auditions for seating in the organizations - you were put into the organizations according to how you fared. Orchestra got the top 4, the next 6-8 were in Wind Ensemble, then Symphonic Band and then Concert Band. We had like 30 clarinet majors in the school, plus a lot of minors and non-majors. If you did really well, they would use you in more than one group (if you want to play in more than one group, that is).
So we audition, I play the Jean Jean Arabesque, and did pretty well. Simple solo, but it sells well. A few days later, the results are on the board. I hear a bunch of people griping "who's this THOMAS person?"............I had made third chair (Asst Principal) in the orchestra, AND they put me Principal in the Symphonic Band.........and all the upperclassmen were having fits!!! My roommate was about to open her mouth and point to me.......and I just grabbed her, ducked, and got out of there fast!!!!!
Lynn
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-11-20 03:29
diz,
You're seeing one big reason why we're so competitive in the US -- so we can swap war stories about the time we whupped up on the Huns back in the ol' district auditions.
I'll refrain from telling you about the time I beat Lisa W****** so badly that candy came out of her. Good times...
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
Post Edited (2003-11-20 03:31)
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Author: ginny
Date: 2003-11-20 06:08
Well I opted to be nice and told the conductor we didn't need to audition for chairs, and that it was ok that two people jumped ahead of me so they could be stand mates, since one or the other would be my stand mate otherwise. I also did not want the section to be full of division, which I was sure the auditions would cause. I found out at the concert tonight on the program he bumped me down to last chair! I am really po'd, I should have insisted on the auditions. I will quit, I feel disrespected and unfairly treated. No good deed goes unpunished.
Post Edited (2003-11-20 06:12)
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Author: KENOLD
Date: 2003-11-21 03:15
Disrespected? Maybe.
You pretty much gave permission for the conductor to put you where he wants.
Don't quit. Challenge!
Ken
Learn to perform even the things you don't like, as if you love to do them.
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Author: ned
Date: 2003-11-21 04:51
"You're seeing one big reason why we're so competitive in the US "
I think Aussies are pretty competitive too (certainly in sport, maybe in music) it's just that we don't get on a platform and tell the rest of the world.
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Author: vin
Date: 2003-11-21 17:41
I have friends who are attending/have attended European music schools. Each school has a different vibe. I think it is dangerous to say "in the US we are more competitive." I know from friends that things are in fact more competitive in Korea, the Paris Conservatory and many other places. It really depends on the school, not the country. To get a diploma in Paris, you have to win the 1st prize. Here, you have to pay a lot of money and just pass. I would think that the top students anywhere simply want to be the best clarinet players they can be, irrespective of country.
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Author: Johnny Galaga
Date: 2003-11-21 20:08
No, Sorry.
Just out of curiosity, Johnny, who started this thread, you don't happen to be from Buchholz HS, do you?
-Maria
~**~~**~~**~~**~
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