 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Fontalvo
Date: 2006-10-10 14:40
what do you think should be included on a tape for the airforce band. They only specified excerpts of contrasting nature. How long do you think the tape needs to be. ????
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-10-11 17:18
First, if you check their website, they mention specific pieces, both excerpts and solo literature. Here's some links regarding the audition procedure and suggested repertoire that may help if you don't already have them:
http://www.af.mil/library/band/employ/reg-enlisted.asp
http://www.af.mil/library/band/employ/clarinet.asp
I'd draw from that list. Put a solo piece on there, and three or four contrasting excerpts. I'd mix band and orchestral excerpts.
Also, I think you should tread cautiously, their band program just received heavy budget and personnel cuts, and I've encountered some people frantically looking for a job.
Christopher Nichols, D.M.A.
Assistant Professor of Clarinet
University of Delaware
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Author: frank
Date: 2006-10-12 21:49
I feel extremely qualified to answer this question. Which AF band are you auditioning for? Right now, the AF isn't hiring until around 2008 due to a personnel reduction with exception to certain rhythmn section players I believe.
That said, the normal procedure would be for the band to send you an audition packet with required excerpts. Here is the actual listing of pieces that are on the training sheet we use for auditions:
Solos:
2.1 Mozart: Concerto for Clarinet, perform the first movement.
2.2 Weber: Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat, perform the last movement.
2.3 Weber: Concertino
2.4 Poulenc: Sonata
2.5 Stravinsky: Three Pieces
2.6 Debussy: Premiere Rhapsody
Osborne: Rhapsody
Excerpts:
3.1Verdi/Lake: La Forza Del Destino.
3.2 Bernstein/Beeler: Overture to Candide.
3.3 Makris/Bader: Aegean Festival Overture, perform cadenza between No. 21 and No. 22.
3.4 Suppe/Moses-Tobani: Overture to Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna.
You may also be asked to play Midsummer, Capriccio, Beethoven 4/6, Polovtsian Dances, etc.- all the standard rep. Usually the conductor (commander) and section leader and players will bounce you around from excerpts of their choosing. Very few times have I seen the auditionee have the freedom of choosing what they want to play in the audition in regards to order. Know all your scales and be able to sight read at a moderately high level. The job can run at a fast pace, so it is important to be able to read well. The good ole days of college are gone! Two concerts a semester? lol Depending on which band you are in, you could be performing 15+ concerts a month with different programs. Sometimes it does get stressful, but you learn to manage your time and practicing. That's what being a pro is all about.
It always miffs me to see players come in unprepared. Sight reading is one thing, but if you are given a list of pieces to perform, we expect them ...well...well prepared! That means COUNT ALL RESTS!  Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions. Contact the band you are auditioning for and ask a million questions. We have a bunch of great people who are willing to help you out. Good luck!
Post Edited (2006-10-12 22:01)
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Author: ken
Date: 2006-10-15 01:15
An angle you may consider to gain an edge on sight reading material (for a tape and real-time audition) is contacting the Publicity office of the band where you’d be auditioning. Or better yet, attend a concert band performance. Request a copy of a program from the concert band's latest gig or most recent tour. Ask them to scan/email attach or fax ASAP to save time and a stamp. BTW, these programs were already released to the general public so the programming information is no longer sensitive or guarded.
Research the music and select a piece for a band excerpt on the audition tape (it's customarily the first "full band" selection after the National Anthem.) If not, select an original band work or transcription from any U.S military band concert program or take from the provided list below. And, it's common (or used to be) for the audition committee (audition airman/noncommissioned officer in charge, clarinet section leader or Commander) to pull reading material from the 1st clarinet folder.
As Symphonic and Wind Ensemble Band music evolves, there are certainly newer and more challenging works to conquer. New breed standards such as the clarinet solo from Frank Tichelli's "Blue Shades" may be used as sight reading and/or the last movement and page of "Exhilaration" from Donald Grantham’s "Southern Harmony." Philip Sparke's, "Dance Movements" may pop up on the stand. Still more, band compositions by Eric Ewazen, David Maslanka, Keith Gates, Jack Stamp, Fred Cohen, Donald Erb, Ron Nelson and Martin Ellerby have extremely demanding 1st Clar parts --- hence finding out what’s in the concert band folders! If the Commander/Conductor is into the post-modernist stuff you need to go into that environment knowing what the musical emphasis is and be as prepared as you can. Whichever Regional/Premiere Band you wish to become a member do your research on the unit and its people; visit their website; read/study the bios of the officers and enlisted in charge; obtain a discography, go to their concerts and network backstage; call and request concert band CDs and study them. All this effort and info grabbing can help you when you make your audition tape and take an audition. To my knowledge, only the Premiere Bands give blind, behind the screen auditions and eliminate committee interaction other then the auditions assistant.
As for tape logistics and strategy try to "stick to the script." Depending on how much the band is micro-managed the Commander may be involved in the pre-audition process. Invariably, other section leaders (flute and/or oboe) may be invited to attend and have input. And, having potentially more non-clarinetists in the judging pool -- and although stunningly beautiful and technically ferocious -- I do not recommend submitting 20th Century solos, the Martino Set, Corigliano, Nielson, Finzi, Hindemith, Piston or works by Joan Tower. Select a solo that is tonal and in a classical or romantic era form. Contemporary period exceptions are the Stravinsky "Three Pieces", Mucynski "Time Pieces", Poulenc, Debussy and "Ebony and Copland" Concertos. One final rule exception is recording portions of the John Heins Clarinet Concerto. John Heins was an Air Force Band Pianist/Clarinetist. In the past 20 years the solo has become a career field clarinet mainstay.
If doable, I recommend using a "live performance." It’s the most honest and accurate representation of an artist's skill set and providing insight into showmanship and audience draw. If recording in the studio, use an accompanist and a page turner and keep the elapsed time less than 30 minutes --- attention span, attention span. For example, if you choose the Mozart as your prepared solo stick with it; do the 2nd movement followed by the 3rd. Then 1 fast or slow orchestral and band excerpt and that's all.
For methodology and general observations on recording/producing USAF Band audition/demo studio CDs please see my remarks in the “Recording” thread.
Link: http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=124884&t=124761
It’s just as appropriate submitting etudes with solo transcriptions. Combining Scheherazade (i.e., Korsakov pub. Rubank, trans. Henry W. Davis) with 2 etudes; 1 from Rose 32 or 40, and Jettel or Uhl books can equally demonstrate core qualities.
Here's a list of band pieces that can be used on any audition tape and that are high probability sight reading candidates in an USAF band audition. Use 1st Bb Clar parts except where noted:
1) The Planets - Solo Clar (Holst/Holst; Boosey & Hawkes)
2) The Pines of the Appian Way (Pines of Rome) - (Respighi; d'Elia-Leidzen)
3) Porgy and Bess (Gershwin; arr. Robert Russell Bennett)
4) Procession of Nobles (Korsakov/Goldman arr. Leidzen)
5) Russian Sailor's Dance (Gliere; trans. Leidzen)
6) Finale from Symphony No. 4 in F Minor (Tchaikovsky; arr. V.F. Safranek)
7) Variations on America (Ives; arr. Schumann)
8) Valdres (Hanson; arr. Bainum)
9) First-2nd Suites for Military Band - Solo Clar (Holst; Boosey & Hawkes)
10) Symphony No. 5 (Finale) (Shostakovich; trans. C.B. Righter)
11) Celebration Overture (Creston; pub. Templeton)
12) Festive Overture (Shostakovich; trans. Hunsberger)
13) El Salon Mexico (Copland; trans. Hindsley)
14) La Fiesta Mexicana (H. Owen Reed; pub. Mills Music)
15) Russian Christmas Music (Alfred Reed; pub. Sam Fox)
16) The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Scherzo; Dukas; arr. Calliet)
17) American Overture for Band (Jenkins; pub. Presser Co.)
18) Colas Breugnon Overture (Kabalevsky; trans. Beeler)
19) The Irish Washerwoman (Anderson; pub. Mills Music)
20) Chorale and Alleluia (Hanson; pub. Fischer)
21) Andrea Chenier (Giordano; arr. Richards)
22) American Salute (Gould; pub. Mills Music)
23) La Forza Del Destino (Verdi; arr. H.R. Kent)
24) Roman Carnival (Berlioz; pub. Alfred)
25) Light Calvary (Suppe; arr. Fillmore)
v/r Ken
Post Edited (2006-10-15 03:22)
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