TSO: October Concert

I just returned from rehearsing and playing with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. The concert was a great combination of Classical and Romantic Era styles. Although each rehearsal seemed like a battle between the instruments and those controlling them, the end result was quite pleasing. Yes, something was not quite working this time. It was as if half of the orchestra was either not trying or just having a really off weekend with music.

The surprising part about that is not that the rehearsals were extremely slow going, like slogging through the same ideas each time we came to them, but rather than we were playing Beethoven and Mozart (at least two of the pieces)! Straight forward music that  has little if any tempo changes or rubato or anything of the like in it. Just "da da da da, da da da da" or "daaaa da da da da da, daaaa da da da da da" and it was all over the board. Counting seemed like a foreign concept to the orchestra, especially when came to sub division. Rushing through a dotted quarter note followed by five eighth notes is supposed to be only done by youth orchestras.

The Sibelius had it's own set of difficulties. It was like Bach's complex counterpoint. Each group of instruments had their own "melody" to play, and very different for the rest. Or each group of instruments would imitate the previous instrument that entered only a measure before. This happened straight from the beginning all the way to the end practically. It is as if Sibelius studied Bach's Art of the Fugue before writing his Symphony No. 1 and decided that he should do that too. Only his harmonies, sonorities and rhythms would be Romantic in nature.

In the end TSO did a good job, but the lack of counting and the conductor's ever mounting frustration of having to mention it every time we came back to rehearse those things was disturbing. The orchestra really can play well. There must have been something strange in the air this time. Hopefully that's the case. Oh, I almost forgot the soloists. The flute and harp players were great. Mozart wrote a master piece in this concerto for flute and harp. The soloists obviously had rehearsed until they knew every note, phrase, sound, dynamic, rest, nuance and interaction with the orchestra. They were a treat to listen to.

Auditions: The Music

For many musicians playing in orchestra is a way of life and a pay check. Getting into an orchestra that pays anything is no easy matter however. There's a lot of preparation and practice that must be done with utmost diligence before one actually sits in the section during concerts and plays. What goes into an audition? What must one prepare, and how?

The first part of auditions begins months before the day of reckoning. You have sent your resume and the personnel manager from the orchestra has given you the repertoire list. It is time to look it over and make sure all the excerpts on the list are in your possession. The list may look something like this:

1. Solo of your choice from any standard concerto. Or.... Either the first movement of Haydn concerto in D major or Dvorak concerto in B minor.
2. Orchestral excerpts
1. (List of 8 to 10 symphonies and the excerpts)
3. Possible sight reading

Which concerto to choose? Romantic, Classic, Modern? Excerpts are funny. They are pulled way out of context and yet they are used to determine one's ability to play the music in an informed and sensitive manner.  

Actually, I think I'm done with this post already. Auditions kinda annoy me so I'll have to get back to this a later time when I have a more level headed take on them.