Become a part of our Tradition of Excellence
2009-2010 season Auditions begin April 5, 2009
AUDITIONS TIMELINE
February 14 ........... Applications Available
February 28 .............. Violin Preliminaries*
February 28........................Excerpts Available
March 14 ................... Application Deadline
April 5 ............. Auditions begingeneral audition
criteria
Every student auditioning for a WYSO orchestra is required to prepare materials from the categories listed below. Specific requirements within each category are determined by the instrument the student plays and the orchestra level for which they choose to audition.
1. Scales (memorized) for winds, brass, and percussion: The goal is to demonstrate a concept of different tonalities, tone quality and range development. Different scales are required for each orchestra level.
2. Scales for strings: The goal is to demonstrate knowledge and expertise of different tonalities, tone quality, range development, bowing styles, and articulations. Different scales are required for each orchestra level.
3. Prepared solo: Two minutes for strings, woodwinds and brass; three minutes for percussion. All students must bring two photocopies of their solo music for the judges.
4. Orchestral excerpts: Excerpts are tiered by difficulty and are reflective of the level of repertoire studied and performed by each orchestra.5. Sight reading: Provided by judges during the audition.
Specific Areas of Evaluation:
Articulation : Does student perform articulations clearly and as marked?
Intonation : Are pitches in tune, or is there a tendency to go sharp or flat?
Musicianship : How well does the student make dynamic contrasts and interpret the music?
Rhythm : How precisely can student play rhythmic figures in context of a piece?
Technique : How strong is the student’s technical facility?
Tone : Is the tone focused and does it have character?
Sight Reading : How well can the student play a previously unseen piece of music?
Transposition : May be required in some excerpts for horn and trumpet.
Other Clefs : May be required in some excerpts for strings, bassoon and trombone.
