Need help with an audition

[Novicekiddo]

I want to join a orchestra but first i have to audition to get in.

The requirements are:

Applicants are required to play from two contrasting works (excerpts from orchestral works would be an advantage), unaccompanied, for a total platform time of 5 minutes.

Well my question is i am a Bb tubist, while i heard orchestral tubas are CC. And orchestral works, i have never heard of a orchestra tuba solo before what should i do?

[The Jackson]

- With regard to the key of your tuba, it's not that big of a deal. Many orchestral tubists in the USA play on C tubas, but a great player will sound great on any of the four keys.

- Excerpts from orchestral works does not necessarily mean a flat-out, exposed tuba solo. These can just be excerpts with a prominent tuba part and many times that has the tuba coupled with the trombones or entire brass section. You can check publicized audition lists from orchestras that have had tuba auditions to see what the standard excerpts are and you might decide to start with some of those excerpts.

- If you are working out of etude books, you could also use a couple of those as contrasting selections. If the audition is too soon to tackle new material, then this could be a good option.

Of course, excerpts and etudes are just two possibilities for what you could play. I really like the broadness of the "two contrasting" audition model. I'll be taking one of those auditions next week and will play a couple of movements from a J. S. Bach 'cello suite!

Good luck!

[tclements]

WHATEVER you play, make sure it is something with which you are extremely comfortable, and on which you sound great!

[Novicekiddo]

Thank You everyone! But i have a choice of when to take the audition, it is accepted anytime. I am just planning to set this goal to get in this orchestra.

[Novicekiddo]

Here (scroll down) http://www.nyoc.org/uploads/File/2010_t ... viewed.pdf are some very well-known tuba parts to orchestral works. Likely, some of them will be too tough for you to tackle right now. If you can find approximately 3-1/2 - 4-1/2 minutes of material here that you CAN learn to play in time for the audition, these would probably be appropriate for that audition. You MUST (at least) find recorded performances these works (YouTube, if nothing else) and LISTEN TO EACH PIECE SEVERAL TIMES to learn how they "go" before you even start to work on them. Even if you do not prevail at this particular audition, you will have introduced yourself to a few orchestral works that prominently involve the tuba...

...and yes, just play them on the tuba that you HAVE. It will be just fine.

Sorry but do you any other sites to recommend? nyoc.org is currently down and i cant access it.

[Rick Denney]

Thank You everyone! But i have a choice of when to take the audition, it is accepted anytime. I am just planning to set this goal to get in this orchestra.

Here is a list from a Boston Symphony audition a few years ago, in the archives of the old Tubenet:

http://www.chisham.com/tips/bbs/dec2002 ... 14666.html

But many of these are exposed solos that work best on F tuba, or that require orchestral virtuosity that may be outside the range of the group you want to join. You'll have to google the titles to find the composers, and then search for the parts, which can sometimes be found provided for download for audition requests for school orchestras, if you look around. You have time so some patience will be rewarded.

Personally, I could find five minutes worth of characteristic tuba music from two symphonies: Shostakovich 5 and Prokofiev 5. Even many high-end pros might choose to play these on a large Bb tuba these days. But the excerpts for these are now protected by copyright and might require some searching or borrowing. The Tchaikovsky late symphonies (4-6), for example, have music which will challenge the orchestral sound and projection of a tuba player, and which fit well with a contrabass instrument. But there is also good stuff in his tone poems, like 1812 Overture. Another popular and now public-domain excerpt is Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, but you MUST hear this in context, and rhythmic accuracy is ESSENTIAL. This is the mother of all excerpts, so if you play it, it must be perfect--everyone will have heard it a zillion times. ("Walkure" = "Valkyries", by the way.) There is a lot in Wagner that works on a contrabass tuba like your Bb. The Tchaikovsky and Wagner works are all on the Cherry CD.

Speaking of which, if you have funds to invest in a library of orchestral excerpts, start with the Gordon Cherry CD (google it), which contains the trombone and tuba parts for nearly all orchestral works published before 1923. Later works were included in various publications of excerpts that were edited by Abe Torchinsky, but these will require more diligence to find and will cost more per work. Some of these are still published by Encore, and Encore also has a general excerpts book including a bit of the same stuff as the Cherry CD:

http://www.encoremupub.com/categories/T ... -Excerpts/

Another worthy investment will be Gene Pokorny's Orchestral Excerpts CD on the Summit label, which will demonstrate how they are played by a world-class performer.

Do not worry about Bb versus C. All the music is written in concert pitch and you can just play it. It is unlikely anyone will know the difference even by looking, and nearly impossible to tell the difference just by listening.

I will second the recommendation to only play what you 1.) can understand in context, and 2.) can play perfectly along with a recording. An audition is not the place for risks or experimentation.

Rick "who has made the past mistake of over-reaching in an audition" Denney

[Novicekiddo]

Thanks so much it was really helpful! I am current checking this site imslp.org my tutor suggested i check out

Mahler,Gustave

dvorak


Rachmaninoff, Sergei

Although some notes are still too high for me