Auditions for Fall 2021: Everything Old is New Again
The orchestra has returned to live auditions. Read this page carefully so you'll make a great impression!
Orchestra Auditions: Due Friday, January 8, midnight, 2021.
Because of the pandemic auditions will be held in a different manner than we did in more innocent times. The essential difference is that you will record your auditions and make them available to me online. This will give you multiple attempts to record an audition you'd be happy to submit. Here are the details:
Send me (alevin@clemson.edu) an email with the following information. If you are not yet enrolled in orchestra, please send me a short email right away with something like "My name is Nicolai Paganini and I play the harmonica." That way I'll have an idea that you are out there and play to audition. Then you can take the next few days to prepare the audition itself.
Each (not both) of your two pieces will be recorded straight through, without edits, so I'll know you aren't stringing together selections from many takes.
TWO ORCHESTRAS
The purpose of these auditions are to form two chamber orchestras: one for strings alone and another one for strings and a small number of additional winds. They will be called The Monday Orchestra and The Thursday Orchestra; the first will rehearsal Mondays 7:00-8:30 pm and the second Thursdays 5:00-6:30. The exact schedule has yet to be determined but will be contingent on good social distancing practice and the avoidance of spending too much time with these "large" group of musicians. The orchestra oboes and horns will play in the Monday orchestra, while the the Thursday orchestra is the strings-only group
A note on seating order: auditions are meaningful and do help determine seating; however, seating choices in the strings are not determined by audition rank order alone. Sections are balanced for strength and for pedagogical reasons. Some violinists may be switched between first and second violin sections, and principal chairs may be rotated, even within a single concert or throughout the season — as deemed appropriate for the greatest success of the orchestra. Seating may vary in the woodwind and brass sections as well, for the same reasons.
DOWNLOADABLE EXCERPT FILES
(Return here for more details about the audition pieces on January 1 or 2.
To clarify, you only need to play (and print) the passage(s) marked in brackets. I've given you the entire part so you can follow along with a recording; otherwise it might be hard to find the excerpt after many measures of rest, etc. String players: it's probably a good idea not to print all of the pages because between now and the start of rehearsal I'll transfer all of the bowings into the entire part, not just the audition excerpt.
Below are the links to the audition excerpts. Note that there will be a number of solo parts in various pieces. On the email you send me announcing your interest to audition, please also note if you wish to be considered for a solo part (actually, they'll be a solo string trio and solo string quartet). The string excerpts are from The Beatles Concerto Grosso, the movement listed in parentheses and the passage in brackets. The oboe and horn excerpts are from the Bach Brandenburg Concerto no. 1, the movement listed and the excerpt bracketed.
VIOLIN (She loves you)
VIOLA (Lady Madonna)
CELLO (She loves you)
BASS (She loves you)
OBOE (second mov't, Adagio)
FRENCH HORN (fourth mov't, Menuet, the second Trio)
Important notes:
Send me (alevin@clemson.edu) an email with the following information. If you are not yet enrolled in orchestra, please send me a short email right away with something like "My name is Nicolai Paganini and I play the harmonica." That way I'll have an idea that you are out there and play to audition. Then you can take the next few days to prepare the audition itself.
- Your name and phone number.
- The name of your solo piece, along with the web address (URL) where I can find you playing your audition recording online.
- A PDF of the solo part of the sheet music so I can follow along. Make sure your playing shows off your skills and is about a page in length. If you don't have a scanner, you can use scanner software on your phone -- this is a very handy thing to have that you'll use many times throughout your schooling. I use Scanner Pro by Readdle but others are good, too. They will straighten out scans that are skewed and some will remove shadows. Take the photo where there's plenty of light available.
- The web address of your recording that all players of a given section will all play (the "excerpt"). The excerpts are now posted on the audition page.
- There will be no sight-reading for this audition.
Each (not both) of your two pieces will be recorded straight through, without edits, so I'll know you aren't stringing together selections from many takes.
TWO ORCHESTRAS
The purpose of these auditions are to form two chamber orchestras: one for strings alone and another one for strings and a small number of additional winds. They will be called The Monday Orchestra and The Thursday Orchestra; the first will rehearsal Mondays 7:00-8:30 pm and the second Thursdays 5:00-6:30. The exact schedule has yet to be determined but will be contingent on good social distancing practice and the avoidance of spending too much time with these "large" group of musicians. The orchestra oboes and horns will play in the Monday orchestra, while the the Thursday orchestra is the strings-only group
A note on seating order: auditions are meaningful and do help determine seating; however, seating choices in the strings are not determined by audition rank order alone. Sections are balanced for strength and for pedagogical reasons. Some violinists may be switched between first and second violin sections, and principal chairs may be rotated, even within a single concert or throughout the season — as deemed appropriate for the greatest success of the orchestra. Seating may vary in the woodwind and brass sections as well, for the same reasons.
DOWNLOADABLE EXCERPT FILES
(Return here for more details about the audition pieces on January 1 or 2.
To clarify, you only need to play (and print) the passage(s) marked in brackets. I've given you the entire part so you can follow along with a recording; otherwise it might be hard to find the excerpt after many measures of rest, etc. String players: it's probably a good idea not to print all of the pages because between now and the start of rehearsal I'll transfer all of the bowings into the entire part, not just the audition excerpt.
Below are the links to the audition excerpts. Note that there will be a number of solo parts in various pieces. On the email you send me announcing your interest to audition, please also note if you wish to be considered for a solo part (actually, they'll be a solo string trio and solo string quartet). The string excerpts are from The Beatles Concerto Grosso, the movement listed in parentheses and the passage in brackets. The oboe and horn excerpts are from the Bach Brandenburg Concerto no. 1, the movement listed and the excerpt bracketed.
VIOLIN (She loves you)
VIOLA (Lady Madonna)
CELLO (She loves you)
BASS (She loves you)
OBOE (second mov't, Adagio)
FRENCH HORN (fourth mov't, Menuet, the second Trio)
Important notes:
- There will be no percussion for the spring concert
- If the wind instrument you play is not listed, if will not be needed this semester. But please come back and join us fall 2021!
Private Lessons
We encourage you to take private lessons, which are available on most instruments. We have excellent teachers and you earn an hour of credit each semester. If you sign up for both orchestra and lessons the orchestra will reimburse you for a portion of your lesson fee at the end of the semester. Lessons are $305 for weekly half-hour lessons and reimbursements in past semesters have been some portion of that, depending on how much money is available and how many students sign up for lessons. For more details visit the Department of Performing Arts applied music page.
String Quartet auditions
The Clemson University String Quartet is a scholarship ensemble that rehearses twice weekly (once with a coach and a second time on their own) at a schedule amenable to the four musicians and coach. The group plays for university functions and private events, often for pay. They also earn a scholarship and will have lessons paid for if they choose to take them. The quartet plays mostly classical music with the addition of some contemporary popular songs. Quartet members are required to play in the orchestra and are expected to commit to an entire year with the quartet.
For more information about auditioning contact Dr. Levin, conductor of the orchestra.
- If you would like to be considered for the Clemson University String Quartet, please send a short email by Friday, August 21, expressing this desire. The music you submit for the orchestra audition will also serve as your quartet audition music.
- The quartet members will be annouced at the same time the orchestra members are published, by Sunday, August 23, 2020.
- Orchestra and Quartet members will then receive some or all of their music for the semester You are expected to learn a moderate amount of music (so designated) by the time we all return to Clemson in September 29. Also, like the orchestra, when we are in rehearsal mode we'll meet in person, but when we're in "virtual quartet" mode, we'll work though a short course of the History and Literature of the String Quartet.
For more information about auditioning contact Dr. Levin, conductor of the orchestra.