Originally Posted by rowuk

Pipedope, that is very well said!

What do the experts offer as "training ground" for auditions? Would Toastmasters be of use?

Originally Posted by godchaser

.


'..we talk about orchestra playing as the pinnacle..'


Pardon the off topic question, but i was wondering about this myself. Is it the discipline and cooperative efforts involved that bring about this regard?

Thanks


.

Originally Posted by mazzrick

two things...

firstly--- I find it funny that we talk about orchestra playing as the pinnacle of musical experience when string players view it as a punishment and would rather do something more artistically beneficial.

secondly--- orchestral musician has the 2nd lowest job satisfaction of all jobs. The only one lower is prison security guard and only slightly higher is National Park Ranger (the job with the highest casualties of non-military jobs).

Also, I quote a former french horn player in the ensemble modern turned conductor. "I played in the Berlin Philharmonic once, they're rhythm was terrible. I played in the Orchestre de Paris once too, I guess they're rhythm was better cause there was none at all.

food for thought.

Matt

Originally Posted by Vulgano Brother

Music is a strange and wonderful thing, and for me, playing in a large ensemble, especially orchestra, is stranger and even more wonderful! The "gear in a machine" analogy is often used when describing playing in an orchestra, but for me, that doesn't quite describe it. For me, the orchestral player's part is like a piece in a puzzle, and for each composer, each work, that piece has a different shape. A good audition committee can hear that shape, and can tell if the player is just playing the excerpt or playing that part; they can tell if the player is imagining the rest of the orchestra.

Playing in an orchestra involves a level of hearing beyond just what is coming out the bell--we learn to listen "sideways" as well, even to the point of hearing and fitting in with the violists! How many of us, though, when listening to a recording really listen to anything but the trumpets? I suspect all too few, and I'm often as guilty as anyone.

Good time, good sound and good intonation are of paramount importance, for they are needed to fit that little 'ol puzzle piece that represents our part into the whole two-dimensional puzzle. This is expected as a given at the first rehearsal. Then, with a good conductor and a willing orchestra the magic will happen--little bulges will appear in the fabric, and what was two-dimensional becomes three-dimensional. The music will take on a whole other dimension that makes playing in a large ensemble, especially orchestra, strange and wonderful.

A good audition committee can tell where a player is really coming from, and a player caught up in the humble joy of recreating something strange and wonderful will simply not be affected by nerves. An orchestra will recognize its own voice with such an auditionee; this what an orchestra searches for.

I think.