Imagine: you’ve been practicing feverishly for a year, sacrificing sleep and personal life, and now have just a few minutes to show off your abilities. Your musical career seems to hang in the balance. That’s what it can feel like to take an orchestra audition, as percussionist Michael Tetreault, originally profiled by Boston magazine and NPR, well knows. We recount Tetreault’s audition for the Boston Symphony, highlight some of the current debate surrounding the audition format, and ask you—do orchestral auditions need a facelift?
Also this week, an orchestra flashmob, sponsored by a Spanish bank, which got 5 million hits on YouTube, and excerpts from Detroit Symphony Music Director Leonard Slatkin’s new book on a music director’s role in the community.
SymphonyNOW is the League’s new, online-only publication, with timely stories about orchestras every week. You’ll find SymphonyNOW on the right-hand side of the Hub homepage.
Posted August 3, 2012
