Posted by tommo on June 18, 2000 at 05:05:59:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Europe posted by Just a thought on June 17, 2000 at 08:18:43:
If you want a job as an orchestral musician, you need to digest orchestral excerpts on a day in, day out basis. I'm not talking about "mindlessly cranking" them out either because that won't get you a job. REALLY preparing excerpts means hours of looking at the score and listening to recordings as well as actually working on them on your horn.
Preparing orchestral excerpts is an art in itself. Being able to play solo works brilliantly doesn't automatically mean that you walk into a audition and win a job. Number 1, you need a GREAT low register. Point at hand, Heiko Trebiner just finished a trial in the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the end, they didn't hire him because he lacked true weight of sound and a good low register. Heiko is a PHENOMENAL solo player and is supremely musical, but wasn't deemed good enough for the job.
I think you need to re-evaluate your position on orchestral excerpts. They need to be practiced religiously (along with other literature of course) if you want an orchestral job. I agree with you when you say you need to make music when your playing excerpts. That is 100% true but, just like everything in life, if you want to get good at doing excerpts, you gotta practice them. If you want an orchestral job, your excerpts have got to be A1. That means LOTS of work on them.
tommo