Preparing for an orchestral audition is very stressful, at least for me. I've been super busy with Kinship Music Studios and weddings and teaching and so on. So much so that I have not taken an audition in almost two years. Finally, I decided to take on a couple of auditions because now I'm in a place where I don't really need an orchestral job to make money. It's not as much pressure as it was two years ago.
The week of the first audition, I had four shows with Victoria Vox. Needless to say, Beethoven Symphony No. 8 Trio was not on the brain (along with all those other excerpts). I went in to the audition totally unprepared and didn't get it.
For the next, I did prepare as much as a could. I practice six hours a day for five days. Hoping that would be enough, I drove the four hours for the audition. Yada, yada, yada...I didn't win that one either.
Now, I'm having an identity crisis. Can I be a cellist and not in a symphony? Does it still "count"? Do I keep practicing six hours a day, preparing these orchestral excerpts for the next audition? Or, do I spend that time preparing something else? And, what would that be? Do I call myself a "solo cellist"? I have been performing solo for sometime now, and making a living at it.
So, now I will resolve to dedicate myself to being the best solo cellist I can possibly be. To keep working on my wedding/event repertoire, getting more gigs and recording work, prepare a whole concerto (just in case). And of course keep my eye out for openings at the National Symphony!! ;)
