Audition Thoughts Part 13 "Lucky #13"

Originally blogged June 3, 2012

This was my 13th audition. I am still going to attend the Omaha audition next week. Because you never know...

The night after the audition was definitely a sleepless night. The excitement of winning, the realization of uprooting our family, the excitement of winning. I feel like I have been given membership to a very elite club: the club of musicians who somehow manage to win an audition. It still strikes me as a little random, the outcome of these auditions, but I'm not complaining...this time;-)

The final round of this audition lasted 45 minutes. It began with a rehearsal of the Devienne Trio and Francaix Quatour with the other principal winds. Then the rest of the panel entered and I played more excerpts, the screen had of course been removed. I was asked to replay one of the excerpts slower which I'm not entirely sure I accomplished. At this point I had embouchure fatigue which shocked me and gave me a little trouble. Next I "performed" the chamber pieces - that went great! Finally, I had an interview with the whole panel. The first question, "Tell us something about yourself that we won't read on your resume."

I told them I was a mom. I then told them that LMorgan will come into my studio and we will play "name that excerpt." Last week Morgan and I played our little game and when I played the Mozart concerto he proclaimed, "I know that one! It's the Monster Bassoon Concerto!"

They laughed at that and the interview proceeded with a friendly and casual atmosphere.

There was an hour between the finish of the other candidate's final audition and when I received the phone call from the music director. In that hour a massive stress headache set in and my entire body hurt. I was so close and I felt so good about the whole audition process - the wait was beyond brutal and felt like it lasted hours!

After the conversation with the music director in which he "invited" me to be the principal bassoonist of the Great Falls Symphony (such a classy way to offer a job) I fell into a complete mental stupor.

I'm still existing in that mental stupor 48 hours later. I really need to embrace the role of principal bassoonist. This is hard for me since I have largely chosen not to attend principal auditions and have instead focused and envisioned myself as a second player.

There are many, MANY more thoughts I have but I can't explore them on my phone keyboard and honestly it would fill a book at this point.

My challenge now is to prepare for the second bassoon audition in Omaha next week, a LOT of trio rehearsals this week, and the Utah Wind Symphony season finale concert also this week.