Horn Audition Preparation Course
Audition repertoire and orchestral excerpts with piano accompaniment
Course explanation:
In a typical audition, candidates are required to play orchestral excerpts starting in the second or third round. From the countless auditions I have heard in the course of my professional experience, it is my sense, and I am sure many of my colleagues would agree, that this area receives too little attention and is not adequately understood among auditioning musicians on all instruments. In the auditions of many wind players as well as string players, there is often a noticeable discrepancy between the impressive and polished solo playing of the first round and the orchestral excerpts in later rounds, which often draw reactions such as "it all sounds the same" or "seems like he doesn't even know the piece" from the listening jury.
I can only guess why this is the case: certainly, a lack of experience in orchestral playing often contributes to the problem, along with low motivation and undervaluation on the part of teachers as well as students – excerpts are usually only “a few notes”, not particularly difficult and often seemingly pointless when taken out of context.
The result is an audible lack of familiarity with the style and distinct individual character of each excerpt.
Music must be learned in practice. Familiarity with recordings of the relevant orchestral works is absolutely necessary, but the all-round sensory experience of the individual orchestral part within the complete tonal context is the true "experience" that is so often missing in audition performance.
In order to close this experiential gap, I have created a piano accompaniment for each orchestral excerpt for horn, in collaboration with pianist Marija Vukovic, in order to give students a tangible sense of the overarching musical situation. Context, harmony, style and character become clearer and allow for the development of a specific approach to each individual orchestral excerpt.
We are all aware that it is extremely difficult to win an orchestral job on today's market. The more "points" you can pick up, the better your chances – particularly in the direct competition of the crucial final rounds.
The degree to which an audition jury's discussion turns to detailed evaluation of individual notes and measures is something that students rarely learn until they end up on the other side of the audition process themselves.
A glimpse of the situation from the other side would give many an auditionee a new take on the importance of these details.
All alert and ready-to-learn horn players are warmly invited to attend our intensive course in orchestral excerpts!
Goal of the course:
The Horn Audition Preparation Course is oriented primarily toward horn players who are currently preparing for auditions or who plan to begin doing so and who would like additional training in preparing and playing orchestral excerpts (and other audition repertoire). The goal of the course is to familiarize students with the particular tonal language of each individual composer and composition, and to give students the chance to experience each excerpt in "orchestral" context through daily practice with piano accompaniment.
Course dates
The next preparation course is tentatively planned for September 2012.Please send us an e-mail if you are interested (non-binding),and you will receive advance
information as soon as it is available.
Course location
tba
Example from the last course:
Day 1
Ca 11:00 each student plays a short introductory program
45 min horn lesson with piano accompaniment
Day 2
60 min horn lesson + 60 min piano accompaniment
Presentation of orchestral excerpts by each student
Day 3
60min HornInstruction + 60min Korrepetition
Vorspiel von Orchesterstellen
Day 4
45 min horn lesson with piano accompaniment followed by final "audition"
Course ends ca 17:30
Course size limited to 8 students. If fewer than 8 students attend, more time may be allotted to each participant.
Other repertoire may also be addressed in lessons. The allotted time for horn instruction and piano accompaniment may be used separately or at one time, as arranged by teacher and student.
Instructors
He currently plays in the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and has been a member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra since 2003.
He has played regularly with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra since 2000, including 6 years as a fixed member, and in his early career he played for 5 years at various opera houses, including the Staatstheater Hanover and the Staatsoper Berlin "Unter den Linden". He was an instructor at the LISZT SCHOOL in Weimar for seven semesters and currently gives private instruction in Hamburg and Bamberg.
Marija Vukovic is a free-lance pianist based in Hamburg. Having held instructor positions at the conservatories in Trossingen and Nürnberg, she is currently an instructor at the University of Bamberg.
She has won prizes at numerous competitions, is a member of the Baynov Piano Ensemble, and is active as a chamber musician in Germany and abroad.
Course fee
The course fee: tba
Each participant is responsible for his own room and board during the course.
Each participant will receive a confirmation of participation; GVL members can submit this confirmation the to GVL and request partial reimbursement.
Registration
For planning purposes, please include the following information with your registration:
Name, Age, Semester, Place of study, high/low horn
You will receive all further information together with your registration confirmation.
Please send your registration or any questions you may have to: haskokroeger@web.de