Orchestra auditions were done by a process that we call blind auditions. This means that when you go into the room to play for the professors or whomever it is that will be judging you, they are turned around and not facing you. This was good for me because I had enough on my mind without having three amazing musicians staring over the top of me.

There were probably around forty or fifty of us auditioning to play in the top groups. Everyone would get placed in some sort of group, but only the top ten or so would be placed in the university’s most prestigious ensembles. I tried to listen closely to the individuals performing before me so I could get a good handle on what kind of competition I was going to have. I was simply amazed by how well everyone played. I felt like I was in trombone heaven.

There really wasn’t a lot of socializing going on at an event like this, as they were much like me in the sense that before a big performance, they kind of get themselves in the zone. They really focus in at what’s going on or getting ready to happen.

As the person who was scheduled to go before me entered the room for his performance, my heart began pounding. Here I was. It was August 24, 2004, and I was getting ready for the second biggest musical audition I’d ever had in my life.

As the kid before me finished up, I was ready to go. I was in the zone, and I entered the room and quickly became aware of my surroundings. I loved the atmosphere and enjoyed performing. I played the audition pieces to the best of my ability, and they couldn’t have gone much better at all. After I finished playing, I how relieved I was to be done with the whole audition process in general. I mean, I loved to play trombone and usually didn’t mind auditioning for groups. It was just a lot more fun to be able to play for pleasure. It was just more fun to be able to relax and enjoy myself while performing music.

Orchstra Auditions were amazing. I ended up being placed in a good slot that I liked and had lots of fun in the short time I played.  I really like the blind audition as it really does allow you to get the best players without knowing who they are.