The Audition

This is a piece I wrote recently about a nervous auditioner (I think that’s the right word) in an audition for area or district band. It is supposed to be more on the theatrical side with some instruments representing people. There are four movements, each representing a part of the audition process. I will explain each one in depth:

Movement I : Practice, Practice, Then Practice : This movement is about the person who is auditioning (throughout the piece this will be the flute), first getting their audition piece (the melody). It’s called Practice, Practice, Then Practice because this is the part of the audition process where you practice your scales, the audition piece, etc.

Movement II : Get Yourself Together : This movement is about the part of the audition process where you’re warming up right before they call your number. You have to prepare yourself mentally. I had the piano sound like a clock in the background because when I auditioned for district and area band before I was in the audition room it was like a part of me was counting down the minutes until it was my turn.

Movement III : Time To Shine : This movement is about being in the audition room. I had the piano imitate a heartbeat in this movement to show that the player was a bit nervous, but after they played the “audition piece” (the extended melody) it slowed down to show that the player was calm since they finished their audition.

Movement IV : Win Or Lose, You Tried : This movement is about after the audition, where, at least for me, it didn’t matter to me as much if I had made it or not; I was just proud that I had finished the audition process.

This is such a fun idea!  I could have used some more depth to the solo piano chords in section IV, to convey the deep relief and glow of satisfaction of the auditioner.  It makes sense for the other movements to be spare, but here you could expand to a bit fuller harmony, even for the metronome/heart beat of the piano.  

Nice job handling all the different instruments and telling a complete story!  It was totally understandable.