One of the goals I made for 2019 was to be a substitute musician with a professional orchestra. This is something that meant the world to me and personally, charted my growth as a violist. For those outside the orchestral world, winning a seat in a professional orchestra is no easy task. It is usually a blind process (that is, the panel is not aware of what you look like or who you are) and there are a large number of people going for one or two spots. Because of the rigor of the selection processes for an orchestra, the auditions for sub musicians can be similar. An orchestra wants a musician that can play at the same level as their regular musicians. I would like to be a full-time orchestral musician someday but realize that I need to start somewhere. Being a sub for a symphony is the perfect place.
Back in November, I got a last minute email asking for me to sub for an orchestra in southern New York. I was delighted because although I wrote this goal down at the beginning of the year, I was not sure I was going to meet it. But just like that, out of no where, I was checking off another thing off my list and was one step closer to where I wanted to be as a violist.
Even though I was excited, I was also incredibly nervous. Playing professional gigs always heightens my nerves, especially after a not so great experience that I had over the summer. The level is higher, there is not a lot of room for error, the timeline is shorter, and most importantly, you want to be called back. From my point of view, there is a lot of stake in these situations. My first step, after learning from my previous mistakes, was to make sure I really knew the music. Like really new it...Read the rest HERE!
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