One of the things I absolutely love about playing the violin is playing orchestral music. I love the variety of repertoire that it brings – from Bach Cantatas to Tchaikovsky Symphonies, Bizet’s suites, and modern, cutting edge compositions. Orchestral playing is constantly interesting and challenging.
When I was going through my Bachelor of Music, I loved orchestral playing, and I even did a research project on what was required to win an orchestral violin position in an Australian orchestra. But my playing was never at the stage where I could consider applying for an audition, let alone winning that audition.
I went away from music for a few years, but now I’m back – currently studying to be a High School music teacher. I’ve got two years of study to go, so I’m setting myself a goal.
In two years, I want my playing to be at a stage where I could feel confident in applying for an audition. I’m not going to say that I’m going to win that audition – but to borrow a line from a hit musical, “I want to be in the room where it happens.”
So to start with, let’s look at what’s required for an Orchestral Violin audition.
First, you generally need to have two violin concertos prepared. These are broken up into two categories. The first is a Mozart Concerto – by which they will either specify, or at least expect either the Fourth concerto in D Major, or the Fifth concerto in A Major. The second category is either a Romantic or Twentieth Century concerto. These have a bit more flexibility in them, and do allow for a bit more choice, but most audition panels would be expecting to hear the Tchaikovsky or Sibelius Violin Concertos.
You then are required to play some orchestral excerpts, which allows them to see how you might fit in to the individual stylistic playing of the orchestra. Over the many years of orchestral auditions, there have been a number of excerpts that have proven themselves to be required more often than others, so even though you may not get a list of required excerpts until the audition is announced, or even closer to the audition date, you can still prepare these excerpts knowing that it is likely they will be included.
When I consider my own playing and my own repertoire that I know at the moment, there are a few things that are missing. I’ve learnt the fourth concerto by Mozart, and I refreshed it in 2020. But I’ve not really learnt any of the major romantic concerti. And while my head knowledge remains relatively fresh, a lot of my technique has slipped. And if I’m to seriously tackle the Tchaikovsky concerto, then I need to address the weakest part of my playing – my double stops.
When taking on any challenge, it’s important to note the things that can get in the way, or make it more difficult. I’m heading into full time study this year, which is no easy feat on its own, but my studies will see me be required to complete three month-long practicums – two this year, one next year. That will take up a lot of my time. I have three kids, one who is diagnosed ASD, and one who is undergoing diagnosis. As such, there are a lot of appointments and therapy sessions to attend to. And while this is an important challenge to me, my family will always come first.
As such, I’ve come up with a plan that I feel is achievable despite these time constraints, but is still enough of a challenge that it will stretch me. I’ve divided it up into semesters, but it basically means the first half of the year, and the second half of the year.
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 | |
| 2021 | Polish Mozart 4 Learn Mendelssohn Technique focus on Double Stops Excerpts: Bach St Matthew Passion; Beethoven Symphony 2, 3 and 9; Mozart Symphony 35 and 39 | Polish Mendelssohn Learn Mozart 5 Technique focus on tone production Excerpts: Brahms Symphony 1 and 4, and Variations on a Theme by Haydn; Elgar Enigma Variations; Prokofiev Symphony 1; Shostakovich Symphony 1 |
| All 2021 | Kreutzer and Fiolillo Etudes | |
| 2022 | Polish Mozart 5 Learn Tchaikovsky Technique focus on intonation Excerpts: Prokofiev Symphony 5; Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Solos; Strauss Don Juan; Tchaikovsky Symphony 4 and 5; Bartok Concerto for Orchestra | Polish Tchaikovsky Technique focus on bowing Excerpts: Mahler 3 and 5; Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet Orchestral Suites; Strauss Ein Heldenleben (Solos) and Der Burger als Edelmann (Solos); Tchaikovsky Swan Lake (Solos) |
| All 2022 | Rode and Dont etudes |
In terms of the amount of practice I am able to do, I am aiming to do two hours of practice a day. That might be a bit of a stretch some days, so it might only be one hour, but that is the aim.
One of the things that I am really trying to focus in on is learning the right way. So I will also be really looking at my practice techniques, utilising resources such as Practiceopedia by Philip Johnston (no longer in print); Youtube, and others, to improve my practicing and make it as effective and efficient as possible. I’ll be sharing these in my weekly videos as I share what I’ve been working on, how I’ve been working on it, and how well it has worked.
I’m excited to see what this program will be able to do for my playing, and for my teaching. I hope you’ll be able to join me for this journey by subscribing to my YouTube channel. But for now – I need to go and practice.
Ben Clapton 