Auditioning for the HSO

Signing up to audition: Please use the on-line audition request form starting on Monday August 4, 2008. Reservations will be accepted through Friday August 29, 2008. If you miss the deadline, contact the office at hso@jhu.edu or 410 516-6542. Applicants after the end of auditions will not be considered for the 2008-09 season.

Audition site:  Shriver Hall is at the south end of the Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore.  Shriver Hall is directly behind the Baltimore Museum of Art. Click here for driving directions and a campus map.

Parking:  If you drive to your audition, please allow plenty of time to park. After 3:45 pm on Thursday and all day on Saturday, you can park in the metered spaces along the driveway behind Shriver Hall, or in the South Garage just off Wyman Park Drive. Parking is free on Remington Avenue and south of campus.  However, it’s a trek back to Shriver Hall.  If you park in the neighborhood, note time limits and parking meter regulations.

Preparation:  You are expected to bring your own instrument.  You may use your sheet music; please bring an extra copy for the people hearing your audition.  An accompanist will not be provided, nor are you expected to bring one. To prepare for auditions, students may use the music practice rooms at the Mattin Arts Center.

Arrival:  Come to the Shriver Hall basement hallway (one floor down from the main lobby), near the vending machines. Try to arrive at least 20 minutes early, so you’ll have time to register, warm up, and be ready to start on schedule. You will have use of a warm-up room.

Audition process:  Auditions last about 10 minutes.  1)  You will be asked to play two contrasting selections of your choice—one fast and one slow—or one selection that has great contrasts in tempo and style.  Choose selections that show the range of your abilities.  2)  You will be asked to play major scales.  3)  You will be given a brief excerpt to sight-read.  If you are auditioning on French horn or trumpet, be prepared for a sight-reading excerpt with transpositions.

Results:  You will be informed of the result of your audition by e-mail or phone, by Sunday, September 7.  Unless they arrange otherwise, string players accepted into the HSO are expected to attend the first rehearsal on Monday evening, September 8.  Musicians in very full sections (e.g., cellos, most winds and brass) may rotate through the season, playing some concerts and allowing their fellow musicians to play others.  A few vacancies may be filled during the season.  Musicians who are not accepted into the orchestra may qualify to play in the chamber orchestra, and musicians may specifically request to audition for the chamber orchestra; the HSO presents three chamber music concerts each season.  Musicians not accepted this year are welcome to audition again next year.

For more information, or if you want to audition on piano or percussion, contact HSO General Manager Edie Stern at 410 516-6542 or hso@jhu.edu, on or after August 4.
 

Last modified July 15, 2008 S. Phillips
http://www.jhu.edu/jhso/about/audition_info.html

Back to the HSO Home Page