Auditioning for the HSO

Signing up to audition:  Audition reservations are now closed and all audition times have been reserved. If you do not have a reservation but you want to audition, write to hso@jhu.edu by Thursday September 13. Late-enrolling string players will be assigned times after 9:30 pm on Friday September 14. Wind and brass players will be assigned times after 6:30 pm on Saturday September 15. Walk-in auditioners cannot be accepted. The next auditions will be held in September 2008.

For those who have already been assigned an audition slot, you can still see the audition schedule here.  

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 leave lots of extra time to park. A brand-new parking garage will just have opened off Wyman Park Drive, west of the south campus gate.  The parking fee may be as high as $5.  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.  Arrive early to give yourself 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 16.  Unless they arrange otherwise, string players accepted into the HSO are expected to attend the first rehearsal on Monday evening, September 17.  Musicians in wind and brass sections with few openings may rotate through the season, playing some concerts and allowing their fellow musicians to play others.  A few vacancies are filled during the season.  Musicians who are not accepted into the orchestra may qualify to play in 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, or if the religious holidays will interfere with your scheduling an audition time , contact HSO General Manager Edie Stern at 410 516-6542 or hso@jhu.edu, on or after August 1.
 

Last modified September 8, 2007 S. Phillips
http://www.jhu.edu/jhso/about/audition_info.html

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