OSU Wind Ensemble & Symphonic Band Auditions – Fall 2021
Auditions for Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band will take place August 15-17, 2021. These will be blind / screened auditions. This means that the faculty listening to the auditions will not be able to see the person performing. The auditions will take place in the Recital Hall of the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts.
Audition Times
Sunday, August 15, 2021
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. – Clarinets & Bass Clarinets
2:45 – 4:30 p.m. – Saxophones
Monday, August 16, 2021
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. – Tubas
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. – Euphoniums
2:30 – 4:00 p.m. – Trumpets
6:50 – 7:30 p.m. – Oboes
7:35 – 8:10 p.m. – Bassoons
8:15 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. – Flutes
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
4:00 – 5:40 p.m. – Percussion (auditions in percussion studio)
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. – Horns
8:20 – 9:50 p.m. – Trombones & Bass Trombones
Who Should Audition?
EVERYONE is welcome and encouraged to audition. The following people are required to audition for Wind Ensemble / Symphonic Band:
- Music majors and minors (regardless of scholarship amount)
- Non-music majors on band scholarships
What to prepare
The following excerpts:
Fall 2021 Wind Ensemble & Symphonic Band Repertoire
Click image to enlarge.
Ensemble Meeting Times
Wind Ensemble meets on Tues / Th from 4:00 – 6:00, and Symphonic Band meets M / W / F from 12:30 – 1:45.
Additional Information
- Check-in will take place outside the BACKSTAGE entrance to the Recital Hall of the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts. This entrance is near the glass doors that connect the Greenwood School of Music to the McKnight Center. You will see a check-in table here.
- Please show up a few minutes before the beginning of the scheduled audition block for your instrument. We will have you complete a brief form with your name, instrument, major, home town, and any schedule conflicts that you may have with either ensemble
- A reminder that this will be a blind audition, meaning that the audition committee comprised of Dr. Henderson, Dr. Austin, and the applied teacher for your instrument will NOT know who is playing. We will match the audition results based on the LETTER that is assigned to you, and we will match the letters to names AFTER placing individuals in ensembles. The purpose of this is to prevent personal bias from impacting the audition results.
- When you turn in your paperwork, please notify the graduate teaching assistant if you need a specific time. They will assign you an audition “letter” and a time
- We will make sure the large rehearsal rooms the GSM are unlocked for the purposes of warm-ups. The practice rooms will also be unlocked
- Please remember to NOT say anything to the audition panel. We may speak to you to tell you to welcome you, ask you to stop early or skip to the next etude, move on to the sight-reading, etc. Remember, the purpose of the blind audition is to maintain anonymity, so if you talk to us, we may be able to identify who you are.
- It is TOTALLY fine to play a few notes on your instrument in the Recital Hall prior to playing your first excerpt. Remember not to ask us to avoid identifying yourself – just go ahead and play a few notes to get used to the acoustics in the Recital Hall once you are ready to play.
- Do not be offended if we ask you to stop early or skip an etude! We do this all the time to stay on schedule.
- We realize it may be a little bit unnerving to audition without being able to see us or talk to us, especially since this will be the first time we complete these auditions this way at OSU. Take a deep breath between each excerpt. Remember, we WANT you to succeed! Everyone in the room is pulling for you. If you make a mistake, don’t let it get to you.
- If you are unable to make it during the scheduled audition block for your instrument, please reach out to both Dr. Henderson and your applied teacher. We will schedule a separate time for you. This will unfortunately mean that we won’t be able to do your audition as a “blind” audition, but we still want to be able to accommodate everyone in the audition process.
- While we cannot require mask wearing, you are encouraged to wear your mask at all times when indoors and not playing your instrument. We REALLY want to make music in large ensembles throughout the semester, and it is totally dependent upon our ability to maintain the health, safety, and well-being of ALL of our students. Even if you are vaccinated, it is possible that someone else near you is not and/or may be immunocompromised, and you can pass the virus to them. Let’s all take care of each other so that we can make beautiful music together throughout the year!!!
- We have also ordered “musicians masks” that will be arriving soon. These masks can be worn while playing your instruments. Again, we cannot require you to wear one of these masks, but we will make them available to you at no charge if you wish to use one. We will also be following guidance of updated scientific studies that generally recommend 3 feet of spacing between chairs in rehearsals and performances (and 6 feet for trombones). This is significantly more conducive to music making, and not that different than “normal” spacing during pre-pandemic times.
Questions?
Call (405) 744-6135 or email us at osubands@okstate.edu or doug.henderson@okstate.edu
