Conductor Daniel Raiskin, the Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony and Slovak Philharmonic, and violinist and concertmaster of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Igor Yuzefovich were happy to share their expert advice.

The two will also present a workshop for young artists on the art of preparing for orchestral auditions through the North Shore Chamber Music Festival's Onstage/Offstage Series on November 20th. Audiences can watch the workshop on The Violin Channel at 12 PM CDT.

Raiskin and Yosefovich, veterans of auditioning musicians for their orchestras, will cover what conductors and concertmasters are listening for in your audition and how to mentally, and physically, prepare for auditions.

Daniel Raiskin & Igor Yuzefovich — How to Best Prepare for Orchestral Auditions

1. Listen to and learn the pieces that the excerpts are taken from - Igor Yuzefovich (IY)

2. Be sure to prepare all the orchestra excerpts on the same level (or even better!) as the concertos and solo works you are required to play. Unless you are auditioning for a concertmaster position, it's usually not a soloist that the orchestra is looking for - Daniel Raiskin (DR)

3. Think about “why” this particular excerpt was chosen.  What is the panel looking for in each particular excerpt? Emphasize those points in your playing - IY

4. Use a metronome, even if you think you don’t need to! When practicing with one, try to use the beat as a syncopation and avoid practicing with only regular beats - IY & DR

5. Play along with a recording to get a better understanding of how your line fits in with the rest of the orchestra. When you play in an audition, you’ll be able to hear the rest of the orchestra in your head - IY

6. While practicing for the audition, regularly record yourself on both audio and video and analyze critically for any shortcomings – be your own harshest critic! - DR

7. If the orchestra didn’t provide bowed parts, make sure to get bowings from either someone in your local symphony or teachers - IY

8. Prepare yourself for eventually being asked to repeat parts of the audition excerpts: the panel might want to hear things being played shorter or longer, louder or softer, slower or faster, with more or less vibrato - DR

8. When you feel well prepared, play the excerpts through in various order.  Fast excerpts followed by slow, loud to super soft, etc., you never know what order the panel will ask them in, so be prepared - IY

9. Unless explicitly indicated, count all the rests and take particular care about the quality of your counting (the same goes for muted or unmuted passages) - DR

10. Play for leaders or principals of your local symphony orchestra, when possible. The experience of someone who’s played these pieces many times in a concert setting can be invaluable - IY

11. Your instrument, bow, and gear should be in top-notch condition. Be sure you can tune quickly and thoroughly (fine tuners), that your bow has enough hair, and that your shoulder rest (if you are using one) is not falling off every 5 minutes - DR

12. Do mock auditions. Ask your friends to sit as a mock panel and call out excerpts and write down their comments - IY

13. Be prepared for a potential conversation with the members of the panel or the music director. This should not be a shock and you want to come across as genuine as possible - DR

14. Don’t try to play in a style that you think would match a certain orchestra.  Play the way you play - IY

15. Remember that you are first and foremost a musician! The audition panel wants to hear that they are dealing with an aware, sensitive, emotional, and inspiring potential colleague. Shape even all clearly secondary lines with the greatest care - DR

16. Try to take the pressure out: an orchestra you are auditioning for should want you as much as you want to get a job with them! Play to enjoy, don’t play to please - IY & DR

17. Take it easy if you do not succeed in an audition. Keep practicing and working: there is always a job out there that is waiting for you! - DR

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Photo credit: Kaupo Kikkas

Violinist Chloë Hanslip Gives Insight to Life Lessons You Can Only Learn on Stage

When I was asked to write this article on life lessons that can be learnt on stage so many different ideas came to me.

Listening first came to mind – in this increasingly noisy world listening is a skill that I feel we are losing.

Then came responding and interacting – again in a society that relies so much on technology, simple dialogue and communication is being lost.

All of these are essential when performing – music making is, after all, a conversation.

Being prepared for any eventuality (strings breaking, bridges slipping off the violin!) and dealing with it calmly were also considered.

Ultimately though, I landed on looking and acting confident, even when you don’t feel it, and the facets of that that we explore as musicians when we are on stage.

Playing works that have been written by someone else, and performing them for an audience, is a huge responsibility that can make us vulnerable right from the very first note. Am I performing it the way the composer imagined it to be played? Am I taking the audience on a true journey? Both of these things have been known to go through my mind when I am working on pieces at home and sometimes, when I am on stage.

However, no-one should ever know that these thoughts are going through our heads – we need to look just confident enough, relaxed and totally in control, even if we might not feel it!

An extension to those questions above is also whether you are prepared to bare your soul and your feelings whilst performing. What do we want to present as musicians? What is our motivation? We are, essentially, opening up and showing our truest emotions to a group of people we do not know – something which, as human beings, is not necessarily an automatic thing to do.

So, how do we overcome those thoughts and what processes do we use to mitigate them?

Practice and knowing a piece inside out is crucial and, although getting ready on a concert day is a hugely personal thing, for me, that time, be it getting some fresh air, eating some chocolate or jumping up and down to disperse any extra energy, is almost the most important to clear my head so I can go out and truly enjoy a performance.

Making music is a wonderful mixture of joy, sadness, strength, weakness and many other things - no one performance will be the same (nor should it be!) and so it is with life as well, but it should all be cherished.

-Chloë

Do you have an idea for a blog or news tip? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

Artist in Association with the Northern Chamber Orchestra, violinist Chloë Hanslip made her BBC Proms debut at the age of fourteen and her US concerto debut at the age of fifteen. She was recognized by the Gramophone Magazine "Choice" in its July 2013 issue, "There's a wholly infectious conviction, spontaneity and panache about these superbly accomplished performances that lend them special distinction." A student of Russian pedagogue Zakhar Bron for ten years, she has also worked with Christian Tetzlaff, Robert Masters, Ida Haendel, Salvatore Accardo, and Gerhard Schulz. Hanslip plays a Guarneri del Gesu 1737.

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Pianist Carlos Avila shares his advice on the topic.

Pianist Carlos Avila speaks on the "do's and don'ts" when collaborating with pianists

When it comes to collaborating with a pianist, there exists a code of unspoken etiquette that can make music either more miserable or more enjoyable. For students looking to pursue a career in the music world, learning the “dos and don’ts” can be an integral part of building a viable career because let’s face it: nobody wants to play with a jerk. Many of these seem like common sense but it’s astounding how the simplicity of social grace can be so difficult.

DO write a good email. This is often your first impression. Be polite and don’t forget to state all relevant information (who you are, what instrument you play, date of concert, availability, contact info, repertoire to be performed, etc.). You would be surprised how many times pianists receive emails that look like this: “Hi, can you accompany me? Thanks. –Mark.”

DON’T use the word “accompanist” or even “collaborative pianist.” Most of the time, pianists have way more notes in their parts than you do and more often than not, their part is also as difficult (or more difficult!) than yours. The word “accompanist” implies a subservient identity in what should be an equal-collaborative role, not to mention they often do many other things in their lives (including solo piano). The term “collaborative pianist” is redundant – they know they’re about to collaborate with you. Practice efficiency: someone who plays the violin is a violinist, someone who plays the cello is a cellist, and someone who plays the piano is a pianist. Simple!

DO study your score and come prepared (and always bring your score to rehearsal). Someone once said “practice is for learning your part and rehearsal is for learning everyone else’s part”. This is somewhat true but practice is also for learning the other parts. Always practice with the score nearby if not on your stand beside your part. Joel Krosnick, the former cellist of the Juilliard String Quartet says “always play the other parts on your instrument during your individual practice time, even if you have to do it up or down an octave and it sounds bad.”

DON’T assume that a piano part to an instrumental sonata can be learned overnight. Sometimes a piano part is even harder than the solo part to a piano concerto! A large number of pianists will tell you that the piano part to Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata or Ravel Piano Trio exceeds the difficulty of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. One wouldn’t expect you to learn Sibelius Violin Concerto overnight, so show the same understanding and decency to a pianist.

DO be reasonable with payment. This is a complicated issue (that could probably have an article of its own!) that differs from one situation to the next. If you’re taking an audition to a school or playing for a competition, ask the pianist what their rate is. If you are playing a concert or a recital in which you are not receiving payment, also ask the pianist what their rate is. If you’re playing a “gig” or being paid to play a professional engagement, the presenter should be paying you and the pianist directly and ask for a contract. This often becomes even more complicated if you or the pianist is not a permanent resident of the country you are playing in.

DON’T assume you know best all the time. It’s great to have an artistic vision and a personal interpretation about your music, and one would never want to take that away. But often, the pianist with whom you are playing has an incredibly extensive knowledge of the music with years of performance experience under their belt.

Remember to treat collaboration with flexibility and humility and don’t be too cool to ask questions!

DO be polite and use appropriate language. Instead of saying “dude you’re way too loud there,” find a way of expressing yourself with a musical explanation. How about, “I wonder if you can give me some space here to let the melodic line come through with more clarity?” Pianists are human beings with emotions and feelings. Though of course, if the pianist is a good friend of yours, “dude you’re way too loud there” can be just fine.

DON’T tell the pianist to put the piano lid down. It’s not your instrument. Period.

DO be considerate of a pianist’s time. Even if you are paying them, the pianist is very often doing you a favor. Ask them where they would like to rehearse and be willing to go to them. If you’re a morning person, don’t assume they will want to rehearse at 8am. If you’re a night person, don’t assume they will want to rehearse at 10pm!

DON’T be a jerk. Remember that you’re sharing the stage and know that rehearsing with someone is very much a social situation. Being a pleasure to work with can become a great asset in your future just the same way that (regardless of how great a musician you are) being the opposite might very well land you with no gigs.

-Carlos

Do you have an idea for a blog or news tip? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

A graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal, Carlos Avila has performed internationally for more than 20 years — including performances at the Schleswig-Holstein, Tanglewood, Sarasota, Aspen and Banff Festivals and collaborations with the late Isaac Stern, Daniel Barenboim, Michael Tilson Thomas, Emanuel Ax, Richard Goode and members of the St. Lawrence, Tokyo, Guarneri, Juilliard, Ying and Borodin String Quartets. He currently serves as studio pianist for cello pedagogue Joel Krosnick at New York's Juilliard School - and serves on the piano faculty of the Heifetz Institute.

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Violinist Kristine Balanas shares first-hand advice for recovering on stage.

Violinist Kristine Balanas Shares Real Advice on How to Recover When the Unexpected Happens During a Performance

Ideally, after all the hours of practicing, you get on stage for a performance and, at least for a few moments, you get to live in the space between your instrument, your fingers and your ears. But we don't always get to have perfect semi-out-of-body experiences. And in fact, quite often, "technical difficulties" tear you away from the music (just ask Janet Jackson).

As long as no one gets hurt (more on this below), these experiences can even be good, when we are forced to think on our feet and find a solution quickly.

In a time of highly polished and edited recordings and musical perfectionism, a small mishap can even be a humanizing experience. What should you do when something goes wrong? Here are a couple tips I can share on how to respond to the unexpected on stage.

1. Think quickly.

At the Latvia Music Award Ceremony in Riga, my E string snapped moments before the end of Wieniawski's Polonaise Brilliante – in fact, it snapped right as I was approaching the fermata. The concert was being filmed live on national TV, and it would have been pointless by then to call "time out" and fix my poor violin. Time already slows down when we play music, and fear and adrenaline bring it almost to a halt. In a number of seconds that felt like hours, I realized I had to do something immediately. I would even say that I didn’t realize anything – my legs simply took me elsewhere before I could say what I was doing. I turned to the concert master, Sandis Šteinbergs, and said, "Sandis! Please help me!" He graciously lent me his violin and saved the day: I played to the end, as you can see above. In the middle of a performance everyone is concentrated on the goal of getting through the piece to the best of their ability, so that when a mishap does occur the other musicians also notice it immediately and will probably try to help if they can.

2. Stay calm and wait for an appropriate moment to react.

At a recent performance in Tel Aviv, I watched with horror as my music stand began to slide down in slow motion. By the time it stopped it was much farther down and I was craning my neck toward the floor. Thankfully I was wearing contact lenses that day – if I had been wearing glasses they would have probably fallen off. When we finished the movement, I pulled the stand up only to see it start to inch slowly down again. The audience started to laugh, and I did too. This broke the tension, I smiled, got up and took the music stand backstage to replace it. In most of the situations I have experienced or heard about from colleagues, you can either make do with the slightly compromised situation or calmly interrupt the performance between movements or pieces and fix the problem.

3. When it isn't a musical issue, trust other people to know what to do.

An elderly concert attendee fell unconscious when I was performing in Poland. At first I only noticed people going up and down the isles – something to which I try not to pay attention while I am playing. But then two paramedics came in with a stretcher and placed a woman on it. She had a heart condition and was not responding. Although I didn’t know what was going on, at this point I was naturally quite concerned that something awful might have happened, but continued playing as it seemed to be under control. I was relieved to find out later that she came to shortly after they took her out and that she even insisted on returning for the second half of the concert.

I'm conflicted, however. Musicians literally have center stage and can direct the audience's attention to someone who may need help. If we are attentive to the audience as musicians, surely we also must be prepared to recognize an event that is larger than the music itself, and then to use our position to help. No matter what the situation, however, it is best to remain calm, look for an opportunity to intervene – whether in a technical issue or a more serious emergency – and count on your training and disciplined practice to deliver you once the music can begin again. 

-Kristine

Do you have an idea for a blog or news tip? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and Berlin's Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler where she studied with György Pauk and Kolja Blacher, Kristine was awarded 3rd prize at the prestigious 2017 ARD International Violin Competition, in Munich. She currently performs on a 1787 Antonio Gragnani violin, on generous loan from the Beare’s International Violin Society.

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What are some performance presence tips and tricks that you know of? How have they been working for you? Please leave a comment below, we are keen to know your thoughts.

Cellist Natasha Brofsky Discusses How We Can Develop a Memorable and Great Performance Presence On Stage

Dear Victoria,

Performance presence is born out of a sincere and deep connection to the music you are playing and the desire to share this with your audience.

Ask yourself this important question: What do you want your audience to experience as they listen to your performance? If, while you are performing, you are worried about how you are coming across visually, whether you or the audience likes what you are doing or how you look, then your focus is not in the right place.

Just as actors transform themselves into characters, we musicians must focus on the character and emotion behind what we are playing and how the energy and spirit of the music is conveyed through us and our instrument to our audience.

Learn the music inside and out: Know the whole score, not just your own part. 

Ask yourself how the phrasing, harmony and texture of the music create atmosphere, energy and direction. These elements are essential to your performance presence.

Use your imagination to color your sound. Experiment with extremes of all kinds: Dynamics — what are the softest sounds in the piece and what are the loudest? What is the most intimate moment? What is the most extroverted moment? What is the calmest section? The most boisterous passage? After establishing extremes, you can work on pacing and how to get from one type of passage to another. In the practice room devote time to working on performance.

After you have worked on perfecting small bits, play through large sections to work on your performance concentration, focusing on what you want your audience to experience as they listen to you. As you get closer to your performance date, perform larger and larger sections in your practice.

On stage, keep your listening alert and use the resonance of the concert hall as an extension of your instrument.

Remember that you are communicating with your audience through sound, and the more of yourself you invest in the quality and character of the sounds you are creating, the greater your performance presence will be.

–Natasha

Do you have a burning question for one of the Pros? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

Natasha Brofsky is cellist of the Naumburg Award-winning Peabody Trio, which has performed on leading chamber music series throughout the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. The trio has been heard on numerous radio broadcasts, and has recorded on the New World, CRI, and Artek labels. She has performed as a guest artist with numerous ensembles, including the Takacs, Prazak, Cassatt, Norwegian, Jupiter, Ying, and Borromeo Quartets. Brofsky has held principal positions in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra under Iona Brown. She was also a member of the Serapion Ensemble, performing with the group in Germany and Austria, and the string trio Opus 3, which performed throughout Norway for Rikskonsertene, the Norwegian State Concert Agency.

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What are some advice you know of when one messes up on stage? How do you best prepare yourself to reduce the likelihood of these events occurring? Please leave a comment below, we are keen to know your thoughts.

Violinist Mayuko Kamio explains how she recovers after messing up

Dear Tina,

Thank you for asking such a great question.

First of all, a mess up happens to everybody, professionals do mess up much more frequently than you'd think. So don't fret over it too much!

My candid advice for you is that, ultimately, you should practice so that messing up doesn't interfere with your performance outcome.

It is not wise to strive to be perfect if your performance date is fast approaching. You have to narrow your focus on one or two things that you are really good at. In other words, if you are trying to perfect the intonation, the articulation, the vibrato, and the bowing just one week before the performance, your concentration is all over the place, and the reality is that you probably won't get them perfect by the performance day, really. Your will power and self-control may be a limited resource. And your time definitely is limited. Try to be unique and different. There really is no reason for the audience to listen to you if you are perfect, but like anybody else. So before going out on stage, don't ever be afraid about other things, just concentrate on what you already have, but really make sure that every person in the audience will hear your beautiful strength.

So if you mess up, you'll know that it's not a catastrophe because you have got this extra something in your performance. You just go back to concentrate on delivering your beautiful side. And if you still feel totally out of control on stage, it's often due to your heart rate and grip strength. If you are missing notes in fast passages, you might be playing much faster than you think you are because of your increased heart rate. Slow down, try to play much slower than you think. Or your grip may have gone limp, and you are not pressing down the fingerboard with your fingers as hard as you should be. I always tell my students to hit the fingerboard with their fingers to the extent that you can hear the hitting noise.

If you have a memory slip? I know it's the scariest thing, but trust your muscle memory, breathe in, and just let go. Your fingers won't let you down.

If you are totally lost and in a panic, go ahead and improvise. I'm ashamed to say that I once had to improvise throughout the piece because I was underprepared, but I kept playing some plausible notes, and people ended up asking which edition I used for the performance. See, I'm not proud of it, but it may not be as destructive as we may think.

Lastly, just imagine going to your favorite violinist's concert. If he or she has a memory slip or misses some notes, the truth is, you may be surprised or a little disappointed by his or her mistakes, but you will most probably be marveling at his or her mastery whether it be a rich sound or legato of the bow.

You should try to reach that level, and you'll be there in no time.

–Mayuko

Do you have a burning question for one of the Pros? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

Japanese violinist Mayuko Kamio, the gold medalist of the 2007 International Tchaikovsky Competition, is widely praised for her luxurious silken tone, long expressive phrasing and virtuoso techniques. The New York Times has called Ms. Kamio an "exciting young musician" and "a radiant talent." Ms. Kamio made her concerto debut in Tokyo at the age of ten under the baton of Charles Dutoit, in a concert broadcast on NHK television. Since then, she has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart, the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich with Mstislav Rostropovich, and the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta.

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Photo credit: Benjamin Ealovega

James Ehnes on How to Handle a Broken String Mid-Performance

Dear Jason,

Great question. I would say the answer would depend very much on the circumstance, though. When performing with an orchestra, I think it's best to quickly swap violins with the Concertmaster.

This does happen to me every few seasons, and the switch always seems to take forever with your adrenaline going like crazy, but for the audience, I'm told, it usually appears lightning-quick! If one is performing alone, with piano, or in a chamber group, I think it's best to stop, explain to the audience what's happened and change the string off stage.

This is why it's important to always have a spare set of strings in your case – preferably an old set that are already stretched out.

Finishing a piece on the lower strings a-la-Paganini-style seems a little silly to me. Mind you, I did once break an E string about 8 seconds from the end of a concerto – so finishing on the lower strings was my only real option. It worked out – more or less! I hope that helped, Jason? Thanks for your question. Thanks VC. All the best

–James

Do you have a burning question for one of the Pros? Simply email: hello@theviolinchannel.com

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and an unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest of many of the world’s most respected conductors including Ashkenazy, Alsop, Sir Andrew Davis, Denève, Elder, Ivan Fischer, Gardner, Paavo Järvi, Mena, Noseda, Robertson and Runnicles. Ehnes’s long list of orchestras includes, amongst others, the Boston, Chicago, London, NHK and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles, New York, Munich and Czech Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Cleveland, Philadelphia, Philharmonia and DSO Berlin orchestras.

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