It’s always a humbling experience critiquing other people’s artistic efforts and attempting to put your own out there.
I spent Saturday morning in the company of some talented San Francisco Conservatory students, graduates and pro musicians auditioning for a spot as an oboist in the eclectic Magik*Magik Orchestra. I’ve been wanting to join this group for a while because the orchestra, which is based in San Francisco, isn’t like other orchestras around here. Instead of scraping away at Mozart and Beethoven like every other ensemble on earth, they play scores for video games, accompany famous pop musicians and perform at non-classical events like The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.
I had a blast at the audition, though I was well out of my league both in terms of the quality of the other instrumentalists and the repertoire we played. We wore headphones and played along with pre-recorded tracks for video game music. We improvised. At one point, we put down out instruments and sang. I’ve never experienced an audition quite like it…
Re-posted with permission.