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Just to finish the thought from a posting here in February about Laurie Niles, who hoped to audition for an opening with the Los Angeles Philharmonic... She got her tryout (all alone on the main stage at Disney Hall) and posted the details at Violinist.com back on March 21.
Well, I am not the newest member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic violin section....I did give it my best shot, and I thank the LA Phil for letting me do so. It was by far the most professionally-run audition I’ve ever attended, and I have attended quite a few...Knowing there were 100-some candidates, I expected the communal warm-up room, with maybe 30 people all playing at once: the Tchaik here, the Sibelius here, all the different excerpts simultaneously at various speeds… Imagine my surprise when I was ushered politely to my own private, sound-proof practice room. It was an inviting little dressing room, with a sky blue leather couch and a painting of lily pads in bright and peaceful shades of blue and green. There was a T.V. in the corner ceiling, and a nice big mirror in which I could see my sunken eyes and sleep-deprived face...