how to advance at an orchestra audition 101

ok, here’s the deal. when i was in high school and college, i would have given anything to learn the right way to prepare for orchestra auditions. i wanted to learn a proven, step-by-step method that had actually worked for someone. but i had no idea where to find it, what that was, and every rejection hammered that home. 

i learned one little tip - one little piece of the puzzle - here and there. and over a decade, i put together the puzzle to create my preparation process, through hard work and sweat. finally, it worked and i won a job.

but if i could do one thing to evaporate a massive amount of stress in my life, all i would do is go back in time and teach myself how to win an audition. i would just find a delorean with a flux capacitor, go back to 2002, and teach myself the exact steps that i would one day find to be most effective to win an audition.

the back to the future time machine: a delorean. (by terabass.)

the back to the future time machine: a delorean. (by terabass.)

if i could go back in time, this is what i would teach myself.

it's a 3 part course. and i’m going to take you through the basics of how to advance at an orchestra audition.

(it's free)

here's what you'll get:

video #1: 4 reasons why anyone can win an audition

i’m going to talk about four reasons why anyone can advance at an audition. it’s a mindset for how you can structure your life into a highly productive, effective audition machine.


video #2: the 3 vital phases of audition preparation

the blueprint for audition preparation shouldn't be a secret. you shouldn't be held back by not knowing something. you should only be held back by laziness and lack of work ethic. so here's what you'll need to prepare for an audition. i’t’s a blueprint that you can follow to make sure you’re doing the right amount of each thing, and doing it in the right order.


video #3: what a winning audition sounds like

to learn how to prepare, you have to learn what you're shooting for. and to learn that, you have to understand what an audition committee is listening for and what winners sound like.

so i’m going to show you exactly what it sounds like when you win an audition. i have the recording of my winning met orchestra audition, which is something i really haven’t played for anyone. we’re going to go through it so you can understand exactly why those 3 phases of preparation are so effective, and what the audition committee is listening for.

i promise that if you go through this whole video course, beginning to end, that you’ll have a completely revitalized understanding of how to prepare for auditions, and you’ll have a solid plan to follow on how to advance.


rob knopper

hailed by @nytimes as needing 'louder triangle notes'. recorded delécluse: douze études for snare drum, percussionist in @metorchestra.