how 3 musicians deal with audition day

...should you drink coffee before an audition, or not?

...should you get up early, or sleep in?

...what exactly should you do in the warm-up room?

...and what should you do the week leading up to the audition?

these are all great questions. but do they have a “right” answer?

the actions you take the day of the audition have a huge impact on your playing. and all the work you did leading up to that day is on the line.

so how do you decide exactly what to do on audition day?

well, everyone’s ideal audition day approach is different. you need a unique plan for audition day that reflects who you are: your personality, your energy levels, and your particular causes and symptoms of nerves.

you’ll have to develop a plan to approach audition day. then you’ll test it, figure out what can be better, and improve it.

so to help you make a starting plan on how to structure audition day, i wanted to give you some ideas on how top professionals do it. 

i had the pleasure of chatting with three musicians from the detroit symphony:

  • caroline coade, viola

  • sarah lewis, assistant principal oboe

  • amanda blaikie, second flute

this video is about how 3 musicians deal with audition day. there’s definitely no one-size-fits-all solution.


5-step audition cheat sheet.jpeg

want to nail your next audition?

here’s the 5-part audition preparation method that i used to win a job in the MET orchestra.

the best part? it works for every instrument.


rob knopper

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