Concerto Opportunity 2021

Auditions on December 5!

Young boys playing cello strings orchestra

Auditions for our annual PACO Concerto Opportunity will be held on Sunday, December 5. I encourage students in all PACO levels to try out; it’s terrific experience even if you’re not chosen to perform. The practice that goes into preparing well for an audition is sure to help your overall playing, and the only known cure for being nervous in performance is the experience of doing it many, many times.

Only one movement of a concerto (or single-movement work for solo and orchestra, like the Kreisler Praeludium & Allegro or Vitali Chaconne) will be required at the audition. No accompanists at the auditions - just you, your instrument, and your memorized movement. Concertos for more than one instrument (ie., Mozart's 'Sinfonie Concertante for Violin and Viola') are encouraged. You are welcome to audition as a singer, pianist, or any instrument of your choice, but only one audition per person per year.

Please keep in mind that PACO is a chamber orchestra and accompanimental requirements definitely affect my decisions. Check in with me regarding your repertoire before signing up for an audition in order to avoid any problems. ([email protected]). Previous year's winners will be asked to skip a year before auditioning again, but this doesn’t apply to our Covid year, 2020-21 where there were no live performances. Students who have already won this competition twice will not be eligible to be a featured soloist again, but again this doesn’t apply to 20-21 winners.

Here's the scoop on what pieces are acceptable for performance: for practical reasons, I have set a maximum limit on the size of the accompanying orchestra at 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani and strings.

How do you know if your piece fits into these guidelines? Two ways:

email me!
Google search your piece and include “imslp”, which is an amazing online library. At the very bottom of the page that lists links for your concerto it says “General Information”, and there you’ll find “instrument detail” which lists the orchestration. Then email me to make sure!

Anything Baroque, Classical, or early Romantic will most likely be fine: Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn. It's the 19th century Romantic repertoire that often uses larger orchestras. I have made an exception for the Bruch Violin Concerto—although it uses 4 horns it is playable with only 2, thus acceptable.

Remember that you are welcome to play for me even if the piece you have learned is too big for us to perform—it’s really good experience and I will send you my comments and suggestions for improvement as I do for all auditioners.