Mock Auditions & Audition Prep

Helping Young Musicians Walk Into Auditions with Confidence – Jenny Yu

At BreezeWood Strings, we remember what it feels like to wait outside an audition room, bow in hand, heart racing. That’s why every summer, our members give up their own practice time to help fellow young string players prepare for county and regional youth orchestra auditions.

Mock Auditions recreate the real audition experience: students perform their full excerpts, scales, and solos in front of a judging panel. Our judges, Leeann Sun, Ruichen Feng, and Jenny Yu graded the auditionees based on scales, excerpts, solos, sightreading, intonation, musicality, phrasing, posture, and more, so that the auditionees got to know the format of the grading sheet by the time the real audition arrived. Audition Prep is one-on-one, our members help each student with whatever they need most, whether that’s cleaning up a tricky shift, building confidence in scales, or preparing for sight-reading. Many of the students we work with are auditioning for PVYO or MCYO for the first time, so we also help demystify the process itself, what to expect and how to pace their practice. For auditions with a sight-reading component, our volunteers put together level-appropriate material for each student and teach the habits that make it click: check the key and time signature first, work through the fingering silently, then layer in the dynamics once the notes feel secure. Sessions are flexible, students can stay for the full block or drop in for just the portion they need.

This summer, our members offered 26 sessions (nearly 20 hours) of Mock Auditions and Audition Prep across libraries in Potomac, Rockville, and Gaithersburg, helping a dozen young musicians prepare for their auditions.

For us, this program is about more than sharpening technique. It’s a chance to pay forward the support that got us here, and to help every student walk into their audition a little more confident and prepared.

Source: breezewoodstrings.org/summer-youth-orchestra-audition-prep

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