<p>hey everyone, i'm a newbie here and am really glad i found this site (i wish i had found it before completing my applications though) :(</p>
<p>anyway, i'll be going to caltech next fall and am interested in joining the chamber music group piano four-hands (unless i learn how to also play the violin in 2 months...highly improbable) and chamber singers as a soprano or alto.</p>
<p>i was wondering about how the auditions go for these 2 groups. is it really hard to get in?</p>
<p>I'll go ahead and respond, because I don't think there is anyone who patrols this board daily and is in the chamber groups. My info is based on remembered second-hand conversations, so if you don't get a more concrete reply within a few days, PM me or bump this thread up and I'll do more research (i.e. track down the people in the know).</p>
<p>I think chamber groups are auditionless and open to whoever wants in. This is common here -- we're such a small school that we can't afford to be picky. I know that in band and orchestra, auditions only serve for placement (first-chair, second-chair, etc.). There are also a couple popular acapella groups, all of which have competitive auditions.</p>
<p>thanks for responding, alleya. it doesn't seem that difficult to get into one of the performing groups.</p>
<p>but, according the a caltech catalog i have, it says that for chamber music and chamber singers, auditions are required. the only other related groups which don't mention auditions are the glee clubs and symphony orchestra. </p>
<p>"I know that in band and orchestra, auditions only serve for placement (first-chair, second-chair, etc.)."</p>
<p>That's true for some instruments but not for others. The orchestra is generally fine with adding another cellist or violinist, but in the wind instruments there can only be so many of each. Most years I think more than twice as many flutes and trumpets audition as Allen ends up taking, for example.</p>
<p>The band will pretty much allow anyone to play because it's not so critical that they have (say) exactly 3 trumpet players, for example.</p>
<p>I play flute in symphony, and this is true, winds do actually have to prepare for an audition, though I thought it was lower stress than my previous auditions back home.</p>
<p>There are auditions for chamber, but I'm fairly certain it's just to place you in a group of similar talent</p>
<p>The band audition is pretty pointless. I know someone who went in without any music and just played scales and got in. Needless to say, I didn't stay in band that long.</p>
<p>I just got an email back from a friend who played in chamber, confirming that the auditions are just to match people up. He's heard that the chamber singers are very competitive, but they do frequently admit freshman. In particular, there were at least three graduating seniors last year, so several spots should be open this fall.</p>
<p>"The band audition is pretty pointless. I know someone who went in without any music and just played scales and got in. Needless to say, I didn't stay in band that long."</p>
<p>I'm not sure how the second part follows from the first in a needless-to-say sort of way. Personally I did both band and orchestra all 12 of my terms at Caltech and loved both of them. Yes, the band is lower-pressure and more casual, but I thought they still did quite worthwhile music.</p>
<p>Hm. Well, it sometimes gets annoying when there's only two dynamics: forte and fortissimo. I remember we had a guest conductor come in once who kept on motioning us to play softer. After 10 tries, and then realizing no one was looking at him, he just gave up. And tuning? Nonexistent.</p>
<p>The music they play in there is great, I totally agree. Only problem is, it just isn't performed at the level it deserves.</p>
<p>symphony though, is all I could have ever asked for. It's a great group of people</p>
<p>I just enjoy playing no matter what the level (and I'm at least decent; I take music seriously and have worked as an instructor for a couple of band camps each summer for the last 5 years).</p>
<p>The band is clearly not the orchestra--students are allowed to guest conduct if they wish, you can request a piece of music and Bill will probably put it on the next concert (I did that with Johann de Meij's "Gandalf," probably my favorite piece of "new" wind ensemble music out there), and so on.</p>
<p>Did I ever have to audition? No. But who cares? Allen didn't make me audition either. (Except maybe for the very first term when I was a freshman. I don't really remember.)</p>
<p>What year are you? I'm going to be back at Caltech, most likely, in the fall of 2007 and will see you in the orchestra then, if you're still around.</p>
<p>Joe: I'll be a rising sophomore, so I should be here when you come back:)</p>
<p>I guess in my experience, I've always enjoyed playing the most when I've been in very serious bands/orchestras that really get into the details of the music. It's a matter of taste and what you enjoy, i guess.</p>
<p>Oh, I enjoy that too--in fact, I spend a good chunk of each summer playing in a professional (well, semi-professional really, since it only pays in the summer!) concert band back home. I very nearly decided to be a music major instead of an engineer, way back when.</p>
<p>I guess the difference is that I just like any opportunity to play. I've done some substitute work as a middle school band director and even enjoy playing along with the kids when the opportunity arises.</p>
<p>This probably isn't that relevant to the discussion here, but different music groups definitely have different standards. As previously mentioned, the orchetra and concert band are pretty laid back, and I think the chamber music and choral groups are the same. The a capella groups are extremely competitive, though, and the jazz bands (which are conducted by the same guy who does the concert band) are the same. I was one of the lucky few who made it into the jazz band program as a frosh, and I ended up being by far the worst musician in the group. Because of the level of the bands, not because I necessarily suck <em>that</em> much. :P</p>
<p>I forgot what the a capella people told me about the auditions, so I can't give a secondhand account of that. For jazz band, the conductor tries to keep the auditions informal despite the competition. You can play anything you feel like playing.... I did a bass solo based on changes from a Pat Metheny song, and he also gave me some charts and asked me to sight-read it and to improvise a walking bass line. Nothing out of the ordinary for a jazz bassist.</p>