<p>I'm about to be a freshman at University of Washington, Seattle campus and I'm still trying to get a feel for exactly what I want to do. One of the majors I'd like to pursue is music performance, but I'm concerned about auditioning into the major. I've been playing for about 6-7 years now and have been working on the first movement of the Koussevitzky concerto, but I've never been able to get private lessons for that. I'm worried that I could spend this entire freshman year trying to prepare this movement (with a bass I have yet to buy because I came here from out-of-state) and still not be ready for the piece, which would be a complete waste of time and money. Would it be better to work on something easier that I can learn on my own, tough it out, or steer myself in a different direction?</p>
<p>As the parent of a bass player who learned that exact piece for his HS’s concerto competition I am impressed with your willingness to tackle such a challenging piece. My son attended a school that has a very competitive music program and he was the first student in many years to attempt to play that piece for their annual concerto competition. He got praise for tackling it by all the teachers who told him how difficult a piece it is. My son did not win the concerto competition, but that was never his goal as he is mostly a Jazz musician and wanted to learn the piece well enough to audition on it for the experience. </p>
<p>Have you ever worked with an accompanist? Have you mastered the Bach Cello Concertos on your Bass? If not then trying to play Koussevitzky without a teacher specifically somebody that can help you work with a pianist, to assist you is going to be an uphill battle.</p>
<p>I suspect you might be better off working on one of the Bach cello concertos until you can find somebody help you with Koussevitzky. But then again I do not know you as a musician and what your strengths and weaknesses are.</p>
<p>I recommend that you get in contact with the bass professor at UW, Seatle and see about taking private lessons with him/her or a grad student that they recommend. It is not uncommon for the studio teachers to give private lessons. They will be able to evaluate your playing and help you to get ready for auditions. Looking at the audition repertoire from the UW Seatle website,<a href=“Suggested Admissions Audition Repertoire | School of Music | University of Washington”>https://music.washington.edu/suggested-audition-repertoire</a>, there are several easier pieces for you to work on. Good luck.</p>
<p>Also, you might be able to borrow a bass from the school. Since it is a music ed school, they should have extra basses available for tech classes and might have a few left over. Definitely, contact the bass prof and/or the music department.</p>
<p>Great suggestions MOB. At the undergraduate level, the Dragonetti or Ecceles are completely acceptable and much, much easier than the Kouss, particularly with a nonconservatory setting… Most important is musicality and intonation. Better to play an easier piece well than a challenging piece not as well. Be sure to have your scales down, too 
Best of luck. My son is now in grad school doing a MM and continues to love his bass. He used the Ecceles coming out of HS for his scholarship auditions.</p>