Auditions
The Oregon Symphony is the sixth oldest major orchestra in the United States and one of the largest arts organizations in the Pacific Northwest, performing over 120 concerts per year at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland. It is recognized as one of the most successful and innovative symphony orchestras in the nation.
The Oregon Symphony announces the following openings/auditions:
Oregon Symphony Percussion Auditions - 2 Positions
Winning candidates may be asked to double timpani, on occasion
Auditions will be held September 26-29, 2010 in Portland, Oregon
Employment to begin with the 2010-2011 Season
Minimum compensation for the 38 week season: $47, 829.24
Benefits include:
- EMG and insurance allowance
- Year round medical and dental insurance
- LTD, AFM pension plan and paid parking
Application deadline:
Your one-page résumé along with your $100 refundable deposit must be received by: September 1, 2010, no exceptions.
Please indicate on envelope, Percussion audition. Mail to:
Oregon Symphony
Attn: Bridget Kelly
Director of Musician Resources
921 SW Washington, Suite 200
Portland, OR 97205
Only highly qualified candidates should apply.
No phone calls please. All correspondence is by e-mail with the exception of your deposit and résumé: Bridget Kelly (bkelly@orsymphony.org)
Dear Percussion Candidates,
The following instruments will be provided by the Oregon Symphony for use during the Percussion audition:
Xylophone:
Deagan: 4 octave Xylophone; “NAGAED” model. Bars are c.1.5 inches wide.
Glock:
Deagan: “Parsifal Bells” with resonators model #60 in an oak travel case.
Bars are c. 1” wide.
Marimba:
Yamaha: Concert Grand Marimba; 4-1/3 octaves, rosewood bars. They are graduated from 2.5” to 1.5” wide; low to high.
Vibraphone:
Yamaha: Model 4110 Vibraphone; 4 octaves, gold metal bars. They are graduated widths.
Snare Drum:
Black Swamp: Snare Drum 5” X 14”; black carbon fiber shell; “Multi-sonic snare system;” Renaissance Heads.
Timpani: (Finals only)
4 Hinger, Dresden Style Timpani; American System; Renaissance Heads.
(No pedaling excerpts will be asked during the audition; drums will be reversed for German System players.)
Candidates may use their own snare drum in the audition and may choose to bring one pair of cymbals only, for the excerpt from Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2.
In addition, candidates may choose to bring their own tambourine.
The Oregon Symphony will provide all of the above equipment and any other equipment needed to perform the excerpts except general sticks and mallets. We will provide bass drum beaters if you prefer to travel without these.
Mallet instruments are set to an approximate height of 34 inches; measured from the floor to the “naturals” bars. If you are accustomed to playing on keyboard instruments higher off the ground, please bring blocks.
We will endeavor to supply warm-up instruments identical to those used during the audition.
Thank you for your interest in the Oregon Symphony and our Percussion Audition.
Percussion Audition Repertoire List: (Download as a PDF)
| Required Pieces: | |
| 1. Marimba | |
| J. S. Bach: | Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, Fuga (First 55 measures only) |
| 2. Xylophone | |
| Kreisler-Green: | Tambourin Chinois up to recapitulation |
| 3. Snare Drum | |
| Delecluse: | Etude No. 8 from Douze Etudes |
| Excerpts: | |
| Snare Drum | |
| Debussy: | Fetes from Nocturnes |
| Prokofiev: | Lieutenant Kije Suite |
| Prokofiev: | Symphony No. 5 |
| Rimsky-Korsakov: | Capriccio Espagnol |
| Rimsky-Korsakov: | Scheherazade |
| Schuman: | Symphony No. 3 |
| Shostakovich: | Symphony No. 7 |
| John Williams: | The Patriot |
| Xylophone | |
| Bartok: | Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste |
| Bernstein: | Age of Anxiety |
| Copland: | Appalachian Spring (Full orchestra version) |
| Gershwin: | Porgy and Bess (Bennett arr.) |
| Kabalevsky: | Colas Breugnon Overture |
| Messiaen: | Exotic Birds • #6 to #7 • 8 measures before #29 to 10 measures after #29 |
| Stravinsky: | Petroushka (Complete 1911) |
| John Williams: | Cowboys Overture |
| Glockenspiel | |
| Dukas: | Sorcerer’s Apprentice |
| Mozart: | Magic Flute |
| Respighi: | Pines of Rome |
| Stravinsky: | Petroushka, (Complete 1911) |
| Wagner: | Waldweben |
| Vibraphone | |
| Bernstein: | West Side Story Symphonic Dances (“Cool” solo; Rehearsal No. 620-656) |
| Tambourine | |
| Bizet: | Carmen Suite No. 1: Prelude to Act IV |
| Borodin: | Polovetsian Dances |
| Chabrier: | Espana |
| Debussy: | Iberia |
| Dvorak: | Carnival Overture |
| Rimsky-Korsakov: | Scheherazade |
| Cymbals | |
| Berlioz: | Roman Carnival Overture |
| Rachmaninoff: | Piano Concerto No. 2 |
| Tchaikovsky: | Nutcracker (Mirlitons) |
| Tchaikovsky: | Symphony No. 4 |
| Tchaikovsky: | Romeo and Juliet Overture |
| Various Crashes | |
| Bass Drum | |
| Britten: | Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (Variation M) |
| Mahler: | Symphony No. 3, Movement 1 |
| Stravinsky: | Rite of Spring (1947) |
| Stravinsky: | Petrouchka (1947) (BD + Cym attached only) |
| Tchaikovsky: | Swan Lake (Czardas) (BD + Cym attached only) |
| Triangle | |
| Berlioz: | Roman Carnival Overture |
| Dvorak: | Symphony No. 9 (New World) |
| Liszt: | Piano Concerto No. 1 in Eb |
| Rimsky-Korsakov: | Scheherazade |
| Timpani | |
| Beethoven: | Symphony No. 7, Movement 1 |
| Beethoven: | Symphony No. 9, Movements 1 and 2 |
| Berlioz: | Symphonie Fantastique, 2nd timpani, Movements 4 and 5 |
| Brahms: | Symphony No. 4, Movement III |
| Sibelius: | Finlandia |
| Strauss: | Burleske |
| Tchaikovsky: | Symphony No. 4, Movement 1 |
| Wagner: | Siegfried’s Funeral Music |
Oregon Symphony Section Violin Auditions
Auditions will be held October 4-6, 2010 in Portland, Oregon
Employment to begin with the 2010-2011 Season
Minimum compensation for the 38 week season: $47, 829.24
Benefits include:
- EMG and insurance allowance
- Year round medical and dental insurance
- LTD, AFM pension plan and paid parking
Application deadline:
Your one-page résumé along with your $100 refundable deposit must be received by: September 1, 2010, no exceptions.
Please indicate on envelope, Violin audition. Mail to:
Oregon Symphony
Attn: Bridget Kelly
Director of Musician Resources
921 SW Washington, Suite 200
Portland, OR 97205
Only highly qualified candidates should apply.
No phone calls please. All correspondence is by e-mail with the exception of your deposit and résumé: Bridget Kelly (bkelly@orsymphony.org)
Violin Audition Repertoire List: (Download as a PDF)
| Solos: | Please note: Cadenzas are required. |
| 1. | The first movement of any 19th or 20th century concerto |
| 2. | The second movement of one of the following concerti: |
| Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 in D | |
| Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 in A | |
| Orchestral Excerpts: | (violin I) |
| Beethoven: | Symphony No. 9 |
| Mvt. III, mm 99-114 | |
| Brahms: | Symphony No. 2 |
| Mvt. I, mm 17-66 | |
| Mvt. I, mm 101-155 | |
| Mvt. IV, beginning to m. 61 | |
| Debussy: | La Mer |
| No. 2 Jeux de vagues, rehearsal 19 to reh 20 | |
| No. 3 Dialogue du vent et de la mer, rehearsal 47 to reh 48 | |
| Mahler: | Symphony No. 5 |
| Mvt. 1, rehearsal 7 to reh 11 | |
| Mvt. II, Scherzo, 13 bars after rehearsal 30 to end of movement | |
| Mendelssohn: | Midsummer Night’s Dream |
| Scherzo, beginning to m 99 | |
| Mozart: | Symphony No. 39 |
| Mvt. I, beginning (Adagio) to end of exposition (m 142) | |
| Mvt. IV, beginning to first repeat (m 104) | |
| Schumann: | Symphony No. 2 |
| Mvt II, Scherzo, beginning to Trio I (m 98) PLUS Coda (mm 361-397) |
|
| Strauss: | Don Juan |
| Page 1 (mm 1 -62) |
Possible Sight Reading
The official pitch of the Oregon Symphony is A=440 Hz
All correspondence from the OSO is by e-mail; be sure to include your e-mail address with your contact information. Also, please adjust your e-mail settings to allow for our correspondence with you.
No phone inquires, please.
E-mail: Bridget Kelly (bkelly@orsymphony.org)
The Oregon Symphony is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
