In Part One of this post, I wrote about a few observations I'd made while listening to this spring's Detroit Symphony Orchestra timpani/percussion audition which applied specifically to musicians playing those instruments. Here, I'll cover a few additional thoughts on auditions which can be applied more broadly. As with Part One, it's worth noting that these are my opinions and that another committee or individual may feel differently. 1. The committee wants you to play well.

As many of you are probably aware, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra held an audition for the position of Assistant Principal Timpanist/Section Percussion this past spring. Having had the opportunity to listen to auditions for several instruments, I thought I'd share some observations from the committee's side of the screen. Some of these may not be immediately apparent to those performing, but over the course of listening to several hours of auditions, certain patterns and tren