Application to the 2020 New York String Orchestra
Application to the 2020 New York String Orchestra Seminar is a two-step process.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and spaces at some audition locations may be filled before the application deadline. We recommend applying by September 20 to avoid being placed on a waiting list for the required live auditions.
- The application, application fee ($25 on or before September 13, 2020, and $35 after September 13), and recorded audition (audio recording or mp3 files only) must be submitted by the deadline, Thursday, October 1, 2020. The recorded audition repertoire can be found at the bottom of this page. A link to the online application will be available August 1, 2020.
- You will be contacted by October 10 if you are scheduled for a live audition, which will take place between October 18 and November 10 on the basis of the date and location you selected in your application (see below). The live audition repertoire
is not the same as the recorded audition repertoire. With the exception of timpanists, only those who have a live audition can be considered for the program.
The 2020 live audition repertoire will include excerpts from the 2020 New York String Orchestra Seminar repertoire to be performed at Carnegie Hall:
MOZART: Impresario, Overture
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, K. 271
MOZART: Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550
ZWILLICH: Prologue and Variations for string orchestra
BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D Major
MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 "Scottish"
We strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with each work in its entirety so that
you understand the excerpts in context when they are made available.
Twenty-four violinists, ten violists, eight cellists, five bassists, two flutists, two oboists, two clarinetists, two bassoonists, four horn players, two trumpet players, and one timpanist will be invited to participate in the 2020 New York String Orchestra Seminar.
There is no participation fee for those accepted to the program. Every accepted student receives free tuition, housing, meals, and local transportation (total value more than $3,750). Participants pay their travel costs to and from New York City.
All accepted students must stay in the housing provided by the New York String Orchestra Seminar and must be present for all rehearsals, sectionals, and chamber music sessions, 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 19, through 11:00 p.m. on Monday, December 28, 2020. December 25 is the only full day off from the program. No exceptions can be made.
Application and Deadline Information
Applications and audition audio files must be received by October 1, 2020.
Live auditions will take place between October 18 and November 10. All applicants will be notified by email of the live audition result by November 16, 2020.
The seminar will take place December 19-28, 2020.
Qualifications
- You are at least 16 and no older than 23 years of age at the time of the seminar (December 19, 2020).
- You are a technically proficient musician with experience playing in an ensemble or orchestra.
- You have not participated more than once before in the New York String Orchestra Seminar.
Terms of Auditions
- To be considered for admission, you must pass both the recorded and the live auditions. Repertoire requirements for live auditions differ from requirements for recorded auditions.
- You must pass the recorded audition before you will be scheduled for a live audition. (Note: Previous participants and designated alternates are exempted from the recorded audition. If you are unsure whether this applies to you, call the office at
212.229.5873.) Please note: The recorded audition is not simply a pre-screening; it is your first audition. Please prepare with as much care as you would for a live audition.
- Those who pass the recorded audition will be contacted to confirm a live audition time. You must pass a live audition to be considered for participation; there are no exceptions.
Recorded Audition Repertoire
- Your application recording must be between 10 and 15 minutes long and submitted in mp3 format only (no other audio formats or videos are accepted).
- You may submit your required works in separate mp3 files or as one continuous file.
- Accompaniment is not required but is allowed.
- Depending on the length of the works you select, you may opt to play movements rather than entire works or even an excerpted section of a movement.
Remember that the live audition repertoire is different from the recorded audition repertoire. We strongly recommend that you begin preparing your live audition as soon as you have submitted your application and recorded audition.
Required Recorded Audition Repertoire
Violin, Viola, and Cello Players*
- Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, first page of the scherzo (Violin: beginning - 7 measures after Letter D; Viola and Cello: beginning - Letter D)
- Two contrasting works of your choice (please make sure the works contrast both in tempo and in style)
Bass Players*
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 5: Trio from the scherzo (3rd movement), pickup to m. 141 - m. 218
- Mozart: Symphony No. 39
- First movement: pickup to m. 41 - m. 97
- Second movement: m. 40 - m. 50
- One movement of a solo Bach work of your choice
Flute Players*
- Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, scherzo (solo at the end)
- A work by Bach of your choice
- A contrasting work of your choice
Oboe Players*
- Brahms: Violin Concerto, second movement solo
- Rossini: La scala di seta, overture, Andantino solo (m. 5 - No. 1); Allegro solo (pickup to No. 2 to No. 3)
- Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3, second movement - pickup to m. 33 (Letter A) to m. 100 andm. 155 to m. 172
- A work by Bach of your choice
- A contrasting solo work of your choice
Clarinet Players*
- Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, scherzo (Clarinet I, first page)
- Mozart: Clarinet Concerto. Play the exposition of the first movement andsecond movement, beginning - m. 54.
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, first movement solo and second movement solo (m. 68 - m. 77)
- Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol
- First movement: Letter A - one measure after Letter B, Letter C - 11 before the end
- Third movement: 11 after Letter K - end
- A contrasting solo work of your choice
Bassoon Players*
- Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro, overture, m. 139-171
- A movement from a concerto or sonata of your choice
- A contrasting movement; may be from a concerto, sonata, or work for bassoon alone (étude) of your choice
Horn Players*
- Choose either Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 2 or Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4. Play the exposition of the first movement.
- Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 - second movement solo
- Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, opening calls
Trumpet Players
- Haydn: Trumpet Concerto, first movement, exposition and development
- Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition, opening
- Stravinsky: Petrouchka, ballerina solo
- Mahler: Symphony No. 5, opening
- Respighi: Pines of Rome, offstage solo
*A movement of a work is acceptable if the work is lengthy.
Note to timpanists: You are the only players who do not audition live. Therefore, you should take particular care with your recorded audio audition (to be submitted as mp3), which must be played in order unedited.
2019 excerpts list below, - 2020 requirements will be posted shortly to be played in the order listed, unedited, without stopping the recording between pieces:
- Mozart: Symphony No. 39, first movement, introduction (minimize bars of rest)
- Mozart: Symphony No. 41, fourth movement, bar 388 to the end (count bars of rest)
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 8, last movement, Letter K - end
- Brahms: Symphony No. 1, last movement, 8 after Letter Q - end
- Bartok: Third Piano Concerto, third movement, 210-228, 535-551
- Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra, fourth movement
- Sibelius: Finlandia, six before Letter F through Letter I, with no repeat at Letter H
Live Audition Repertoire Requirements
Applicants who pass the recorded audition will receive an invitation and instructions for a live audition. We strongly encourage an early application submission, as the audition time slots are often filled before the final deadline. Only applicants who
audition in person are considered for participation in the seminar.
Repertoire requirements for live auditions differ from requirements for recorded auditions. The New York String Orchestra Seminar is an orchestral program. The deciding factor in selection
of participants in the program is often the care taken in preparing the orchestral excerpts for the live audition. We strongly recommend that you begin practicing as early as possible rather than waiting to receive your scheduled audition time.
Live audition tour dates for 2020 have not yet been confirmed but will follow a schedule similar to the 2019 schedule, below.
- Friday, October 25, 2019 - New York, New York (strings only)
- Saturday, October 26, 2019 - New York, New York (winds only)
- Sunday, October 27, 2019 - New York, New York (brass only)
- Monday, October 28, 2019 - Boston, Massachusetts (strings only)
- Saturday, November 2, 2019 - New York, New York (strings only)
- Sunday, November 3, 2019 - New York, New York (strings only)
- Monday, November 4, 2019 - Chicago, Illinois (winds, brass, and strings)
- Tuesday, November 5, 2019 - Cleveland, Ohio (strings only)
- Wednesday, November 6, 2019 - Cleveland, Ohio (winds, brass only)
- Sunday, November 10, 2019 - Houston, Texas (strings, winds, and brass)
- Monday, November 11, 2019 - Los Angeles, California (strings, winds, and brass)
