Re: Re: solo philosophy


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Posted by Jay Bertolet on March 13, 2000 at 09:16:22:

In Reply to: Re: solo philosophy posted by Steve Marcus on March 13, 2000 at 00:47:46:

The times, they are a changin...

I was part of a well respected tuba studio myself once upon a time, and there was never any requirement approaching the one you've listed for entrance. In fact, in my opinion, the list you've posted would be appropriate today for admission into the graduate division of most schools if the student was going to pursue a performance degree.

This is a reflection of how things are changing in this business. The year before I entered the "well respected tuba studio" I speak of, Warren Deck won his job in the New York Philharmonic. The story I heard about that audition is that initially they had over 400 applicants for that audition. Since there was no way to practically hear all those players, the audition committee added the Kraft as the required solo for the first round. Over half the players dropped out of the audition.

To suggest today that high school students play the Kraft for entrance into college is a bit of a stretch, in my opinion, but I'm not going to argue if the procedure works for whoever is running that audition. There are other things on that list (excerpts, musical & technical etudes) that matter much more to my sense of priorities and these things will tell a great deal about the player anyway, regardless of what happens with the solo piece. My best high school students have worked on the Kraft but none have been able to actually play it. Like I said in my original post, working on such pieces is very beneficial in stretching your capabilities. But being convincing in an audition with the Kraft? I wasn't able to play the Kraft until late undergraduate college years. I couldn't play the Penderecki until post graduate college years. I've looked at the John Williams a number of times but have never seriously worked on it because I don't particularly like the piece and, as a result, I can't play it.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I'm willing to accept the fact that students are progressively becoming more advanced at an earlier age as the years progress. This is completely natural in my estimation. But the list you've posted is unrealistic in my opinion and I believe such a list will eliminate great players from entrance into that studio if the student is required to perform one of the solos on that list but cannot. I noticed that the list is prefaced by the phrase "suggested solo list" and I hope that the word suggested is followed. If not, that is good news for guys like me because we'll have more students to choose from when those students decide to audition with music that they can handle more convincingly. In any event, this is the kind of player I really want in my studio, one who knows his capabilities and uses them to their best effect.

My opinion for what its worth...


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