Staff Auditions

A video audition is required for Blue Lake staff candidates who wish to participate in staff performing ensembles or teach at the Junior Camp. It is in your interest to submit your audition at the time you submit your staff application. If it is necessary to submit your videos separately, we strongly recommend that they be submitted as soon as possible. While we can speak in general terms about employment and performance/teaching opportunities without your audition, applicants cannot be considered for specific positions until materials are complete, including the audition and three recommendations.

Specific audition requirements are listed for each area below. Only video recordings are accepted. Do not use any form of editing, reverberation, or acoustic altering effects. Your video should display you and your instrument! Avoid pointing the camera at the ceiling or the floor. If you submit videos of recent recitals, please edit out introductions, applause, tuning, etc. Adhere to the time requirements listed below. Videos (including recitals) should be recent, within the last 6 months. 

Each section of your audition should be its own file. Label your files with your instrument, name, and description. Ex: Clarinet_ JohnSmith _Excerpt_Beethoven6.mov. You may upload files or provide links to shared files (e.g., in your Google drive, Dropbox, on YouTube, etc.). If you provide links, make sure the privacy settings/permissions are set so that our reviewers can access your videos without an account or login.

Woodwinds
  1. Two scales of your choice: one slurred and one tongued, maximum controlled speed in sixteenth notes, multiple octaves ascending and descending. 
  2. Chromatic scale: all slurred in triplets, full range of your instrument ascending and descending. (MM=100 or greater, if possible, for all scales).
  3. A portion of an etude, solo, or standard excerpt that demonstrates your best understanding of lyrical playing with your best tone, vibrato (if applicable), musicianship, and dynamic range. This should be no more than 3 minutes in length.
  4. A portion of an etude, solo, or standard excerpt that demonstrates your best ability to play technical passages. Varied articulation, musicianship, and dynamic range should be considered when choosing your submission.  This should be no more than 3 minutes in length. 
  5.  

Flutists, Clarinetists, Oboists, Saxophonists: Include information indicating your proficiency on standard doubles for your instrument, along with performance experience, and which instruments you will be able to bring with you. Applicants are encouraged to include selections for each instrument on the audition recording (e.g. include bass clarinet or E♭ clarinet along with your B♭ clarinet recording).

Brass
  1. Two scales of your choice: one slurred and one tongued, maximum controlled speed in sixteenth notes, multiple octaves if possible, ascending and descending   
  2. Chromatic scale: all slurred in triplets, full range of your instrument stopping on your highest comfortable top note. (MM=88 or greater, if possible for all scales.)
  3. A portion of an etude, solo or standard excerpt that demonstrates your best understanding of lyrical playing with your best tone, vibrato (if applicable), musicianship, and dynamic range.  This should be no more than 3 minutes in length.
  4. A portion of an etude, solo, or standard excerpt that demonstrates your best ability to play technical passages. Varied articulation, musicianship, and dynamic range should be considered when choosing your submission.  This should be no more than 3 minutes in length.
Strings
  1. Two 3-octave major scales of your choice with the maximum controlled speed in sixteenth notes ascending and descending (MM=100 or greater, if possible). 
  2. One 3-octave minor scale of your choice with the maximum controlled speed in sixteenth notes ascending and descending (MM=100 or greater, if possible). 
  3. A portion of an etude, solo, or standard excerpt that demonstrates your best understanding of lyrical playing with your best tone, vibrato, musicianship, and dynamic range.  This should be no more than 3 minutes in length.
  4. A portion of an etude, solo, or standard excerpt that demonstrates your best ability to play technical passages. Varied articulation, musicianship, and dynamic range should be considered when choosing your submission.  This should be no more than 3 minutes in length.
Percussionists

Include demonstration of proficiency and technique on timpani, mallets, and snare through exercises, orchestral excerpts, and solo. If you play jazz set, you may submit a recording of a jazz recording of which you are included. Videos should not exceed 3 minutes for each submission.  

Vocalists
  1. State your name and choral voice part on your recording
  2. Sing a vocalise (with minimal piano support) that will showcase your tone color and range
    (e.g. Do-Mi-Sol-Mi-Do or Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-Fa-Mi-Re-Do)
    • Begin in a comfortable middle range and ascend by half steps to your highest practical note
    • Begin in a comfortable middle range and descend by half steps to your lowest practical note
    • At the end of the vocalise, state your highest and lowest note performed (e.g. A♭5, B♭3)
  3. Sing two selections of contrasting genre and/or style (e.g. art song, aria, folk song, musical theater)
Pianists
If you are interested in accompanying or collaborating in ensembles (chamber or jazz), please include a recording demonstrating proficiency and technique through scales, etudes, and solo or ensemble work. For scales, demonstrate both hands, two octaves, parallel and contrary motion.
Harp
  1. Perform excerpts of two works of contrasting styles and periods to be chosen from the standard repertoire.  Each submission should be no more than 5 minutes in length.
  2. Two orchestral excerpts of contrasting styles of your choice.
Jazz Prospects

In addition to the items listed for your instrument above, include a demonstration of improvisational skills. For example, select a tune from the Real Book and improvise over its changes.