September 10, 2003

Musicians note nerves

photo
Herald photo by Garret Leiva
It's audition time for musicians aspiring to be in one the Traverse Youth Orchestras or the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. Zack Boyt, left, plays a duet with Melanie Jacobs to help her warm up for her audition.

Players hope they measure up at orchestra auditions

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

      You don't normally picture orchestral instruments playing Led Zeppelin, but the rock band's melody reverberated around the warm up room Sunday evening before a preliminary string audition for the Traverse Symphony Orchestra.
      As Zach Boyt on cello and Melanie Jacobs on violin played "Stairway to Heaven," the two were counterbalancing butterflies by having some fun. They were among eight other musicians who gathered at the Lars Hockstad Auditorium trying for a seat or substitute player position with the orchestra.
      For the two Traverse City West High School juniors, experienced and serious musicians both, this was their first TSO audition. The first time trying for the big leagues, they took it in stride, mostly.
      "Auditioning is a big mental thing for me," said Boyt, who has been playing the cello for six years and plans to pursue a professional career.
      "You have to remember to breathe," Jacobs noted. "It really is anti-mental, don't think too much."
      The format was a blind audition, as is the standard in professional orchestras, where the musician plays behind a screen. Judges and the musician do not speak or see each other, allowing the musical talent alone to make or break the audition. This blind aspect was challenging to both of them.
      "That is one of the nervous points because you don't have any feedback," noted Boyt as Jacobs added, "Posture and emotion don't mean a thing."
      Feedback will come soon enough as the auditionees find out who made the first cut and is called back to play for Kevin Rhodes, music director of the orchestra. Liz Bert, the orchestra's principle cellist, also serves as the orchestra's personnel manager. She noted that while highly competitive, TSO auditions fall far short of a cutthroat atmosphere found in larger symphonies.
      "It's terrifying and is not a warm, fuzzy experience," she said, adding the blind component makes the experience surreal. "We try to make it as warm and friendly as you can; I've done enough of my own auditions where I went in and it was just such a stressful thing that I've welcomed the opportunity to influence that kind of situation."
      Earlier that day a group of youth musicians tried out for one of the four Traverse Youth Orchestras at West High School. Their audition was not a blind one. Instead orchestra director Bert and assistant director Lynne Tobin strove to create a nurturing environment for these young musicians - the same environment they create for the whole year.
      "Playing some of these instruments is so difficult and it is just a real challenge and test to their willingness to challenges themselves, put themselves out there," noted Bert. "Part of my job is to help them grow by nurturing and making this a safe place for kids to take chances."
      "With music, their egos are right out there with their instruments," she added.
      While musicians auditioning for the TSO have stricter requirements for playing, the Youth Orchestra auditions let the musicians choose their main piece. This was a help to Emily Lambert, 9, who plays the violin.
      "I was nervous but it was actually pretty easy because I could pick my own piece," said Lambert, a fourth-grade student at Living God Christian School. "The director watches your bow and the other person listens to how good you are."
      The Traverse Youth Orchestras consist of the Traverse Youth Symphony, mostly high school musicians, the Traverse Area Junior Orchestra and the Traverse Area Kids Orchestra for players in upper elementary school to lower junior high. A new program this year is the Northwest Michigan Honors Orchestra, in which 60-70 of the region's top players will participate in an intensive weekend next May conducted by Kevin Rhodes.
      The three school-year orchestras do not have a cap on number of musicians, as the TSO does. This is because the organization wants to encourage as many aspiring musicians as they can.
      "We basically don't turn away talent," said Julie Friley, director of education for the Traverse Symphony Orchestra. "If we have to double parts, that's OK; you can never have too many violins but you probably could have too many tubas but we've never had that problem."