Today we are chatting with Max Blair, the Associate Principal Oboist for the Pittsburgh Symphony. We chat all about:
- Auditioning for Julliard
- Playing in the Pittsburgh Symphony
- Surprising differences between youth symphony and professional orchestra
- Competing in the Tchaikovsky Competition (and loosing your reed equipment on the flight!)
- Effective practicing techniques
- What us younger musicians should be doing right now
In this episode:
[0:00] Intro – Max Blair
[1:33] Auditioning for Julliard
[4:25] What younger musicians can do to prepare for auditions
[10:47] Surprising differences between youth and professional orchestra
[15:24] Max’s Tchaikovsky Competition Experience
[21:22] Showing confidence when performing
[26:06] Max Blair’s effective practice sessions
[33:14] What younger musicians should be working on right now
[37:15] Using social media and festivals for inspiration and guidance
[44:05] What Max is up to
[46:48] Final thoughts
Links for this episode:
This conversation is available as a blog post. Click here to read!
For more about Max Blair, click here!
And as Max said, you can contact him through his email here: mblair@pittsburghsymphony.org