Your host, Eleanor:
introduce yourself. That can make a world of difference in your first rehearsal. Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing Podcast. My name is Eleanor and I am a British American oboist studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland literally my dream school and it took me a long way to get there. I applied and auditioned for 12 schools in three different countries. It was a lot of hard work but, oh my gosh, so worth it. I want you to have the confidence to work hard in achieving your goals, so come with me as we go on this journey together. So sit down, pull up a chair, take a seat or, if you’re on the go, welcome to the Confident Musicianing Podcast. If you’re on the go, welcome to the Confident Musicianing Podcast. Hey there, welcome back to the show.
It is that time of year again when the youth orchestra season is starting up. This is the first year in, I guess, three or four years. I was in youth orchestra for three years, so I guess it’s four years that I am not in youth orchestra because I am now studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. But if anyone from my youth orchestra is listening, I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful season. I actually, two days ago I was lying in bed and I’m currently living in the UK now, so it’s five hours ahead of um, pennsylvania time and I literally was lying in bed and I was thinking, oh my gosh, right now my youth orchestra is having its second rehearsal of the season. And I just sat there and I remember thinking like like I just felt a little nostalgic and a little bittersweet, like I’m currently doing so like many cool things, and I’m so excited about that um, but for a second there I was, like you know, so far away on on a completely continent. The youth orchestra that I hold so dearly into my heart is currently having their second rehearsal of the season and I just in that moment I was like, oh, like I, just, I just I hope that they have a really, really good season and if anyone from the youth orchestra, from my youth orchestra, is watching, I hope you have a really really good season. And I am thinking about you guys now. If anyone from any youth orchestra is watching or listening, I also hope you have a really good season and we are going to dive right into going to youth orchestra for that first time, because the first youth orchestra rehearsal can be really kind of crazy, daunting and scary, I’m not gonna lie. I mean little Eleanor going into her first rehearsal, she was so nervous, like I was so nervous, I actually, low-key, cried a little bit, whoops, um, I mean, obviously there were like other things going on, but like I remember one of the other oboists in my very first Youth Orchestra rehearsal, they were like, oh, and I knew this oboist before and she was like, oh, hey, you know how are you and I, just low-key, bursted into tears, you know. But that’s fine. I hope that that’s really not how it starts out for you, but that’s just how it started out for me. And, to be honest, that rehearsal ended up being a really, really good rehearsal. So you know, and to be honest, that rehearsal ended up being a really, really good rehearsal. So you know swings and roundabouts, let’s be honest.
So today we are going to talk about what you can do at your first rehearsal so that you are prepared and excited for that first day. Okay, the first thing this might seem obvious is come prepared, but let me explain. There’s more than that, right? So this might seem obvious, but come prepared, but let me explain. There’s more than that, right? So this might seem obvious, but make sure you have everything like physically. So you have a pencil, you have your music, you have your instrument. Sometimes, especially if you’re nervous, you might forget one of the main staples of you know, an orchestra rehearsal, and we don’t want that. So make sure you have all of those things. But also come prepared mentally. So if you don’t already have the music from your youth orchestra, see if you can get it in some other way, maybe through IMSLP or literally just contacting the youth orchestra and saying, hey, can I, you know, do you have a photocopy of the music? Sometimes they might be able to do that for you, sometimes they won’t. But just kind of understanding what music you’re going to be playing and also listening to recordings of that music, it’s really good. I mean, some youth orchestras, it really depends. Sometimes some youth orchestras you have the music before your first rehearsal. Other youth orchestras you get the music at your first rehearsal. Um, I’ve kind of dealt with both situations. So just kind of be aware of that and know what to expect. But also listen to the music beforehand so you’re not coming in like completely confused. Um, yeah, come ready to focus and work and have a good time. Just make sure all of those fundamentals of, like the stuff that you have. You have and you’re prepared. Okay, the next thing is to say hello to the conductor and other adults there like make a good first impression.
I remember when I was in elementary school like I was six or seven and I was in the library and we were having story time and there was this story and like I don’t know if anyone else in my class remembers this, but I definitely remember this story because I thought it was so cool. So, basically, this story is about a person getting ready for the first day of school and this person keeps saying, oh, I don’t want to go. You know, you see them like eating breakfast or getting out of bed and they’re like I’m nervous, I’m scared, I don’t want to go to the first day of school. You know I’m dreading it. Blah, blah, blah. And then towards the end of the book, you get.
You know, you see the person going to school and getting outside the classroom, taking a deep breath and saying, okay, here we go, here goes nothing. And they walk into the school classroom and they say Good morning class. You know, let’s start the day. And I remember being like, you know, six year old, me going oh my gosh, what a plot twist. Like the person who was, you know, nervous about school was the teacher, not the student. And like in my little six year old brain I was like this is the coolest plot twist I have ever read. But I think it kind of has some validity about just any setting like that. Now, I’m not saying that the conductor and the adults are really nervous, but I think that you know, everyone gets nervous for the first thing and as like an adult in that situation I mean, I’ve never been an adult in that situation, so I can’t really speak for that situation but I’m guessing, I’m kind of assuming, that it might be a little nerve-wracking.
There are lots of new faces and, yes, you’re excited, but you’re probably a little nervous. You have to memorize so many different people’s names, and so I think a really great way of just starting the season off on a good foot is going up to those adults and saying hi, my name is Eleanor and I play the oboe and it’s lovely to meet you and I’m so excited about the season, and to just really start the season off on a good note of introducing yourself and making a good first impression, and it really takes it from you just being, you know, just one face in a sea of faces, to someone who you know came up to the adults and said hey, you know, this is who I am and I’m so excited about being here. I think that that could make a really good difference. Okay, the last thing I think is really interesting knowing when to focus versus when to relax and kind of chill. This can be a big one.
I did three years of youth orchestra and you could sometimes tell the newcomers like by how they acted. Sometimes not Obviously everyone’s different, but sometimes you could tell, oh, this person is new because they’re being, you know, they’re not focusing as much, they’re kind of being distracted, they’re talking like they’re not getting. That, you know being focused, and I think it’s sometimes can be a real culture shock to people when they have had the experience of a high school band and then they go to youth orchestra and it’s like, okay, you know, some of the things that I can do in high school band aren’t really transitioning to youth orchestra. That’s not really something that we do in youth orchestra. I find that youth orchestra is more focused, is more attention driven, is more professional, almost in a way, and really understanding like, okay, it is rehearsal time, we are here to focus, I’m not here to chit chat with my stand partner, we are here to focus. And then, when it’s break time, obviously you can chit chat and you can, you know, talk to people and have a good time, and you can also have a good time when you’re focusing.
But I think that that’s a really important distinction to make, especially if you have your first rehearsal and you’re like, okay, how do I act? I think err on the side of caution and act professional and polite and focused more than acting, you know, like more chilled out and and chatty. Now, obviously, youth orchestra is made of teenagers that’s kind of the point of youth orchestra and it can be obviously a fun and chatty environment. But knowing the difference between okay, you know, I’m here to chat, I’m here to have fun, and okay, I’m here to focus and learn that’s a really important distinction to make and knowing what is appropriate at what time can be really, really important. So just keep an eye out for that and try to be as professional and as focused as possible and then during the breaks, you can introduce yourself to people, you can have fun, you can chit chat, and that is perfectly fine too, but knowing that distinction, now, if you’re going into youth orchestra, this probably means that you’re auditioning for things, whether that’s ensembles or universities.
I want to help you with this Because I know that you have the confidence to work hard towards your goals, including auditioning. So how do you hone that confidence? Well, my friend, that is, with the Confident Musician’s Audition Guide. In this guide, we talk about everything, including planning your practice, which is in chapter one, working with accompanists. In chapter three, getting into the zone at auditions, which, let’s be honest, is so important. In chapter five, mental practice. In chapter two, setting up those mako auditions. In chapter four, audition nerves, which is sprinkled throughout the whole guide and a ton more. Seriously, this 43-page guide is like my baby. I poured my heart and soul out into this guide so that it can be the guide for your auditioning. So whether you are just about to go into auditions, thinking about how you’re going to start doing auditions or just wondering kind of how they work, this guide is for you.
The audition process might be a short process, sometimes just a few months, but the impacts can be so life-changing. You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity of getting into the school of your dreams just because you weren’t prepared enough for an audition. So let’s invest in you and make this audition season your audition season of confidence. Check out the show notes for the link for your copy, or visit confidentmusicianing.com. Okay, let’s do a bit of a recap, all right.
So the first thing come prepared both like physically, with your music, with your instrument and your pencil and all of that stuff, but also mentally, by understanding the music, having listened to the music, maybe also having practiced the music beforehand. Just come prepared. The second thing is saying hello to the conductor and the other adults there. To make a really good first impression. Just introduce yourself. That can make a world of difference in your first rehearsal. Like, seriously, I remember my first rehearsal I ended it by talking to one of the adults there about the local opera company, because he worked there for a while and I absolutely love opera and it was just such an important connection to make in that first rehearsal. The third thing is to know when to focus and when to relax. This can be different than, like, say, high school band. So knowing you know when it’s rehearsal time, you’re focused and you’re really prepared and you’re really professional and then during the breaks, you can be a bit more chatty and and a bit more, you know, chill and casual, but knowing that difference is really, really important and talking about, you know, youth, orchestra and also auditioning for ensembles and universities.
We have the Confident Musicians Audition Guide. Seriously, like this is such an important guide guide, like I poured my heart and soul out into this and I’m so excited for you to use it for your auditions. Check the show notes or visit confidentmusicianing.com for your copy. All right, that is about it for this episode. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. As always, all the links to do with this episode will be in the show notes, from the blog post that goes with this episode to the link for the Confident Musician’s Audition Guide. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to give the podcast a follow and I will see you in the next episode. All right, bye-bye.