How to prepare for a all-state orchestra audition
All-state (and the region or district audition that usually feeds it) is the most common selective audition a string student faces. You prepare a fixed set of material, perform it for a panel, and a score decides your chair.
What they evaluate
Scales (often several major and minor, two or three octaves), a prepared etude or solo, set orchestral excerpts, and sight-reading. Panels weigh intonation, rhythm, tone, and how musically you shape a line.
The prep, step by step
- 1Get your state's exact list early. Requirements change yearly and vary by state, so confirm the current scales, etude, and excerpts before you practice the wrong edition.
- 2Lock the scales first. They are the cheapest points and the clearest intonation test, so make them automatic and even before anything else.
- 3Practice the etude and excerpts slowly with a drone and a metronome, then bring them up to tempo only once they are clean.
- 4Record yourself weekly and score the take like a panel would, on intonation, rhythm, tone, tempo, and musicality. The recording hears what your ears miss in the room.
- 5Run a full mock audition a week out: scales, etude, excerpts, and cold sight-reading, in order, one take each.
Common mistakes that cost the seat
- Practicing the excerpts up to tempo before the intonation is solid, so speed locks in the wrong pitches.
- Ignoring sight-reading until the last week, when it is the most trainable section.
- Never recording, so audition nerves are the first time you hear yourself perform the whole list end to end.
Frequently asked
What does a all-state orchestra audition evaluate?
Scales (often several major and minor, two or three octaves), a prepared etude or solo, set orchestral excerpts, and sight-reading. Panels weigh intonation, rhythm, tone, and how musically you shape a line.
Is a all-state orchestra audition recorded or live?
A all-state orchestra audition is typically performed live for a panel, so the work is building consistency, you want your worst run-through to be good, not your best one to be great.
How do I practice for a all-state orchestra audition?
Build the material slowly and clean, then record full run-throughs and score them on tone, intonation, rhythm, tempo, and musicality, the way a panel listens. Fix the weakest dimension before the next take. Your first scored take on Orchestra Kingdom is free, no signup.
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