How to prepare for a seating or chair audition audition
A seating audition decides your chair within an ensemble you are already in, usually on assigned orchestral excerpts. It is short, high-stakes, and almost entirely about clean, controlled excerpt playing.
What they evaluate
The assigned excerpts, played behind a screen or for the conductor. Whoever plays them most cleanly, in time, in tune, and with the right character wins the seat, so polish beats flash.
The prep, step by step
- 1Get the excerpt list and a reference recording of each, and learn exactly how the passage sits in the actual piece.
- 2Practice each excerpt slowly with a metronome and drone, then at the marked tempo, until it is reliable, not just possible.
- 3Nail the character: the right articulation, dynamic, and style matter as much as the notes in a seating audition.
- 4Record the excerpts and score them, because the screen removes everything except the sound, so the sound has to be clean.
- 5Run all the excerpts back to back, one take each, the way you will play them on the day.
Common mistakes that cost the seat
- Practicing the notes but ignoring the marked tempo, dynamics, and character the excerpt is judged on.
- Only ever playing excerpts in isolation, then freezing when asked for all of them in a row.
- Skipping the reference recording and misreading how the passage should actually sound.
Frequently asked
What does a seating or chair audition audition evaluate?
The assigned excerpts, played behind a screen or for the conductor. Whoever plays them most cleanly, in time, in tune, and with the right character wins the seat, so polish beats flash.
Is a seating or chair audition audition recorded or live?
A seating or chair audition 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 seating or chair audition 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.
Know you are ready before you walk in.
Record your prep. The panel returns an Advance, Callback, or Not Yet verdict plus five-dimension scores. First take is free, no signup.
Face the panel