Auditions

The Newcomer

After 25 years as an undisputed orchestral authority, a German trombonist faces a new generation whose virtuosity unsettles the familiar hierarchy of his section.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

A New Job¹

A professional horn player faces a late chance to change course, as routine, ambition and the unnerving reality of an orchestral audition collide.

By Jean-Pierre Mathez

Suppose they had an orchestra audition and nobody won?

By Thomas Stevens

Henri Renart (1887-1979)

Interview

Henri Renart looks back on a remarkable musical life, from the wind bands of northern France to Paris’s leading orchestras, performing under renowned conductors while witnessing decades of change in performance, recording, teaching, and brass playing.

By Robert Coutet

Tell it the way it is:

A viewpoint of professional trumpet playing in the United States

A brutal reality check: Irving Bush exposes the gap between musical dreams and professional truth—revealing the harsh economics behind a career in trumpet playing.

By Irving Bush

A woman trombonist, Yvelise Girard

Women and Brass

From Paris conservatories to police bands, a young trombonist confronts isolation, scrutiny and ambition as women slowly enter the brass world.

By Jean Douay

Cleveland Orchestra Audition in 1966

George Szell’s demanding 1966 audition process unfolds through orchestral excerpts, dynamic extremes and the search for absolute ensemble precision.

By Ronald T. Bishop

The Audition System

Why American Musicians Emigrate?

Behind orchestral vacancies in North America, travel costs, subjective selection and hidden hiring practices help explain a growing flow of musicians abroad.

By David P. Searfoss

British brass players training

In 1980s Britain, brass bands, state schools and conservatoires offered different paths into music, while rising standards collided with shrinking budgets and uncertain careers.

By Thomas Aitken

Tuba Editorial

Roger Bobo reflects on orchestral auditions, examining imbalance between candidates and positions and questioning training, selection criteria and prospects for aspiring tubists.

By Roger Bobo

Part 2

Arnold Jacobs

Interview

From Curtis to Chicago, a tuba player's path crosses Reiner, Koussevitzky and Ormandy, while teaching evolves toward breathing, thought and musical function.

By Roger Bobo

Part 1

Anton Hansen (1877-1947)

Father of trombone playing in Scandinavia

From Nørrebro cafés to the Royal Orchestra, Anton Hansen’s early years reveal the shift from valve to slide trombone in Scandinavian orchestras.

By Per Gade

Part 5

The Trumpet in the USA

The Confidence Pill

Stage fright meets medical research as performers, physicians and early beta-blocker studies reshape the debate over confidence, fairness and public performance.

By Thomas Stevens

Part 3

How and why I became a musician

As cinema orchestras vanished and radio reshaped musical life, Edouard Gros learned that survival could mean changing instruments, cities and expectations.

By Edouard Gros