Auditions Tips

Dear Oliver,

We are pleased to invite you to audition, which will take place at 10.56 am on the 1st April.

These are the first words you read on the email – the initial joy of having secured a place at the audition can often quickly be overshadowed by the realisation of what you’re in for. Recently, it’s been a fairly audition-heavy few months – I’ve been auditioning for postgraduate funding to help fund my masters degree on the clarinet – and so I thought now would be an interesting time to offer a few words of wisdom, whether you’re reading this for help with preparing for auditions yourself, or just curious as to what goes on behind the scenes of music colleges, orchestras, festivals and competitions.

David Popper

15 Leichte Etuden in der ersten Lage, Op. 76a
Suite for 2 Cellos, Op. 16

Composer and cellist David Popper is well known among cellists. His High School of Cello Playing is our Bible—40 Études comprising every acrobatic feat of cello pyrotechnics.

Popper was born among the narrow streets of the Jewish ghetto of Prague, Czechoslovakia June 16, 1843. David was five years old when in 1848 the Hapsburg emperor granted civil equality to the Jews and their isolation in the ghetto ended. The gloomy, unhealthy homes of the ghetto made a lasting impression on Popper despite the fact that most of his music is cheery and uplifting. The family was able to move out of the area when Popper was eight years old. By then employment restrictions had been lifted and some trades were permitted, as was being a musician.