Minnesota Youth Symphonies

[davewerden]

1. Solo piece
Prepare a polished, recital-ready, unaccompanied solo piece. You may play any work of your choice, but the level of difficulty should be an accurate representation of your technical and artistic ability. Remember, it is not what you play, but how well you play. Your solo piece need not be memorized. You may be asked to stop playing before you reach the end of your prepared piece; if this happens, please understand that it is only in the interest of time, not a reflection of your playing. With your solo and/or your prepared excerpt(s), you may be asked to play it again in a different manner (slower, faster, more lyrically, etc.). Please regard this as evidence of your musical flexibility, which will weigh heavily on the success of your audition.

2. Excerpts
NEW this season are prepared excerpts (attached). You will be asked to play one excerpt of your choice, which is included in this packet. If you are unfamiliar with the excerpt, consult with your private teacher or a coach who is familiar with them. It is recommended that you also listen to a recording or live performance of the piece in order to give yourself proper tempo and musical context. Prepare the excerpt closest to your ability level.

Philharmonic Orchestra level: Mussorgsky, Night on Bald Mountain, 14 measures after A to 7 before B

Repertory & Symphony level: Berlioz, Symphony Fantastique, mvt 5, second measure of reh #85 to the end

3. Scales & technique
All required scales must be memorized. Automatically play the corresponding arpeggios to a scale, if required.

PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Scales: All major and natural minor scales in 1 octave. Technique: Must be able to produce a clear, full tone. Must demonstrate a beginning use of vibrato.

REPERTORY ORCHESTRA Scales: ALL major & minor (harmonic, melodic & natural) scales in 2 octaves. Technique: Must have begun work on continuous vibrato. Must be able to double & triple tongue at the following speeds: 8th note triplets at half note = 72-80, 16th note triplets at quarter = 132-140.

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Scales: ALL major & minor (harmonic, melodic & natural) scales and corresponding arpeggios in 2 octaves. Technique: Must be able to play with continuous vibrato. Must be able to double & triple tongue at the following speeds: 8th note triplets at ] = 92, 16th note triplets at [ = 152.

4. Sight-reading
Sight-reading for all orchestras will include complex rhythms relative to the level of the orchestra. Feel free to tell the conductor which orchestra you are trying out for.

5. Orchestra placement
Student placement is competitive and is ranked in order of artistic quality. Those qualities include superiority of tone, intonation, vibrato (as appropriate), dynamic range, musicality and general accuracy. Although a student may be able to perform all the requirements for a particular orchestra, he or she may still not qualify based on the level of competition in a given year.

6. Auditions are closed to the public, including parents and families.

7. Prior participation in the Minnesota Youth Symphonies is no guarantee of placement.

(2 excerpts are available on PDF at this link: http://www.mnyouthsymphonies.o..._pdfs/12tuba.pdf)


Source:
www.mnyouthsymphonies.org/auditions.html

[Don]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

I play a York double bell (vintage 1909) and a Cuesnon 4-valve (vintage unknown but not new) in a small town band. I currently use a Bach 6.5 AL for both, but am wondering if there is a better option.

[davewerden]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

If you want a little more mellow sound, I'd suggest a Back 5G. The rim will feel pretty comfortable, based on what you are used to. If you want to go a step more dark yet, you could try a Wick 4BS. I would not suggest anything larger than those two, because it could be a bad match for the horns. When I play my baritone horn or my double-bell euphonium, I use the 4BS. My normal mouthpiece is a 4AL, but the same cup size with a small shank is not a good match for these smaller horns.

I used to play a 6-1/2AL on my euphonium in my early Coast Guard days. My first switch up was the 5G and was a fairly easy change. It rounded my sound out a bit and helped the low range. The high range was still good, though.

[Don]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

Thanks!

[Don]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

Forgot to ask about the appropriate shank size and whether the Heritage model from Wick has significantly different playing characteristics.

[fsung]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

Unless the receiver on your York was replaced at some point, it's a small shank.

[Don]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

That's what I thought. Thanks for the confirmation.

[gehlmauer]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

I appreciate the information you have laid out here.Thanks for forwarding this useful information.It was wonderful of you.Good luck!that's good to know!Thanks.....





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[Gongadin]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

I just joined the Forum, and I am appreciative of the information offered in this thread. I play bass trombone, using a Schilke Symphony M6.0 mouthpiece. I recently acquired a pair of Conn 60I double bell euphoniums, and the mouthpieces they came with seemed rather small (to me) and seemed suited for high-range solo work. I looked for a mouthpiece that would be as close as possible to my bass trombone playing experience. I'm playing the double bell euphs with a Schilke 53, and was about to investigate getting a larger set up from Doug Elliott -but perhaps I'm going about this the wrong way. I'll investigate some smaller pieces that might better fit the needs of the euphoniums.

[bobborocks]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

hello i just joined the forum as well, and was wondering about the mouthpiece that came with my conn double bell euphonium. Has anyone seen one like this, or know what it is? It has a large shank and very shallow cup. No markings on it whatsoever.

[davewerden]

Appropriate Mouthpieces

There are members on this forum with better knowledge of this type of thing, but my guess is that could be a homemade mouthpiece. It's not a shape I am familiar with, but mostly I am looking at the shape of the playing surface of the rim. It seems crudely turned, and doesn't have the smooth curve from the outside to the inside of the rim that one would expect in a brand-name mouthpiece. But am totally guessing!