Dear Young Artist,
Never forget that playing music should be fun! As you begin your preparation for your
All-State audition, keep these big principles in mind.
- Make sure to highlight the characters and mood of each excerpt.
- Make every effort to play with the greatest amount of variety and range.
- Always think about playing vocally. One can do this by asking, "How would a great singer sing this melody?"
- Always keep your melodic line perfectly intact. This means always make sure that every note you play creates a continuous musical line with no notes sticking out and every note contributing to making melodies both beautiful and soaring.
- Make sure that your interpretation fully tells the "story" of what you are trying to communicate to the listener.
In closing, I do hope that you find these comments and the ones below helpful. Finally,
wishes of great success in all your future endeavors.
-Hassan Anderson
Assistant Professor of Oboe, University of the South Carolina
Performance notes below by Professor Emeritus Dr. Rebecca Nagel.
Junior Oboe: Audition Solo 1A, Grazioso
- The marking “cantabile” means singing – so imagine you are singing when you play the solo.
- Pay attention to dynamics and articulations. Be sure mf is louder than mp, and f is the loudest of them all.
- Follow the ups and downs of the melody to make an interesting musical line.
- The E-flat in mm. 11 is a non-harmonic note in G major. That makes it especially interesting, so emphasize it with sound and vibrato.
- The staccato quarter notes should be longer than the staccato eighth notes.
Clinic Oboe: Audition Solo 2A, Andantino cantabile
- The marking “cantabile” means singing – so imagine you are singing when playing the solo.
- Pay particular attention to rhythm and subdivision of the beat; be sure you feel clearly the difference between the 8th, triplet and 16th notes. Practice with a metronome!
- The 6/8 section that starts in m. 9 should sound sprightly and light.
- Use vibrato and a slight lengthening of the notes to bring out the tenuto markings in measures 4, 32 and 33.
- You will need to use either the forked or left F (if your oboe has that key) in a
number of places: measures 3, 10, 34 (ending a), and 36 (ending b).
Senior Oboe: Audition Solo 3A, Andante appassionato
- Start piano, and follow the contour of the line for melodic shape; in other words, get a little louder as the line goes up and softer as it goes down.
- Accelerate noticeably in measure 9, and keep the dynamic strong through measures 11 and 12.
- Giocoso means playful, so play with that in mind starting in measure 14. Pay lots of attention to the dynamic changes and accents.
- In the b ending, the eighth note value stays the same throughout. Start the 5/8 section in exactly the same tempo, and then get faster.
Download these performance notes [PDF].