Besides cozy sweaters, umbrellas and pumpkin spice aroma, fall is an orchestra audition season, especially for ambitious students aspiring to get a seat in a Regional or All-State Orchestra.

It can be a stressful event for young musicians, particularly for those unfamiliar with the process or even for many who have done it before. We here at Princeton Violins can help students optimize the sound of their instrument, repair and rehair their bows, supply new strings and provide all the equipment they need at the highest standards but for the advice on auditioning for orchestra we went to the expert in the field. And who better to offer guidance on this matter than a concertmaster of a major symphony? With that in mind, Princeton Violins invited Maestro Eric Wyrick - the concertmaster of New Jersey Symphony to conduct an Orchestra Audition Clinic. The event took place on November 12, 2023 at the acoustically beautiful Scheide Hall, on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary. Students signed up to attend one of two sessions, during which they went through the process of a mock audition, followed by personalized coaching. During the one-to-one sessions, Maestro Wyrick brilliantly addressed each students' individual needs and generously gave suggestions on how to improve not only the orchestra excerpts they prepared, but also how to work on general technical issues they might have. This proved highly beneficial not only to the participants but also to the attentive audience, many of whom took notes. Maestro Wyrick even shared his own fingerings and bowings with the students. He also helped them with scales and gave valuable ideas of approaching sight-reading. Each session ended with Q&A where students as well as audience members were encouraged to ask questions related to auditioning and performing.

Princeton Violins understands a great need for mentoring young musicians and we continue creating events that might enrich their musical experience in support of the great work of their private teachers. The latest clinics' participants are students of the following teachers: Paul Manulik, James Keene, Amy Wulfman, Takuya Horiuchi, Yongbin Jo and Katarina Powichrowska. 

We would like to express our gratitude to Maestro Wyrick for generously sharing his talent and experience with the young musicians. To find a biography of Mr. Wyrick please go to our website: www.princetonviolins.com - Masterclass series - Orchestra Audition Clinic 2023

Maestro Eric Wyrick with students participating in the first session of the Orchestra Audition Clinic: L-R Minhe Liu, Julia Huang, Joshua Pastor, Sophia Kim, Emilian Lipniewich. 

Orchestra Audition Clinic participants from session two with Maestro Wyrick and Princeton Violins owner and event organizer Jarek Powichrowski: L-R: Patrick Crotti, Stella Evanini, Anna Kang and Grace Kang (not in the picture- Advik Vermani, who had to leave early). 

Here are some examples of topics covered during the clinics: 

Eric Wyrick sharing strategies with Joshua Pastor on how to achieve and comfortably play in fast tempo during orchestra auditions. 

Eric Wyrick coaching Joshua on the use of martelé bowing technique in Brahms. 

Emilian Lipnievich is getting advice from Maestro Wyrick on how to use the sautillé bowing technique in Schubert's Symphony No. 2 excerpt.  

Eric Wyrick is giving an advice to Minhe Liu on how to achieve clean shifting by coordinating bow stroke.

Sophia Kim is getting an advice on bow distribution for best sound in Brahms.

Eric Wyrick coaching Julia Huang on how to use sautillé bow technique in Schubert excerpt. 

Erick Wyrick giving advice to Stella Evanini on how to change a bow grip to help articulation in Veracini's E minor Sonata, required for Middle School Regional Orchestra Audition this season.  

Violist Advik Vermani getting an advice on the proper articulation and fingering choice in Brahm's Symphony No. 4, 3rd movement excerpt. 

Grace Kang worked with Maestro Wyrick on how to practice orchestra excerpts using metronome in the most efficient way. 

Eric Wyrick coaching Patrick Crotti on how to alter his bow grip to help achieve strong sound in Brahms excerpt.

Eric Wyrick working with Anna Kang on dynamics and bow use in Brahms Symphony No.4, 3rd movement excerpt.

Maestro Wyrick suggesting best fingering options for scales during the clinics. 

Q&A session with Eric Wyrick - advice for the day of the orchestra audition.

The videos above are only snippets of the full event that took almost five hours and had a form of a workshop. 

We thank everyone participating in the clinics and hope that they helped each student in their preparation for the audition. Best of luck to each of you!

We hope to see you all at our future events. More details coming soon, please keep checking our website www.princetonviolins.com or sign up for our mailing list.