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Auditions for the 2010-11 season took place on May 8 & 9, 2010 and are now closed.
Audition repertoire is posted below. Any changes or updates for excerpts for 2011 will be posted by the first week of January. For those wishing to audition in 2011, please complete the Audition Application Form and mail it with the audition fee prior to your audition. After your application form and audition fee have been received, PYSO will contact you to confirm a specific audition time.
For those who are accepted into the orchestra, annual membership dues are $500. Scholarship assistance is available, based on financial need. PYSO normally rehearses on Saturday afternoons, September through May, at Heinz Hall. Major concerts are usually in November, Feburary and May. More information about PYSO.
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1. Please bring a prepared solo from the standard repertoire, appropriate for your level of proficieny. Do not bring an accompanist. Please have several extra copies of the solo part, should they be requested by the adjudicators. Normally there is only enough time to hear about 1 minute of your solo, so please plan accordingly with cuts, playing only the exposition, etc. While the solo is important, the judges are more interested in how well you play the excerpts.
2. Strings/Woodwinds/Brass: You should be able to play all scales in all major and minor (melodic or harmonic) keys. String auditions typically include playing one scale (3 octaves up and down, medium tempo) that the adjudicators will specify. Scales are not usually part of woodwind/brass auditions.
3. Please bring your own copies of the excerpts below. Click on the instrument name to follow the link for PDF's of the excerpts. If you have difficulty downloading or printing the excerpts, please contact the PYSO office so that the excerpts can be mailed to you. There may not be time to hear all of the excerpts during your audition, but you should be prepared to play them all, if asked. Please pay particular attention to correct tempo, following the dynamics, and accurate intonation. It is advisable to listen to professional recordings to hear the excerpts in context (particularly for proper tempo), and to work on the excerpts at lessons with your private teacher. |
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Violin
Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 "Eroica" Scherzo
(up to the trio)
Brahms, Symphony No. 4, Second Movement, Andante Moderato (Reh. B – D)
Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4 "Italian" First Movement, Allegro Vivace (meas. 1 to 66) |
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Viola
Berlioz, Roman Carnival Overture, Viola Solo,
Reh. 1 to 3
Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, first movement
(meas. 1 to 10, meas. 28 to 55)
Brahms, Symphony No. 4, first movement (meas. 55 to 73, meas. 107 to 123) |
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Cello
Beethoven Symphony No. 5, 3 excerpts from Andante con moto
Mendelssohn Midsummer Night's Dream,
letter C to D
Brahms Symphony No. 2, Adagio no troppo, up to letter A |
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Bass
Beethoven Symphony No. 5, 3rd movement, 2 excerpts
Brahms Symphony No. 2, 4th movement, opening to Letter B
Mozart Symphony No. 39 bar 13 to 21; bar 85 to 97; and bar 115 to 137
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 1st movement 4th bar of Letter B to C |
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Harp
(check with the PYSO office to see if there is an opening for harp)
Britten Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra Variation I, Maestoso (harp cadenza only)
Tchaikovsky Swan Lake, No. 4 Scene cadenza
Verdi La Forza del Destino Letter G to H
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Piano (check with the PYSO office to see if there is an opening for piano)
Stravinsky, Petrouchka, piano solo
Copland,
Hoe-Down from Rodeo
Saint-Saens, Carnival of the Animals - Hemiones and Aquarium |
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Flute
(pages 1-5)
Prokofiev, Peter & the Wolf, reh. #2 to #4, reh. #51 to #52
Brahms Symphony No. 4, 4th movement flute solo
Mendelssohn, Midsummer Night's Dream, Scherzo, measure before P to the end
Ravel, Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2, flute solo
Piccolo
(optional but encouraged) (pages 6-8 of flute excerpts)
Rossini, Overture to La Gazza Ladra, measure 33-39
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5, measure 698-735
Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, measure 70-98
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Oboe
Brahms Symphony No. 1; 1st movement - bar 29-33; 2nd movement - bar 17-23 and bar 38-43
Rossini, La Scala di Seta, measure 5 to 2nd measure of circle 3
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4, 3rd movement excerpt
English Horn
(optional but encouraged)
Dvorak, New World Symphony, Largo, English Horn solo
Debussy, Nocturnes, 2 excerpts
Berlioz, Roman Carnival Overture, 14 measures before #1 to #4
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Clarinet
Brahms, Symphony No. 3, 2nd movement, opening solo
Mendelssohn, Midsummer Night's Dream, Scherzo, up to letter B
Verdi, Overture to La Forza del Destino, solo at letter G
Rachmaninov Symphony #2, 3rd movement
Bass Clarinet
(optional but encouraged)
Strauss, Don Quixote, reh. #14-19, 25-30, 72-75
Strauss, Till Eulenspiegel, entire part
Tchaikovsky, "Manfred" Symphony, mvt. #1, reh. K to L
E-Flat Clarinet
(optional but encouraged)
Strauss, Till Eulenspiegel, reh #40
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Bassoon
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, slow movement bassoon solo
Tchaikovsky, Symphony 5, Valse, letter C to after D
Wagner, Overture to Die Meistersinger, staccato passage at letter G
Stravinsky, Firebird Suite, Berceuse
Mozart, Overture to the Marriage of Figaro
Sibelius Symphony No. 2, 2nd movement opening solo
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Horn
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5, Andante cantabile
Strauss, Till Eulenspiegel excerpts
Shostakovich Symphony #5 low tutti passage (first movement)
Brahms Symphony #1, second movement meas. 90-105, fourth movement letter B to C
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Trumpet
Beethoven, Overture Leonore No. 3, trumpet solo
Respighi, Pines of Rome, II, Pini presso una Catacomba
Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Promenade
Stravinsky, Petrouchka, trumpet solo |
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Trombone
Berlioz, Hungarian March
Schubert, Symphony No. 9
Wagner, Tannhauser Overture
Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries
Bass Trombone
Wagner, Tannhauser Overture
Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries
Berlioz, Hungarian March
Schubert Symphony in C Major
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Tuba
Berlioz, Hungarian March
Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries
Wagner, Overture to Die Meistersinger |
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Percussion
Xylophone
Shostakovich Golden Age Polka
Gershwin, Porgy and Bess, Symphonic Picture (R. R. Bennett)
Snare Drum
Ravel, Bolero, beginning solo
Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade (Mvmt. 3 - all. Mvmt. 4 - all)
Cymbals
Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet
Tambourine
Dvorak, Carnival Overture
Bass Drum
Tchaikovsky, 1812 Overture
Timpani
Mozart Symphony No. 39, Adagio
Beethoven, Symphony No. 3 - Scherzo
Beethoven, Symphony No. 8
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There are some basic things to know about what is involved with membership in PYSO:
AGE REQUIREMENTS:
While there is no minimum age requirement, most members fall between the ages of 14 and 20.
REHEARSALS:
Regular rehearsals take place place on weekends, September through May, primarily at Heinz Hall in downtown Pittsburgh. The majority of rehearsals take place on Saturday afternoons; some are scheduled for Sunday afternoons or evenings; once in a while there is a weeknight rehearsal.
ABSENCES
PYSO follows a trimester format with concerts in November, February, and May. Each member is allowed 2 absences per trimester, not to exceed 5 for the entire year. Dress rehearsals are mandatory.
TOURING:
PYSO toured Europe in June 2005 and China in June 2008. During tour years, all current members are expected to participate in the tour. Students are assessed fees for tours; these fees are in additional to the annual membership dues. No future tour is confirmed at this time.
COACHING:
Members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra conduct coaching sessions at various times throughout the season.
CONCERTO COMPETITION:
Takes place once each year, usually in the winter; open only to members of the orchestra. Winner(s) may perform as a soloist with the Orchestra.
WORKSHOPS:
Periodic educational workshops with guest artists; Open only to members of the orchestra.
MEMBERSHIP DUES:
For the 2009-10 season, annual membership dues are $500. Scholarship assistance is available, based on financial need.
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