It has been a WHIRLWIND of a week. Monday marked my first real flute job audition. Three of my flute friends and I drove the seven hours to New London, CT to audition for the Coast Guard band. None of us came home with a contract (we all had about a 1/50 chance of winning), but I’m so glad I went. I’ve been absolutely dreading the audition process because it just seemed so impossible, but once I got on the stage, I just played like I’ve been trained and have been practicing for. I realized that auditions are not the horrible nightmares that I imagined, but just logistical a step to get where I want to go. That being said, it was so sad to me to realize how many people are following their dreams right now with so many rejections behind them…and possibly many more ahead of them, given that part of the process is purely luck (who’s having a good day during that audition). And I could easily become one of them.
I love this quote that my friend Robby posted on his P52 last week: “An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don’t.” This audition was such a good checkpoint for me…it made me realize that I have the musical skills I need, but I just need to learn how to work through mental hurdles and continue to reach toward perfection in future auditions.
I suppose the only thing that I can do is wake up every morning and start my scales and excerpts. Keep sending in my resume and taking auditions. And hopefully one day I’ll go in with the right combination of preparation and luck and find the dream job I’ve been seeking for so many years….aside from being a photographer, of course ;)
1 | An Eastman flute studio reunion! It was great to spend time with three of my current studio-mates, and get to see two good friends of mine that graduated the year before last.
2 | New London, Connecticut, home of the Coast Guard.
3 | Eating clementines during the 7-hour drive to CT
4 | We played the “Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” trivia book to pass the drive. Needless to say, we were all smarter than a fifth grader…especially in the music category! :)
{ETA: Sorry to post late– I’ve come down the typical post-audition cold and spent all day in bed yesterday hoping to recover quickly before my flight to San Francisco tomorrow.}
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