Audition Horror Stories

There may be no more stressful way to job hunt than to take an audition for a big-time orchestra. Flying around the country at your own expense for the chance to play the hardest excerpts in the orchestral repertoire for three minutes, before being summarily dismissed by a disembodied voice – it’s not the most relaxing job interview environment. So you can imagine how Boston-based violist Karina Schmitz felt at her last two auditions: the first in Detroit, where airline mishaps got her to the hall after a night of unscheduled flights around the Midwest; and the second in Los Angeles, where the power on stage went out as she was playing her concerto.