I get a lot of questions from people asking what’s the best way to try trumpets. It is especially difficult when you’re younger to try trumpets effectively: and I would be a good example of that.  I had a fairly bad c trumpet for all of my undergraduate years and into my first job. I was kind of left to my devices to choose my instrument and when you’re a little less consistent it’s harder to effectively choose an instrument that is right for you. That was why I ended up with a bit of a clunker! 

What’s the biggest difference between a recorded audition and a live audition? You have the ABILITY (double edged sword here) to record it as many times as you want or have time to with a recorded audition. When it is live, you get one shot. Most of the recorded auditions now are being asked to be done straight-through, with no edits. This takes more planning and preparation than being able to record one selection at a time. It also gives us as the listeners a better overall idea of your playing.

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks. I am 46. I don’t think of that as old, but I have been working in full-time orchestras now for over 23 years. I left school in 1998 to start working and yet, in the last three years, I have learned more about how to play the trumpet (and thus, how to teach the same stuff) than at any other time in my life!