Idol, Part 2: Kiju, the Violin Playing Girl

As promised, think American Idol, only nerdier, and with a happy ending......here is her take on her audition to win the job at the Houston Symphony...written by our newest violinist, Kiju Joh, who comes to us from Chicago.

Check out the comments from the last blog- we may have (though you never know on line, do you) attracted commentary from the subject of the last blog, one of the hosts of "America's Hot Musician." You be the judge!!

Also, speaking of my cat being able to play the piano, here is a great video of Nora, the Piano Playing Cat.

From Kiju:

I must start off by admitting that I never thought I would actually get this job, much less any job! Even though I had gained a sense of routine and familiarity of the audition process through taking many auditions, the audition experience still never got easier.

Generally in auditions, I have to deal with the stress that I bring upon myself, which in itself is enough. It could be triggered by a simple case of nerves or anxiety over the audition repertoire. i.e. “I hope they don’t ask for that excerpt” or “I hope that I nail that really fast and high run in Don Juan!” If on top of that, an audition is poorly run, it only adds to the stress level. It makes it more difficult to focus on the task at hand, which is simply just to perform my very best.

(The basic rundown of the audition is this: you see the ad for the position in a trade paper. you write away for the list of music (excerpts) the orchestra wants to hear, and then the next month or so of your life, and those living with you, is a living hell. When you arrive at the audition, there are usually 3 rounds that eliminate people as they go higher. During the first round, you may play as little as 3 minutes before being permanently dismissed, which can be very disappointing after spending all that time and money on airfare and hotel!! By the time/if you get to the final round, the committee (comprised of 7 musicians and the conductor) is asking for more music and may have you play with other members of the orchestra, or sightread some unfamiliar music. My feeling has always been that by the time you get to the finals, it is just a question of if your style fits the orchestra for which you are auditioning.--Rita)

In Houston, the staff running the audition was very helpful and friendly, which automatically put me at ease. I really appreciated the amount of time that I had in my own private warm-up room (or in some cases, practice room!), which was an extremely generous amount of 25-30 minutes as opposed to the 5-10 minutes which I was given in other auditions. This allowed me ample time to decompress and refocus in a less hectic setting. On top of that, everything was running pretty much on schedule, which meant that I didn’t have to wait a long time and get tired or cold before stepping on stage to play. These small details, in total, made a huge difference.

I spoke to some of the staff running the audition afterwards, and they informed me that they also had been through the grind of taking many auditions. Having their own audition experiences allowed them to offer us the comforts, considerations and conveniences that they would have hoped for or expected themselves.

Besides the actual audition experience itself, I was especially impressed with events that happened afterwards. After finding out that I was offered the position, I was immediately introduced to some of the audition committee, the general manager, and even the music director. It was very late at night, and I was aware that they had to sit through almost six hours of auditions in addition to having attended two long rehearsals earlier that day. Despite a very long and arduous day, they still stuck around and took the time to welcome and congratulate me.

Everyone in the symphony whom I have met so far has been so friendly and warm. I was taken out on very nice welcome lunches, invited to attend a symphony concert, and I’ve even been offered help in finding places to live when I move down in the spring. Rita has especially been one of my biggest supporters of getting this position. I was so happy that she was there to share this exciting experience with me! I am very much looking forward to becoming a part of this amazing group!

Idol, part 1

Are you an American Idol junkie? I have days when I can watch it and days when I can't. Sometimes it is just a little TOO painful. Like the prelims, when the show's producers decide that bad talent makes for good TV. Especially painful this season were those two guys from Seattle. (Speaking of painful, what happened to that Hung guy? ) Is it just plain old human nature rearing its ugly head when the most popular entertainment is showcasing the misfortunate/pathetically untalented/embarassing/misfits of society? Ah, for the good old days of gladiators and court jesters. Eh? Lion's den anyone?

I just found out about a new "Idol"-like show that started on Youtube but is now going to be aired on Comcast channels like O!xygen across the country. It is called "America's Hot Musician." Like American Idol, but for instrumentalists. I heard that a colleaugue from the National Symphony in D.C. has just signed on as the third judge. Thank God for that-after viewing just the first episode (with mounting horror) on Youtube, I came to at least two conclusions: 1) with only two judges, the voting process is severely flawed; and 2)sounding like Randy Jackson does not make you a Randy Jackson. The producer/judge/Randy Jackson counterpart, Gregory Charles Royal on the show SEEMS to have decent credentials but lost all credibility with me when he passed on to the next round a tone-deaf guitarist with the words "you just need to be relaxed, I want you to come back." My cat could tune the guitar better than that guy. And the first season Judge no.2, a mid-west high school music teacher(!?!?!?!), former Miss Minnesota Kari Heisler, is certainly no Paula Abdul, though at least she voted no on the tone deaf guy (it only takes one vote to get passed to the next round-see above conclusions). But it doesn't matter, because if you come on time, are breathing and can sit upright for at least 30 seconds on this show, you get passed on by Charles "I got my limits, I got my limits" Royal who must be desperate, really, really really really desperate for material.

Simon Cowell, where are you?

The winners get a recording contract- which in this day of Garage Band and cheap digital home studios, doesn't seem like such a prize. But hey, everyone's gotta have their Warhol 15 minutes, and given the wealth of reality programming, I mean EVERYONE.

Tune in next week for a segment of real competition in the Classical music world, where the prize is a job in a major symphony orchestra. No- not some kind of nerdy "Apprentice," but a real account of the audition to win the latest violin opening at the Houston Symphony, written by the winner.