The Carmina Burana Choral Project features 200 high school singers and 50 middle school singers from all over New York City with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s conducted by David Robertson. Carnegie is looking for three high school-aged composers to write new works for the chorus and orchestra based on the musical themes of Carmina Burana. The winners will have their works premiered on February 5, 2012 at Stern Auditorium.

Benefits offered by Carnegie to young composers:

• A chance to premiere a composition for chorus and orchestra at Carnegie Hall
• Access to workshops and mentoring with professional composers
• Rehearsals and premiere performance of a new 5–7 minute composition at Carnegie Hall with Orchestra of St. Luke’s, high school choirs, and conductor David Robertson

Applications due: June 1, 2011
Premiere: February 5, 2012

For more information or to apply, click here or call 212-903-9625.

The Carmina Burana Choral Project is made possible, in part, by an endowment fund for choral music established by S. Donald Sussman in memory of Judith Arron and Robert Shaw.

‘Tis the Season…Audition Season that is!
Here are a few things that helped me prepare.
By Ren Martin-Doike

You’ve been practicing for what seems like your whole life, and in a few months, you will give one of the most crucial performances of your career so far… your college audition. How is preparing for college auditions any different from, say, getting ready for a competition?

Ren Performs on From the Top in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2008

Auditions are actually the same thing as competitions. The only difference is that when you “win,” instead of getting a medal, money or concert opportunities, you get the chance to snag the best prize of all – a good education.

Since you’re planning to study music beyond high school, I have a feeling that you are already an experienced player, not looking for another article telling you to practice 8 hours a day or how you shouldn’t wear blue jeans for your audition. Of course, the standard rules do always apply – listen to your teacher, plan ahead and practice mindfully. But you already know these things, so I’m going to give you my experience-tested tips, from the wise to the wacky.

First and foremost – it’s all in your head. No matter how well you prepare, if you psych yourself out at the last minute, you may not play your best. Conversely, if you don’t believe in yourself from the start, you will limit yourself from playing as well as you can. I’ve always been fascinated with psychology and neurology, so as you read this article you will also find “mind-hacks” you can use to more deeply tap into your potential.

Set concrete goals and hold yourself accountable for them. I write my goals on Post-it notes and stick them in a place that I look at while I practice. These goals range from short term (practice 6-7 days this week) to long term (get into Curtis.) However, a goal is just a wish if you don’t put any action behind it. Like you, I absolutely hate practicing, but to hold myself accountable, I log my daily practice time on my calendar. This way, I can easily track my progress and see where I need to improve. See Mind-Hack #1 at the bottom of this post for more tips.

Ren Performs at an Airport

Listening to recordings is not just for Suzuki students! Though it is also important to study your part, or even a score, there are hundreds of things you could only learn from listening to a variety of different recordings. Allow me to emphasize the word different in that sentence – your musical flexibility is crucial in the audition room. In some auditions, like the one I did at Curtis, you may have to perform with a pianist you have never played with before; this is why it is extremely important that you be comfortable playing your repertoire at different tempos and even in differing styles. Playing along with recordings is extremely helpful. I learned pieces inside and out by putting on my headphones and playing along with some my favorite recordings. See Mind-Hack #2 at the bottom of this post for more tips.

There is absolutely no substitute for performance practice. I view practicing and performing as opposite skills. In the practice room, we try to find our mistakes and work on them; while on the stage, we should ignore mistakes and just flow with the music. When you perform, your mind and body behave in an entirely different way. You will only become comfortable with this unfamiliar feeling if you experience it regularly. Performing can also help you to isolate which parts to practice. I have found that most of the things I mess up in performance never go wrong in the practice room, and vice versa.

A friend of mine who went to Juilliard with International Violin Competition of Indianapolis Gold Medalist, Augustin Hadelich, told me how Augustin would play for “anything that stayed still long enough” in preparation for the competition he eventually won. That was a revelation to me. If it got Augustin to the IVCI gold medal, where could it take you?

Getting practice in performance is easier said than played, however. Cultures in Harmony founder William Harvey said when he reappeared on From the Top in 2009 “…at some point you need to make your own [performance] opportunities.” This made a huge impact on me. I increased my performance practice from once or twice a month to once or twice a week by performing in some pretty unconventional situations.

Ren Performs Over Skype

Instead of waiting for my teacher to set up a performance for me, I began playing for kids at a local elementary school in the cafeteria…during their lunch! I also harnessed the power of the Internet and played, over Skype or iChat, for any friends willing to let to me “perform” for them. Even if I was in my pajamas playing with headphones on, I still got the same adrenalin rush as I did in front of the audition committee. See Mind-Hack #3 at the bottom of this post for more tips.

In the end, our aim is to feel secure and confident while playing in our audition, so we can forget everything and just make beautiful music. I hope that these ideas will help and encourage you in your personal audition journey. Remember: think positively, practice mindfully, perform often and most importantly, have a blast in the process. Good luck!

Mind-Hack #1: Write and display your very specific goals in past tense. In other words, instead of writing, “practice three hours a day”, try writing “I practiced three hours a day the week of February 21 – 27.” Doesn’t writing such a statement in past tense seem like lying? Well, yes, it sort of is. But, experience has taught me that Psychologist Claude Steele’s Theory of Affirmation is one of the most powerful mind techniques you can use. When we say or think certain things about ourselves, positive or negative, we actually program our brains to make sure that what we say comes true.

Mind-Hack #2: Recent Northwestern University Neurological research has finally proven that we actually CAN learn by listening in our sleep! This means that either listening to your audition repertoire before you sleep, or like I did, as an iPod alarm an hour before I woke up, can actually be a key to consciously, unconsciously and even subconsciously knowing your music. (Plus, it’s as a great way to “practice” while you sleep.)

Mind-Hack #3: Harness your power of positive thinking! I know this is totally clichéd, but hear me out. I missed my flight to Philadelphia for my Curtis audition. Naturally the first thing anyone would do is panic. But I chose not to. Instead of freaking out that I was leaving more than six hours later than I had planned to, I made my long wait at the airport into a great performance opportunity. I was not trapped at an airport; I suddenly had a gate full of potential audience members! By the time I boarded the plane, I had developed many good relationships with my fellow passengers and I also discovered a new community of support. Because of my perspective, I turned my missed flight into an audition edge, and I arrived at Curtis ready to have a great audition. Similarly, you too can turn your own adverse situations into audition advantages.
Ren Martin-Doike attends the Curtis Institute of Music and studies the viola with Misha Amory and Michael Tree. Ren is the Alma and Edward Lakin Annual fellow and, like all Curtis students, is a recipient of a full merit-based tuition scholarship.  Prior to entering Curtis, Ren studied with Mimi Zweig in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Pre-College String Academy.

Finalists were drawn from a pool of hundreds of video submissions uploaded between October 18 and November 18 at YouTube.com/BigBreak . All classical musicians, the contestants ranged in age from 8-18 and participated on a variety of solo instruments including piano, bassoon, harp, voice, violin, cello, bass, marimba, and recorder. They hailed from all over the country.

Public voting on the top 15 finalists begins today at YouTube.com/BigBreak and ends on December 14. The Big Break’s grand-prize winner, selected by the public, will appear on an upcoming national radio broadcast of From the Top on NPR with host Christopher O’Riley. The grand-prize winner plus several runners-up will also perform at a Carnegie Hall Family Concert on April 9 in Zankel Hall, produced in partnership with From the Top and hosted by Mr. O’Riley. Big Break winners will be announced on or after December 15.

The Big Break finalists are:

Gideon Broshy (piano), age 16, New York, NY
Emily Brown (double bass), age 16, Myersville, MD
Samuel Casseday (double bass), age 17, Jacksonville, FL
Jennifer Cha (violin), age 14, Naperville, IL
Brannon Cho (cello), age 15, Short Hills, NJ
Michael Davidman (piano), age 13, New York, NY
Peter Eom (cello), age 15, Gilbert, AZ
Helen Gerhold (harp), age 14, Lansdale, PA
Nikita Haduong (violin), age 15, Henderson, NV
Jiyeon Kim (guitar), age 17, Cleveland, OH
Kate Liu (piano), age 16, Winnetka, IL
Ryan Norville (flute), age 17, Fort Myers, FL
Arianna Smith (viola), age 17, St. Charles, IL
Marcelina Suchocka (marimba), age 17, Chicago, IL
Kevin Sun (piano), age 17, Carmichael, CA

Each year, From the Top receives about a thousand applications from young classical musicians across the country wishing to appear on its radio and television broadcasts. This contest marks the first time that From the Top has opened that audition process to the public, inviting them to help identify their favorite performers. Carnegie Hall, with its deep commitment to programs that nurture young talent and encourage musicians to aspire to excellence, is happy to continue its partnership with From the Top, offering Big Break musicians the opportunity to perform on its popular Family Concert series.

Please check out the finalists and cast your vote by giving a “thumbs up” for your favorite performance. You can vote once a day per video – spread the word to your friends!

With a little over a week to go until the November 18th submission deadline, we’ve got some terrific entries including a recorder player, a bassoonist, many talented pianists, and more! You can check out current submissions now on the contest page, and the public voting stage will begin around November 29th. Be sure to check back then to cast your vote for who should win a performance on a special episode of From the Top’s radio show and an appearance at a concert at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall!

Are you a young musician (or know one) aged 8-18 looking for your big break? Submit your solo performance video now.

Live auditions are an opportunity for us to hear young musicians in a different and fun capacity; most of our auditions come in by mail. Recent stops our live audition tour included Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), Interlochen Center for the Arts, Brevard Music Center (BMC), and Aspen Music Festival (AMF).  Below are some highlights from the travels of Tim Banker, Caroline Cardiasmenos, Megan Lantz, and Tom Vignieri.

News From Interlochen Center for the Arts:

Tim Banker

Tim Banker reports: “As usual, our Interlochen auditions are a real marathon for the brain as we see kids from 9am to 9pm (no exaggeration).  The level at Interlochen is very high and so it’s pretty inspiring.  It really doesn’t get boring.  Interlochen is totally international so we also heard amazing kids from locations as far flung as Israel and Peru.

One of the terrifying things about Interlochen is when you try to get breakfast at the cafeteria at like 7:40am.  Why?  Because at 7:45am about 1,000 kids have to be at their orchestras or rehearsals or classes and it’s like experiencing a buffalo stampede in all directions except the buffalo are all carrying bananas, half filled bowls of cereal and jelly lined pieces of toast.  I was half asleep at the time and simply froze to protect myself. Pretty funny.”

From the Top staffers also delighted in an Interlochen tradition: The Melody Freeze, which is, according to Tim, “a gloriously mobbed ice cream stand from which you can buy $1 soft serve.”  Yum!

Music and From the Top Alums at BUTI:

Tom Vignieri

At the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Tom, Caroline, Megan had a great day of auditions, hearing a number of excellent prospects for the show ranging from strings to winds and brass.

“I feel so lucky to be able to regularly visit Tanglewood, the western Massachusetts summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra,” says Caroline.  “I was lucky to participate in programs there two summers when I was in high school and I still feel the same excitement driving through the main gates.”

Over the weekend, Tom visited the Tanglewood main grounds to hear Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms paired with Mozart’s Requiem.  There, he sought out recent From the Top 10th anniversary alum Keitaro “Kei” Harada.  Keitaro is one of only three conducting fellows at Tanglewood Music Center this summer. Tom says, “Kei is more than holding his own, already working with Michael Tilson Thomas and now Christoph von Dohnanyi who Kei is assisting on the big opera production of the summer, Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos.” Click here to read Kei’s updates from Tanglewood.

Tom also attended an afternoon BUTI Young Artists Orchestra concert that included a performance of Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 and Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” at Ozawa Hall.  He saw several From the Top alums including double bassist Kiyoe Wellington, trumpet player Dominic Favia, Jack Kent Cook Young Artist Sodie Finebone (who recently played the tuba for our Gettysburg show, which airs September 20), and timpanist Ted Babcock.

Hanging Out at Brevard Music Center:

Caroline Cardiasmenos

At Brevard Music Center, Caroline had the opportunity to visit briefly with Maestro Keith Lockhart before his morning rehearsal of Wagner’s Tannhäuser with the Brevard Music Center Orchestra (BMCO).

She notes, “The BMCO is the top orchestra here, and is composed of college, high school and faculty musicians. Brevard utilizes the side-by-side orchestra concept, which is a special opportunity for the students!  Hearing that sound was the perfect way for me to start a fabulous day of auditions.” (If you’re not familiar with the term, the “side-by-side” concept is where aspiring musicians perform literally side by side with accomplished musicians.  It’s an excellent teaching tool.)

At the end of the day, Caroline enjoyed catching up with Utah Symphony orchestra trombonist and BMC faculty member Bill Zehfuss:  “I chatted with him at the rehearsal in the morning and then happened to end up at the same restaurant as him later that night.  It’s so great to be able to catch up with our faculty friends on these trips.”

Across the Country at Aspen Music Festival:

This was Caroline’s first opportunity to travel to Colorado and gosh did she have fun!

“When you wheel in to the Aspen Music Festival campus, the first thing you notice is the sound of rushing water.  Castle creek runs right next to the main buildings.  That, and the gorgeous high peaks surrounding Aspen are the backdrop for a day’s worth of top notch auditions.”

Caroline spent her first day at AMF’s College Conservatory Day answering questions and rounding up additional young performers to audition: “Sometimes young performers can be hesitant to sign up for live auditions when they’re in the midst of intensive summer training.  Maybe they feel they don’t have a solo work prepared because they’ve been working on ensemble repertoire or they’re afraid they’ll be too tired to play their best after a long day of rehearsals.  We try to encourage them to look at this as an opportunity they should absolutely take.  Us “From the Toppers” are experienced running these auditions and know what the summer institute environments are like.  We are always happy to hear performers sooner than later, even if it doesn’t work out the first time.”

On her second day, Caroline ran the auditions: “Audition after audition is an inspiration for me as a musician.  And when you’re in a magical environment like Aspen, it’s even more touching.”

Caitlin Kelley, From the Top alumna and Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, now a senior at the Colburn School in L.A.

Violinist Caitlin Kelley had always thought about auditioning for From the Top, but it was not until From the Top came to the Aspen Music Festival and School to hear auditions that she finally took the plunge.

“It was always in the back of mind to audition, and since they were right there, I figured why not?” Caitlin said. “From the Top had been on the radio station in Seattle since I was young, and I always loved it. It was a hysterical show.”

Caitlin had always liked the interviews with performers after they played, but From the Top’s unique format meant an extra dimension to the written application – a series of questions prompting applicants to reveal memorable moments and personality quirks.

“We auditioned in a little church [where] there was not much room to warm up, so we warmed up on the street,” Caitlin said. “But the part I was most stressed about was figuring out what to write on the form! It has questions like ‘What’s a funny thing about you?’ So we were practicing, but we were all sitting there like, ‘Oh no, what’s a funny story about me?’ “

Caitlin didn’t stress for too long. When she auditioned, she said, “Lisa Utzinger, From the Top’s Scholarship Program Manager and Tom Vignieri, Music Producer, were there and as soon as I went in they were both so friendly, and Tom was really funny. I was relaxed right away.”

She played the two pieces she had prepared, and then did a little Irish fiddling at Tom’s request. (Caitlin had mentioned her talent for fiddling, which she picked up from a family band in Seattle, on her application). Then, she said goodbye to the From the Top team, and it was back to business as usual – until she got a call in the fall.

From the Top told her they wanted to have her on the show in February, but they also gave her some surprising news: she was a finalist for the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award!

Caitlin had applied for the scholarship on a whim at her live audition in Aspen. She hadn’t known about From the Top’s award program (in its first year at the time) until she picked up the From the Top application. Luckily, she applied anyway.

“I just kind of filled out the scholarship form because my family doesn’t have a lot of money,” she said. “I was really surprised [I got it] at first. When you apply for that kind of scholarship, you never take it that seriously, because there are so many people applying… I was so excited! At that point, I didn’t know where I was going to college, so I knew I could put it towards my tuition if I needed to. It was really comforting to know I had that support going forward.”

Caitlin decided to attend The Colburn School, which doesn’t charge tuition to its music students, so she was able to use the $10,000 award from the Cooke scholarship for other important and costly tools: a new bow, a recording device, textbooks for Colburn, and a year of violin maintenance.

Besides all that, she got to be on the show! However, that wasn’t the end of her relationship with From the Top.

“I just kept in touch with Lisa [Utzinger] for various reasons,” Caitlin said. “She told me she was coming to L.A. and needed someone to do auditions with her, and she knew I was living there. Those were the first auditions I’d ever run, so that was exciting. Being on the other side of auditions made me realize how much [the people auditioning you] want you to do well. I was thinking, ‘I hope they are comfortable, and not nervous.’ It was hard just trying to take notes and remember who was who!”

As someone who has been on both sides of the From the Top audition process, Caitlin has some wisdom to share with potential From the Top performers.

“Don’t be afraid to apply more than once. It just depends on the show and what they have space for. If you audition once and they turn you down, it doesn’t mean they don’t want you,” she said.

These days, Caitlin is looking forward to entering her senior year at Colburn in the fall. She’s also back at the Aspen Music Festival for the fifth summer in a row.

“I just ran into a flute player at orchestra who auditioned [for From the Top this year],” she said. “Unfortunately, he didn’t make it, but now I’m playing a gig with him this weekend.”

We’re wishing Caitlin good luck with her senior year – and to the flute player, whoever you are, don’t give up on From the Top!

– Lily Kaiser, From the Top intern

Interlochen Arts Camp

Stops include:

Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School Natick, MA – July 7

Boston University Tanglewood Institute Boston, MA – July 17

Interlochen Center for the Arts Summer Arts Camp Interlochen, MI – July 23-24

Aspen Music Festival and School Aspen, CO – August 3

Camp administrators will be posting details about From the Top’s visit at each location. So keep your ears and eyes peeled for information.

If you (or a talented musician you know) is interested in auditioning but will not be attending one of these camps this summer, never fear, From the Top always welcomes mailed applications.

Read more about the audition process here

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Below is the first edition of a new series of “Audition Stories”, a fistful of firsthand reports on what it takes to get on From the Top. We’ll cover details from the toughest application question to the fateful phone call and everything in between. Of course, the best way to find out what auditioning is like is to do it yourself – download the application here.

Ibanda Ruhumbika leading a From the Top education program in Hawaii.

19-year-old tuba player Ibanda Ruhumbika has mastered the art of being on From the Top. He’s appeared on the show three times, once with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and twice as a soloist. Ibanda can take anything we throw at him, whether we hide him behind the 120 members of his youth orchestra, set him up to talk about music with a group of admiring students at an all-girls school, or let him shine in front of a camera while the New York Philharmonic brass section strolls in as his surprise collaborators.

But Ibanda wasn’t always a From the Top poster child. In fact, he wouldn’t have played on the show at all if it weren’t for his persistence.

“I made it the third time I auditioned,” Ibanda told me. “I’ve listened to the show since I was in eighth grade. I’m a big fan, so… when I was in tenth grade, I sent in a tape, and some time before the Atlanta taping I sent in another tape, and finally, I had a live audition when I was studying for the summer at Interlochen.”

Was he nervous to do a live audition for people he’d listened to on the radio for years? Not really.

“It was pretty comfortable,” he said. “Tom [Vignieri, From the Top’s Music Producer] was really casual about it. I pretty much played and he said, ‘So, there’s a show next week, do you want to be on it?’ and I did.”

He made it sound easy, but for Ibanda, there was more to getting on the show than just saying “yes.” After two years of auditioning, he had snagged a spot at last – only to lose it again.

“I got pneumonia,” he said. “After I got back from Interlochen, I had a little cough, and the cough was dry and it just kept getting worse and worse… I was supposed to fly up to Chicago on Friday, but on Thursday I went to the pulminologist and he was like, ’You have pneumonia.’ I felt bad canceling on From the Top because I was calling the day before I was supposed to get there, but I couldn’t even talk.”

Ibanda has gone down in From the Top history as the only kid who has had to call in sick. In fact, some staff members suspect he did it on purpose. A week after he missed the Chicago show, Ibanda called From the Top to tell them he was feeling better. Lucky for him, the next show we were taping was in Hawaii!

“I said I felt pretty ready to play again, and they told me there were two shows coming up, one in Hawaii and one in Columbus, and I could pick which one I wanted to be on. I decided to go with Hawaii. I just like the beach more than going to Ohio.”

Ibanda finally performed on From the Top after three auditions and one false start, but he picked up a valuable lesson on his long journey to the Hawaii show.

“I was learning so much, focusing on one thing all day and getting it perfect,” he said. “I think you go through the most growth when you’re preparing for something.”

Lily Kaiser, Ravishingly Beautiful From the Top Intern

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Hi everybody! I’m Lily Kaiser, an intern at From the Top this summer and a rising sophomore at Georgetown University. I love music, but I don’t play an instrument, so I’m cultivating my music appreciation skills. I practice them for hours a day until my ears bleed, dreaming of the day when I can appreciate in Carnegie Hall. I’ll be writing a couple posts a week. Keep an eye out!