the mind hunt: A Christmas discovery

(cont'd: And then on actual Christmas Eve...)

It's worth about $500, but costs $20 each and it's possibly the best find I've had in years. It's the Orchestra Musician's CD-ROM Library!

Late last night I was trying to come up with the easiest, cheapest way to compile all my audition materials for the University of London Symphony Orchestra. What I really should've done was to keep photocopies of the parts I had played or come across at UBC, like the xylophone part for Kabalevsky's Colas Breugnon Overture. Fuck. I hate it when I regret not doing something due to a mere lack of foresight. Dammit. In any case, I spent a couple hours looking up the library catalogues of major schools of music in Tokyo, but only found scores and no parts.

Then, on Sheetmusicplus.com, I coincidentally came across a CD-ROM series titled, The Orchestra Musician's Library. The CD's basically contained printable PDF files of sheet music by part, so all I had to do was buy a CD that featured my instrument, the composer I needed, and his entire discography would be accessible. I didn't think such a compilation would be possible!! This was like someone gathering all of my audition parts for me, photocopying them, and handing it to me.

I was, for the first time, glad that these composers have been dead for centuries (apparently copyright law doesn't apply after a certain period?).

The audition materials: I inquired the ULSO because the percussion materials weren't listed, and they promptly replied that percussion was by application only, and I will be notified of what they will expect me to play when I apply in September 2007. Well, as we all musicians know, 9 months is a long time to go without playing, and is (I figured) just enough time to prepare for a major audition. There was no way I was going to wing the audition completely unprepared. Plus, this would give me a good of a reason as any other to start practicing again. I found out via Google that most auditions require 1 keyboard, 1 snare drum, 1 timpani. At higher levels they require an excerpt and a rudiment piece of each. At still higher levels they require specific excerpts for xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, tambourine, triangle, timpani, and 1 xylophone solo and 1 multi-percussion piece. Good thing I found that out because that is a lot to prepare for.

So my selection?

Xylo solo: G.H. Green, Log Cabin Blues
Xylo: Shostakovich, Golden Age Ballet: Polka
Glock: Debussy, La Mer
Vibraphone: Bernstein, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Snare: Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade: Mvt. 3 & 4
Cymbals: Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4
Bass drum: Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4 or Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
Tambourine: Dvorak, Carnival Overture
Triangle: Bizet, Carmen Suite: Mvt. 2
Timpani: Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4
Mulitperc: Tagawa, Inspirations Diabolique