Eb AND D trumpet on audition

[chipper983]

Hey all,
I have a question that I'd like to put to anyone who's had this dilemma or can speak from the perspective of the audition committee.

I have an audition that I'm preparing for which calls for a concerto (I'll do Haydn) as well as two excerpts that I feel work best on D trumpet. I would entertain preparing them on C trumpet, but if I am honest with myself, I know I'd be more comfortable playing them on D and that is exactly what I'd be doing in the orchestra, as well.

Of course, this presents the need for a few calculations. First, I need to be prepared for the possibility of a round that starts with Haydn and then goes to one of these excerpts, requiring me to switch both the bell and slides on my Eb/D as quickly as possible (while remaining composed). I normally aim for no more than 30 seconds between excerpts and this would probably add more time. Should I avoid this scenario entirely? Or just choreograph/practice it so that is as efficient as possible? For those who've sat on committees, would the extra time be welcome (more time to write) or a nuisance?

The other factor to consider (also highly subjective, I know) is my typical desire to avoid unnecessary horn changes in an audition. If I used the D trumpet, I'd have a total of 4 horns to play. I know that this is not rare, but normally I'd try to avoid unnecessary variables.

As I write this, it seems I've at least partially answered my question. My guess is that most of you will just say, "Sack up, and just learn those excerpts on C trumpet! Save yourself the hassle." But, since there's still a kernel of doubt in me (and I have like 4 months until the audition), I'll just put this to the community to see what people think.

Have you done this successfully? If so, any tips? One last thought (and I've done this before) is that if I had Haydn, followed by something, and then a D trumpet excerpt, I could replace the slides (or bell) after Haydn pretty quickly and then finish the job after the next excerpt (effectively splitting the difference when it comes to timing).

Thoughts?

[astadler]

I don’t think there’s a great answer here. I’ve had the same thing come up myself; I love to play the Ravel Piano Concerto on D trumpet, but if a list has something on both E-flat and D, I have always wanted to avoid that same issue of changing bells/slides mid-round, and so I just prepare to play it on C. That being said, depending on the excerpts you could try them on E-flat. I found the Ravel works almost as well on E-flat as D. At the end of the day you want to play your best, whether that means you prepare to swap slides/bells, or you prepare the excerpts in question on C is up to whatever will be best for you in an audition.

Side note, I’ve never tried this myself but it might be worth experimenting with keeping the E-flat slides and just switching the bell; you could have 1 and 3 slightly kicked out the whole time to compensate, and it would take far less time.

[abontrumpet]

If you think you will definitely have a significantly higher chance of nailing the excerpt on D trumpet, then just practice quickly switching the horn from Eb to D.

Like you said --
Let's say - Round: [Haydn, Pictures, Ravel, Pines]
You can change the bell between Haydn and Pictures.
You can change slides after Pictures.

And different permutations. Worst case scenario is Haydn straight to D trumpet excerpt. In that case, just stay calm and collected and make it somewhat audible that you're changing your horn. But practice switching that horn around at least twice a day. If you absolutely stun them with your Haydn, they'll wait for your next excerpt.

It all comes down to whether or not they want to hear more of you. Play like a god and it doesn't matter how much time you take. Play like a high-schooler and you're going to have an impatient panel.

[Andy Del]

I had an excerpt list with multiple instruments possible while in college, so my teacher gave me the advice on which to play on what. So that’s how I prepared.

At the audition (and I was successful) the person calling the shots for the panel said over and over ‘ while you are on your XXX trumpet, can you play XYZ excerpt now please?’. Of course, each time I had to change.

They laughed. At me, at the panel head, who knows!

All that said, if you need to change from Eb to D over and over, get one of each. You have 4 months to make it happen... beg, borrow or...

Cheers

Andy
_________________
so many horns, so few good notes...

[Athos]

I took one audition in which I changed from E-flat to D mid-round. I decided I would never do it again, but your results may vary.

I would second astadler's recommendation to try learning those excerpts on the E-flat. For me, that was much more comfortable than trying to stay calm while quickly changing out a bunch of slides.

[MrClean]

I just keep the Eb slides and change the bell - the slides tend to be too long on E3Ls anyway... Use whatever is going to give you the absolute best chance to shine.
_________________
Jim Wilt
LA Philharmonic
Colburn School

[chipper983]

Thanks for all of the helpful ideas. I'll be using my Larson Eb/D and I'll definitely see if the Eb slides will be good enough with the D bell. However, the full D trumpet plays so well that I'm somewhat skeptical of that. As for the other ideas, including borrowing another horn, I'm glad I have time to figure this all out. Luckily, I know that this audition committee will be somewhat small, 2-3 people only, so I'm confident that if I play exceptionally well, 30 extra seconds will not be a problem. Certainly, if they can hear that I'm doing equipment changes they can at least assume I'm not just checking my email.

[MrClean]

As long as the interval of time is not unreasonable, do what you need to do to sound great. You're the one that went to the trouble to work up the list and pay your own way to attend that audition, so you should *never* feel like you are putting the committee out. They are lucky that people are willing to pay to travel to them. Don't overthink it. Of course the key word here is "unreasonable".
_________________
Jim Wilt
LA Philharmonic
Colburn School

[nltrumpet]

Do whatever is comfortable with you. Haydn lays very nicely on Bb, and it is often required to be played on Bb trumpet (a rotary at that) for German orchestra auditions.

Just my .02