Auditions & Employment Opportunities

ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS:

THERE are currently no administrative POSITIONs open at this time

AUDITIONS:

THERE are Three upcoming auditions

Principal Viola, Section Bass (2 positions), and Festival Youth Chorus

Auditions

PRINCIPAL VIOLA

MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2022

ADDITIONAL POSITIONS MAY BE AWARDED AT THIS AUDITION

Highly qualified musicians are invited to send a one-page résumé, due by Monday, March 28, 2022, with $50 refundable deposit check (payable to Portland Symphony Orchestra) and proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, with booster, to:

Portland Symphony Orchestra
Attn. Martin Webster, Orchestra Personnel Manager
50 Monument Square, Floor 2
Portland, ME 04101

Email: mwebster@portlandsymphony.org. Emailed résumés in pdf or Word, please. Deposit checks will be returned at the audition or will be destroyed if your audition is cancelled on or before Monday, April 4, 2022.

Offer of employment at this audition is contingent on winning candidate’s ability to furnish proof of current ability to work in the US. Employment may begin during the 2021-2022 season or at the start of the 2022-2023 season. The PSO is a per-service orchestra offering approximately 80 services in the 2021-2022 season. Current scale for this position is $187.52 per service.

The Portland Symphony Orchestra audition committee reserves the right to dismiss any candidate not meeting the highest professional standards.

The PSO requires all applicants for this position to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Please include a copy of your COVID-19 vaccination card with your deposit check. Further COVID protocols may be required close to the audition date.

The audition will be held at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine.

The Portland Symphony Orchestra is passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. In an effort to reduce the financial barriers for auditioning musicians, there is financial support available through NAAS (National Alliance for Audition Support) grant programs for auditioning Black and Latinx musicians: https://www.sphinxmusic.org/naas-grants

REQUIRED AUDITION REPERTOIRE

SOLO

First movement exposition of Bartok, Walton, or Hindemith concerto

Solo orchestral rep

GINASTERA Variaciones concertantes. 1 measure before 32 to end of variation

RAVEL Mother Goose Suite. Mvt. V. Rehearsal #2 to rehearsal #4 – solo line only

STRAUSS Don Quixote. 4 m. after #14 to 5 m. after #16; 6 m. after #29 to #34

Tutti orchestral rep

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 II. Andante con moto beginning through letter C

BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Haydn. Variations V, VII, VIII

MENDELSSOHN Midsummer Night’s Dream. Scherzo. C to D; E to G 

MOZART Symphony No. 35, “Haffner” IV. Finale m. 134 to m. 181

RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2. Reh. 158-166; Reh. 212-218

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 Mvt. I. Moderato Reh. 15 to 17 

STRAUSS Don Juan (beginning to D) 

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, “Pathetique”. Mvt. 1. Allegro non troppo through 6 m. after letter C

Sight reading may be requested at any round.

section bass (2 positions)

Tuesday, APRIL 12, 2022

Portland Symphony Orchestra
Attn. Martin Webster, Orchestra Personnel Manager
50 Monument Square, Floor 2
Portland, ME 04101

The Portland Symphony Orchestra audition committee reserves the right to dismiss any candidate not meeting the highest professional standards.

The audition will be held at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine.

REQUIRED AUDITION REPERTOIRE

solo

Solo of your choice

Orchestral excerpts

J. S. BACH Violin Concerto in E Major, BWV 1042. 2nd mvt: Bars 1 to 10

MOZART Symphony #39. Mvt. 2, Bar 13 to Letter C NOTE: Tacet 4 before Allegro until 15 after (bars 22-39)

MOZART Symphony #35. 4th mvt: 10 bars after Letter D to Letter E

BEETHOVEN Symphony # 5

2nd mvt: Letter C to 11 bars after C and 5 bars after Letter E to 20 after E
3rd mvt: Opening to Letter A and 8 bars before Double bar (trio) to 23 bars after Letter B No repeat

BRAHMS Symphony #1

1st mvt: Letter E to 1st ending
4th mvt: Letter K to Letter L

R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben

Number 9 to one bar after Number 11
Number 40 to one bar before Number 41

MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition. VI mvt Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle: Number 56 to Number 58

BRITTEN Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Variation H

MAHLER Symphony #1. 3rd mvt solo

STRAVINSKY Pulcinella Suite. VII mvt: (Vivo) With Repeat solo

FESTIVAL YOUTH CHORUS

TBD

The PSO is seeking talented young treble singers between the ages of 9-18 to sing in the upcoming spring performances of Bach’s St Matthew Passion on April 10th and April 12th, 2022.

This newly established Festival Youth Chorus, directed by Dr. Nicolás Alberto Dosman, will give young singers the exciting opportunity to join along ChoralArt, the USM Chamber Singers, and internationally renowned vocal soloists as they perform at Merrill Auditorium with the full Portland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Eckart Preu.

The Festival Youth Chorus will rehearse in Portland, Maine (time/location TBD), on Saturday mornings beginning on January 29th, 2022, and will continue through April 2nd, 2022, at which point they will join the full chorus and/or orchestra for rehearsals and performances at the following dates/times:

Thursday, April 7th, 2022: 7:00pm-9:30pm (Chorus/Piano Rehearsal, Woodfords CC)
Friday, April 8th, 2022: 7:00pm-10:00pm (Rehearsal, Merrill Auditorium)
Saturday, April 9th, 2022: 10:00am-12:30pm (Rehearsal, Merrill Auditorium)
Saturday, April 9th, 2022: 2:00pm-5:00pm (Dress Rehearsal, Merrill Auditorium)
Sunday, April 10th, 2022: 2:30pm-5:30pm (Performance #1, Merrill Auditorium)
Tuesday, April 12th, 2022: 7:30pm-10:30pm (Performance #2, Merrill Auditorium)

***Festival Youth Chorus members must be able to attend all rehearsals and performances.

Due to the recent authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for elementary age students, the eligible age range for auditioning singers has been extended to 9-18. In order to give younger singers sufficient time to get fully vaccinated and become eligible to participate in the Festival Youth Chorus, the audition date has been changed. Auditions will be held at Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland, Maine, found at the address below:

202 Woodford Street
Portland, ME 04103

To reserve an audition time slot, please email FYC Assistant Director, Matt LaBerge at mlaberge@portlandsymphony.org

***All those planning to audition MUST reserve an audition time slot and show up at least 15 minutes prior to their scheduled time.

COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOLS:
The Portland Symphony Orchestra requires all auditioning singers to be fully vaccinated with a  CDC-approved  COVID-19  vaccine prior to the audition date. Please email proof of vaccination status to FYC Assistant Director, Matt LaBerge, when you plan to sign up for an audition time. Proof of vaccination is required in order to reserve an audition time.

Audition Materials

In the audition, singers will be required to perform pitch-matching and sight-reading exercises determined by the director, as well as the following excerpts from the St Matthew Passion score, available to download below:

Audition Cut #1: Top Line, labeled “Sopr. in ripieno”, mm. 30-37
Audition Cut #2: Top Line, labeled “Sopr. in ripieno”, mm. 76-79

Auditioning singers will perform both audition cuts a cappella and may use score if needed.

Download the St Matthew Passion score here

Music Practice Materials

For additional help learning the music of the above audition cuts, please see the following directions:

Go to the following web page: http://www.cyberbass.com/Major_Works/Bach_J_S/bach_js_st_matthew_passion.htm
Find the section column labeled “Movement”.
Next to “Part I”, Movement “1”, you should see “Kommt, ihr Töchter, helf mir klagen”.
To the right of “Kommt, ihr Töchter, helf mir klagen”, click the word “Children”.
Music should start playing, and you can control the recording using the audio player below.
In the recording, see the following time stamps in order to practice the audition cuts:
Audition Cut #1 (mm. 30-37): 1:07-1:43
Audition Cut #2 (mm. 76-79): 4:42-5:02