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InsIde the Orchestra sectIOn
MIchael sachs, cOluMn edItOr
surveys Of Orchestral audItIOn lIsts
By J. davId hunsIcker
March 2011 Page 66
66 ITG Journal / March 2011
2011 International Trumpet Guild
InsIde the Orchestra sectIOn
MIchael sachs, cOluMn edItOr

wo significant surveys of orchestra audition lists for

trumpet have been published by the International
Trumpet Guild. The first, in 1981, was presented by
Lawrence House and contained A Survey of 43 Orchestra
Audition Lists for Trumpet.
1
The more recent compilation by
William Stowman appeared in the February 1994 edition of the
ITG Journal. Since 17 years have passed since the last publica-
tion, to borrow Mr. Stowmans phrase, an update is in order.
For this compilation, orchestras were chosen from the 2008
Member Directory published by the League of American
Orchestras. All Tier 1 and Tier 2 Orchestras
2
were asked to
send available lists for trumpet auditions that took place in the
past 15 years. The total number of lists (80) represents
responses from 36 out of 44 orchestras. Of these lists, 32 are
for principal trumpet, 15 for second trumpet, 11 for third
trumpet, 5 for fourth trumpet, 14 for associate principal, 11
for assistant principal, and 4 for section trumpet (several posi-
tions were advertised under more than one category).
This compilation is part of a broader study to determine the
purpose behind each excerpt in an audition list. The hope is to
provide those taking auditions with a better understanding of
what an audition committee wants, and to help an audition
committee put together an appropriate list. For example,
although Magnificat is only requested 24 times, there are 70
surveys Of Orchestral audItIOn lIsts
By J. davId hunsIcker
Inside the Orchestra Section seeks topics of interest to the orchestral musician. Ideas and suggestions should be directed to Michael Sachs,
c/o The Cleveland Orchestra, Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106; orchestra@trumpetguild.org
Stravinsky Petroushka (, ). . . . . . 73
Mahler Symphony #5 (, ) . . . . . 65
Respighi Pines of Rome (, ). . . . . 65
Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at
an Exhibition (, ) . . . . . . . . . . 64
Strauss Ein Heldenleben (, ) . . . . 55
Rimsky-Korsakov
Scheherazade (^) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Beethoven Leonore
Overture #3 () . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Bartok Concerto for Orchestra (, ) . . 46
Schumann Symphony #2 (). . . . . 45
Mahler Symphony #3 () . . . . . . . 44
Ravel Piano Concerto in G () . . . 40
Gershwin Piano Concerto () . . . . 39
Bizet Carmen () . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Brahms Academic Festival
Overture () . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Bach Magnificat () . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Bach B Minor Mass () . . . . . . . . . 23
Beethoven Leonore
Overture #2 () . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Debussy Fetes () . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Strauss Don Juan (, ) . . . . . . . . . 22
Wagner Parsifal (, ). . . . . . . . . . 21
Gershwin An American in Paris . . . 20
Mahler Symphony #2 . . . . . . . . . . 18
Brahms Symphony #2 . . . . . . . . . . 17
Shostakovich Concerto for Piano,
Trumpet and Strings . . . . . . . . . 17
Bartok Miraculous Mandarin . . . . . 16
Dvorak Symphony #8 . . . . . . . . . . 16
Stravinsky Firebird. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Bach Christmas Oratorio . . . . . . . . 15
Copland Outdoor Overture . . . . . . 15
Debussy La Mer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Shostakovich Symphony #5. . . . . . 15
Tchaikovsky Symphony #4 . . . . . . 15
Wagner Tannhauser Overture . . . . 15
Strauss Till Eulenspiegel . . . . . . . . . 13
Beethoven Symphony #9. . . . . . . . 12
Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra . . . 11
Ravel Alborada del Gracioso . . . . . . 10
Shostakovich Symphony #1. . . . . . 10
Beethoven Symphony #5. . . . . . . . . 9
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganini . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Strauss Der Burger als Edelmann . . . 9
Bruckner Symphony #7. . . . . . . . . . 8
Ravel Rhapsodie Espagnole . . . . . . . . 8
Beethoven Violin Concerto . . . . . . . 7
Bernstein Symphonic Dances. . . . . . . 7
Scriabin Poem of Ecstasy . . . . . . . . . . 7
Strauss Don Quixote. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Strauss Symphonia Domestica . . . . . . 7
Stravinsky LHistoire du Soldat. . . . . 7
Bruckner Symphony #4. . . . . . . . . . 6
Mahler Symphony #1 . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Ravel Daphnis and Chloe . . . . . . . . . 6
Strauss Alpine Symphony . . . . . . . . . 6
Stravinsky Fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Tchaikovsky Nutcracker. . . . . . . . . . 6
Wagner Siegfrieds Funeral Music . . . 6
Bach Brandenburg Concerto #2 . . . 5
Prokofiev Symphony #5 . . . . . . . . . 5
Ravel Bolero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Stravinsky Pulcinella . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Dvorak Symphony #9 . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Mahler Symphony #7 . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Mahler Symphony #9 . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Strauss Tod and Verklarung . . . . . . . 4
Tchaikovsky Swan Lake. . . . . . . . . . 4
taBle 1: cOMBIned tOtals
= light articulation
= piccolo
= loud, heroic
^ = multiple tonguing
= lyrical
= pops/light classical
= soft, delicate
= high, loud
= low
legend fOr taBle 1
2011 International Trumpet Guild
March 2011 / ITG Journal 67
Wagner Gotterdammerung . . . . . . . 4
Bach Cantata #51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Beethoven Piano Concerto #1. . . . . 3
Beethoven Symphony #7. . . . . . . . . 3
Britten Young Persons Guide to
the Orchestra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Copland Symphony #3 . . . . . . . . . . 3
Mahler Das Lied von der Erde . . . . . 3
Ravel Concerto for the Left Hand. . 3
Shostakovich Symphony #8. . . . . . . 3
Stravinsky Rite of Spring . . . . . . . . . 3
Wagner Ride of the Valkyries . . . . . . 3
Bartok Piano Concerto #2. . . . . . . . 2
Britten Four Sea Interludes from
Peter Grimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Bruckner Symphony #8. . . . . . . . . . 2
Copland Fanfare for the
Common Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Copland Quiet City . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Dvorak Cello Concerto . . . . . . . . . . 2
Enescu Roumanian Rhapsody #1 . . . 2
Haydn Symphony #100 . . . . . . . . . 2
Ibert Escales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mahler Symphony #4 . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mahler Symphony #6 . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mahler Symphony #8 . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Prokofiev Cinderella . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Prokofiev Suite from Lt Kije . . . . . . 2
Prokofiev Violin Concerto #2 . . . . . 2
Strauss Der Rosenkavelier Suite . . . . 2
Stravinsky Song of the Nightingale . . 2
Barber Symphony #1. . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Beethoven Consecration of the
House Overture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Beethoven Symphony #4. . . . . . . . . 1
Beethoven Symphony #8. . . . . . . . . 1
Berg Kammerkonzert . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Berg Violin Concerto . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Berg Wozzeck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture . . 1
Brahms Symphony #1 . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Brahms Symphony #4 . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Britten Sinfonia da Requiem. . . . . . . 1
Bruckner Symphony #6. . . . . . . . . . 1
Copland Rodeo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Dukas The Sorcerers Apprentice . . . . 1
Dvorak Violin Concerto . . . . . . . . . 1
Franck Symphony in D minor . . . . 1
Goldsmith Chinatown . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Handel Messiah The Trumpet
Shall Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Handel Water Music . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Harbison Concerto for Double
Brass Choir and Orchestra . . . . . . 1
Hindemith Symphonic
Metamorphosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon . . . . . . . 1
Kodaly Dances from Galanta . . . . . . 1
Mendelssohn Fingals Cave . . . . . . . 1
Milhaud Creation of the World. . . . . 1
Mozart Piano Concerto #21 . . . . . . 1
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet . . . . . . . 1
Rimsky-Korsakov
Capriccio Espagnole . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Schoenberg Chamber
Symphony #2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Schoenberg Guerrelieder . . . . . . . . . 1
Schoenberg Theme and
Variations Op 43b . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Schubert Symphony #9 . . . . . . . . . . 1
Schumann Symphony #3 . . . . . . . . 1
Shostakovich Symphony #4. . . . . . . 1
Sibelius Symphony #2. . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sibelius Symphony #5. . . . . . . . . . . 1
Stravinsky Symphony in C . . . . . . . 1
Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien . . . . . 1
Tchaikovsky Symphony #5 . . . . . . . 1
Wagner Siegfried Idyll . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Webern Passacaglia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Webern Six Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. . . . . 20
Bartok Miraculous Mandarin . . . . . 15
Dvorak Symphony #8 . . . . . . . . . . 13
Bizet Carmen* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Respighi Pines of Rome . . . . . . . . . 12
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade . . . . 9
Stravinsky Firebird. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Brahms Symphony #2 . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Schumann Symphony #2 . . . . . . . . 8
Beethoven Symphony #5. . . . . . . . . 7
Beethoven Symphony #9. . . . . . . . . 7
Beethoven Violin Concerto . . . . . . . 7
Mahler Symphony #2 . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Stravinsky Petroushka. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Ravel Alborada del Gracioso . . . . . . . 6
Ravel Daphnis and Chloe . . . . . . . . . 6
Shostakovich Symphony #5. . . . . . . 6
Tchaikovsky Symphony #4 . . . . . . . 6
Debussy Fetes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Mahler Symphony #1 . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Strauss Don Quixote. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Brahms Academic Festival Overture . 4
Mahler Symphony #5 . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Stravinsky Fireworks . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Beethoven Symphony #7. . . . . . . . . 3
Bruckner Symphony #7. . . . . . . . . . 3
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganini . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Strauss Ein Heldenleben -
2nd B-flat Trumpet . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Strauss Ein Heldenleben -
2nd E-flat Trumpet . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Wagner Tannhauser Overture . . . . . 3
Beethoven Piano Concerto #1. . . . . 2
Bruckner Symphony #4. . . . . . . . . . 2
Dvorak Cello Concerto . . . . . . . . . . 2
Gershwin An American in Paris . . . . 2
Haydn Symphony #100 . . . . . . . . . 2
Mahler Symphony #2 -
2nd Offstage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mahler Symphony #4 . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mahler Symphony #6 . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an
Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Prokofiev Symphony #5 . . . . . . . . . 2
Ravel Rhapsodie Espagnole . . . . . . . . 2
Scriabin Poem of Ecstasy . . . . . . . . . . 2
Strauss Till Eulenspiegel . . . . . . . . . . 2
Wagner Gotterdammerung . . . . . . . . 2
Barber Symphony #1. . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Bartok Piano Concerto #2. . . . . . . . 1
Beethoven Symphony #4. . . . . . . . . 1
Berg Wozzeck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture . . 1
Brahms Symphony #4 . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Britten Sinfonia da Requiem. . . . . . . 1
Copland Symphony #3 . . . . . . . . . . 1
Dukas The Sorcerers Apprentice . . . . 1
Dvorak Symphony #9 . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Dvorak Violin Concerto . . . . . . . . . 1
Franck Symphony in D minor . . . . 1
Gershwin Piano Concerto . . . . . . . 1
Handel Water Music . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Harbison Concerto for Double
Brass Choir and Orchestra . . . . . . 1
Kabalevsky Colas Breugnon . . . . . . . 1
Kodaly Dances from Galanta . . . . . . 1
Mahler Symphony #3 . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Prokofiev Cinderella. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Schubert Symphony #9 . . . . . . . . . . 1
Schumann Symphony #3 . . . . . . . . 1
Shostakovich Symphony #4. . . . . . . 1
Sibelius Symphony #2. . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sibelius Symphony #5. . . . . . . . . . . 1
Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra . . . . 1
Strauss Tod and Verklarung . . . . . . . 1
Stravinsky Song of the Nightingale . . 1
Wagner Ride of the Valkyries . . . . . . 1
Webern Passacaglia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Webern Six Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
*For Carmen Prelude, the 1st and 2nd
trumpet parts are in unison; howev-
er, on 12 lists the 2nd trumpet part
was specifically requested.
taBle 2: secOnd truMpet part tOtals
2011 International Trumpet Guild
68 ITG Journal / March 2011
azade, up to 64%; Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, up to 58%;
Car men, up to 45%; and Pines of Rome, up to 81%. The
excerpts that have seen the biggest declines are Don Juan,
down to 28%; Parsifal, down to 26%; and Also Sprach Zara -
thustra, down to 14%. Other excerpts, which were not includ-
ed in Stowmans list in 1994, appear to be gaining a foothold.
The most prominent of the newcomers include Bartoks
Miraculous Mandarin; Dvoraks Symphony #8; and Bern-
steins Symphonic Dances.
In addition to excerpts, 60 lists indicated sight reading as a
part of the audition; 30 specically request the Haydn Trum-
pet Concerto; 10 specifically request the Hummel Trumpet
Concerto; 15 ask for either the Haydn or the Hummel; and 8
request Honeggers Intrada.
About the author: J. David Hunsicker is currently principal
trumpet of the Des Moines Metro Opera, the Lancaster Fes-
tival Orchestra, and is completing his doctoral studies at Ari-
zona State University with David Hickman.
Endnotes
1 House, Lawrence. (February 1981) A Survey of 43 Audi-
tion Lists for Trumpet. ITG Newsletter, vol. 7 No. 2
2 Tier 1 and Tier 2 orchestras have a minimum annual
budget of $6,000,000
requests for a piece by Bach. In the same way, while Parsifal is
only requested 21 times, there are 50 requests for a Wagner
excerpt. An astute committee will be sure to have excerpts that
demonstrate the full range of skills required on the job. The
inclusion of a piccolo trumpet excerpt, a low excerpt, a high/
loud excerpt, a pops excerpt, a multiple-tonguing excerpt, etc.,
will be necessary and should be anticipated by anyone taking
an audition. It would be a mistake, therefore, to simply learn
the top excerpts in any compilation.
The first three tables contain totals for each excerpt request-
ed. Some works were requested in multiple ways. For example,
Pines of Rome was requested generically 40 times; the offstage
solo was specically requested on 28 lists; and the 2nd trum-
pet part was requested 12 times. For the sake of simplicity,
multiple parts from the same work have been grouped togeth-
er in the first table, while the two remaining tables separate out
the 2nd and 3rd trumpet parts.
One or two symbols (see legend) are included with each of
the top 20 excerpts in Table 1 as a partial, but by no means
complete, description. A more in-depth look at the purpose of
the excerpts will be a part of the completed study.
Table 4 shows a comparison of the top 15 excerpts in the
current compilation, the Stowman list of 1994, and the House
list of 1981.
The excerpts that have seen the most dramatic increase are
Ein Heldenleben, which is present on 69% of all lists; Sche her -
Strauss Ein Heldenleben - 1st
E-flat Trumpet* . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Debussy La Mer - 1st Cornet*. . . . 11
Mahler Symphony #2 -
1st Offstage* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Shostakovich Symphony #1 -
Alto/3rd Trumpet . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Strauss Till Eulenspiegel . . . . . . . . . . 8
Brahms Academic Festival
Overture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Strauss Symphonia Domestica. . . . . . 6
Debussy Fetes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Strauss Ein Heldenleben -
3rd B-flat Trumpet . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Britten Four Sea Interludes from
Peter Grimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Respighi Pines of Rome. . . . . . . . . . . 2
Shostakovich Symphony #5. . . . . . . 2
Strauss Alpine Symphony . . . . . . . . . 2
Strauss Don Quixote. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Bach Magnificat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Bruckner Symphony #6. . . . . . . . . . 1
Bruckner Symphony #8. . . . . . . . . . 1
Mahler Symphony #2 . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Wagner Ride of the Valkyries . . . . . . 1
*While not 3rd trumpet parts, these
excerpts were most often associated
with assistant and associate principal
trumpet auditions.
The only 4th trumpet excerpt
specifically requested was Mahler
Symphony #3.
taBle 3: thIrd truMpet part tOtals
Current 1994 1981
Stravinsky Petroushka .........................91% Mahler Symphony #5....................86% Stravinsky Petroushka .................77%
Mahler Symphony #5 ........................81% Stravinsky Petroushka.....................86% Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures ..........67%
Respighi Pines of Rome ........................81% Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures .............80% Strauss Ein Heldenleben ..............53%
Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures...................80% Beethoven Leonore #3 Offstage ......58% Debussy Fetes..............................49%
Strauss Ein Heldenleben.......................69% Ravel Piano Concerto in G............55% Strauss Don Juan ........................49%
Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade ...........64% Strauss Don Juan............................47% Stravinsky Firebird......................47%
Beethoven Leonore Overture #3 ..........61% Wagner Parsifal..............................38% Beethoven Leonore #3 Offstage...44%
Bartok Concerto for Orchestra ..............58% Gershwin Piano Concerto..............38% Debussy La Mer .........................42%
Schumann Symphony #2....................56% Mahler Symphony #3....................38% Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade...42%
Mahler Symphony #3 .........................55% Strauss Ein Heldenleben..................38% Tchaikovsky Symphony #4 ........42%
Ravel Piano Concerto in G.................50% Respighi Pines of Rome...................36% Mahler Symphony #5.................40%
Gershwin Piano Concerto...................49% Beethoven Leonore #2 Offstage ......33% Ravel Piano Concerto in G.........40%
Bizet Carmen.......................................45% Bartok Concerto for Orchestra .........33% Wagner Parsifal Prelude .............33%
Brahms Academic Festival Overture......44% Schumann Symphony #2...............30% Respighi Pines of Rome................30%
Bach Magnificat ..................................30% Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra ......30% Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Esp.....30%
taBle 4: cOMparIsOn Between cOMpIlatIOns