“Insightful and, most importantly, practical, The Audition Method provides the essentials that every clarinetist surely needs to play the very best orchestral audition.”

—Gregory Smith, Clarinetist
    Chicago Symphony Orchestra

The Audition Method for Clarinet is for aspiring and established clarinetists looking to win orchestral auditions. Clarinetists can use this book throughout the entire process of preparing for an audition, including at the audition itself.

In this volume Benjamin Baron, in collaboration with Mark Nuccio, provide core clarinet audition repertoire in three versions: the excerpt as it appears in the real part, an annotated version, and a version to use in the audition. All annotations are carefully made in blue ink for ease of reading.

Nuccio and Baron provide detailed information about preparing for each piece, as well as primary and secondary points of interest when preparing an audition. They also provide a number of practice exercises aimed at overcoming specific challenges of each excerpt.

The Audition Method is truly an invaluable aid that has the potential to transform and improve the entire audition experience.

Repertoire:

• Mozart: Clarinet Concerto (Exposition)

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 4, mvts. II and IV

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, mvts. I, II, and III

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 8, mvt. III

• Brahms: Symphony No. 3, mvts. I and II

• Mendelssohn: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2, mvt. 3

• Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, parts I, II, and III

• Respighi: Pines of Rome, mvt. III

• Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnole, mvts. I, III, and IV

• Schubert: Symphony No. 8, mvt. II

• Shostakovitch: Symphony No. 9, mvts. II and III

Mark Nuccio has been the Principal Clarinetist of the Houston Symphony since 2016. Prior to that, he was a member of the New York Philharmonic for seventeen years and held positions in Pittsburgh, Denver, Savannah, and Florida. He is currently on faculty at the Frost School of Music (University of Miami), and previously at Northwestern University, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College, and Duquesne University. Mark Nuccio is a performing artist/clinician for Buffet Music Group and an Advising Artist and Clinician for D’Addario.

Benjamin Baron has performed with many of New York’s finest ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Currently a member of the faculty and woodwind department coordinator at Montclair State University, Baron previously taught at Lehman College and was in residence at New York University with the Quintet of the Americas. Baron is a D’Addario Performing Artist and an Artist/Clinician for Buffet Music Group.

The Audition Method for Clarinet is for aspiring and established clarinetists looking to win orchestral auditions. Clarinetists can use this book throughout the entire process of preparing for an audition, including at the audition itself. In this volume Benjamin Baron, in collaboration with Mark Nuccio, provide core clarinet audition repertoire in three versions: the excerpt as it appears in the real part, an annotated version, and a version to use in the audition. All annotations are carefully made in blue ink for ease of reading. Nuccio and Baron provide detailed information about preparing for each piece, as well as primary and secondary points of interest when preparing an audition. They also provide a number of practice exercises aimed at overcoming specific challenges of each excerpt. The Audition Method is truly an invaluable aid that has the potential to transform and improve the entire audition experience.

"I predict that soon this will appear on every clarinet student's stand. It is impressively thorough and insightful."
— Burt Hara, Associate Principal Clarinet, Los Angeles Philharmonic

"Comprehensive, concise, and a great tool for my students."
— Yehuda Gilad, Professor of Clarinet, Colburn School and USC Thornton School of Music; Music Director, Colburn Orchestra​

"For those of us who help prepare advanced clarinetists for orchestral careers, this will surely be an extremely valuable resource. Very fine players often come away from an orchestral audition wondering why they did not get the job or did not advance. This book offers a step-by-step method that can help gifted clarinetists form their own checklist to answer those questions. In addition to providing some of the most important audition excerpts, this book offers tips to help 'decode' those excerpts and a very focused plan for success in the next audition. I will be recommending The Audition Method to my students at the Yale School of Music."
— David Shifrin, Professor of Clarinet, Yale University

"It is the most comprehensive orchestra audition book to come out in a long time and should be a wonderful asset to anyone looking to do well in auditions."
— Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet, New York Philharmonic; Faculty, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Institute, and Bard College

"The Audition Method by Ben Baron and my distinguished colleague Mark Nuccio is a must for all musicians who aspire to win major orchestral auditions! This unique compendium delves deeply into several of the most important works for our instrument, sure to appear on audition repertoire lists. Drawing on Mark's knowledge, sensitivity, and vast experience playing in several of America's greatest orchestras, every detail of musical structure and instrumental execution is addressed here, and valuable exercises are presented to hone our craft. Thank you, Ben and Mark, for creating this most valuable learning tool!"
— John Bruce Yeh, Assistant Principal and Solo E-flat Clarinet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Artist-Faculty, Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University

The Audition Method for Flute, Volume 1 is for aspiring and established flutists looking to win orchestral auditions. This book can be used throughout the entire process of preparing for an audition, including at the audition itself.

In this volume, Joshua Smith, principal flute of The Cleveland Orchestra, provides standard flute audition excerpts from the early 20th century in three versions: the Original Part as it appears in the actual score with original markings, an Annotated Part that includes instructions written into the part to aid preparation, and an Audition Part. All annotations are carefully made in blue ink for ease of reading.

Each excerpt comes with a written guide that includes primary and secondary points of interest when preparing for an audition. A number of practice exercises are also provided with suggested methods for overcoming specific challenges in each excerpt.

The Audition Method for Flute, Volume 1 is an invaluable aid that will transform and improve the entire audition experience.

Repertoire (Early 20th Century):

• Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun 

• Debussy: La Mer, mvts. I and III

• Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, Opening and Solo

• Prokofiev: Classical Symphony, mvts. II and IV

• Stravinsky: Le Chant du Rossignol 

• Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite

Firmly established as one of the world’s great orchestral flutists, Joshua Smith is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. He was appointed as principal flute of The Cleveland Orchestra (TCO) at age twenty, joining the ensemble in 1990. He can be heard on more than a hundred recordings with the TCO and has performed extensively in both the United States and abroad.

“Whether you are preparing for an audition or developing your musical voice in an orchestra, there are a myriad of new ideas on every page that are sure to inspire, inform, and invigorate your flute playing.”
—Hannah Hammel Maser
    Principal Flute, Detroit Symphony Orchestra

“Flutists will find focused, tactical solutions to some of the most daunting challenges in the repertoire. Applying Joshua Smith’s exercises and annotations has a remarkably freeing impact on the performer.”
—Madeline Lucas Tolliver
    Dean of Performance and Production Operations,
    Manhattan School of Music

Another indispensable guide for aspiring and established flutists preparing for orchestral auditions, The Audition Method for Flute, Volume 2 offers even more core audition repertoire from the mid 20th century along with insight and advice from Joshua Smith, principal flute of The Cleveland Orchestra.

Each excerpt is provided in three versions: the Original Part as it appears in the actual score with original markings, an Annotated Part that includes instructions written into the part to aid preparation, and an Audition Part. All annotations are carefully made in blue ink for ease of reading.

Each excerpt comes with a written guide that includes primary and secondary points of interest when preparing for an audition. A number of practice exercises are also provided with suggested methods for overcoming specific challenges in each excerpt.

On its own or as a companion to the first volume, The Audition Method for Flute, Volume 2 is an invaluable aid to all flutists preparing for the audition experience.

Repertoire (Mid 20th Century):

• Ravel: Bolero 

• Hindemith: Symphonie Mathis der Mahler, mvts. I and II

• Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf

• Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, mvts. I, II, and IV

• Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis, mvts. II and III

• Stravinsky: Petrouchka

Firmly established as one of the world’s great orchestral flutists, Joshua Smith is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. He was appointed as principal flute of The Cleveland Orchestra (TCO) at age twenty, joining the ensemble in 1990. He can be heard on more than a hundred recordings with the TCO and has performed extensively in both the United States and abroad.

“Whether you are preparing for an audition or developing your musical voice in an orchestra, there are a myriad of new ideas on every page that are sure to inspire, inform, and invigorate your flute playing.”
—Hannah Hammel Maser
    Principal Flute, Detroit Symphony Orchestra

“Flutists will find focused, tactical solutions to some of the most daunting challenges in the repertoire. Applying Joshua Smith’s exercises and annotations has a remarkably freeing impact on the performer.”
—Madeline Lucas Tolliver
    Dean of Performance and Production Operations,
    Manhattan School of Music

The Audition Method for Violin is for aspiring and established violinists looking to win orchestral auditions. This book can be used throughout the entire process of preparing for an audition, including at the audition itself.

In this volume, David Kim, concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra, provides standard violin audition excerpts in three versions: the excerpt as it appears in the score, a fully annotated version, and a sparsely annotated version to use in the audition. All annotations are made in blue ink for ease of reading.

Kim provides detailed instructions for preparing each excerpt as well as an insightful Q & A in which he discusses the ins and outs of auditioning and offers musical and technical advice for violinists.

The Audition Method for Violin, the second book in a series co-created by Mark Nuccio and Benjamin Baron, is an invaluable aid that will transform and improve the entire audition experience.

Repertoire:

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 1, mvts. I and IV

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 3, mvt. III

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, mvt. III

• Brahms: Symphony No. 2, mvts. I and II

• Brahms: Symphony No. 4, mvts. I and IV

• Debussy: La Mer

• Mahler: Symphony No. 9, mvt. IV

• Mendelssohn: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• Mozart: Symphony No. 39, mvts. I, II, and IV

• Prokofiev: Classical Symphony, mvts. I and IV

• Schubert: Symphony No. 2, mvt. I

• Schumann: Symphony No. 2, mvt. II

• Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, mvt. I

• R. Strauss: Don Juan

David Kim has been concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1999, and he regularly performs as a soloist with the orchestra, performs recitals, and engages in teaching residencies every year. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School and was awarded honorary doctorates from Eastern University and Dickinson College.