Last week, in a surprising turn of events, I won tickets to the first performance of the Punch Brothers at Carnegie Hall.  (Thanks Nonesuch Records!) The location of the seats could not have been better.

As a musician, I could not have asked for more from these guys.  They’re highly-trained, phenomenally-skilled and enjoyed every minute of their excellent Carnegie Hall debut.  They love what they do and epitomize what a great ensemble and performance should be: punctual, friendly, fun, energetic, interesting, witty and technically unparalleled.

As a professional auditionee, the process of winning this contest got me thinking about the means by which it happened and how the experience could aid me in winning auditions. Specifically, I reviewed the factors that seemed to affect the outcome of the ticket give-away and determined the components that were, perhaps, the most influential.  Given these, I’ve identified four conditions to apply to future auditions:

1. Be enthusiastic about the situation and/or … Read more »