Get Involved - Wind Symphony

Librarian: Kristine Rathke

Course: FA3401 Wind Symphony

Semester: Spring and Fall

Rehearsals: Monday and Wednesday evenings 8:00-9:30 Rozsa 208

Admission: Membership is by audition.

The Michigan Tech Wind Symphony continues to bring a world of music and innovation to the Keweenaw Peninsula. Wind Symphony concerts offer symphonic thrills, innovative programming, fruitful collaborations, and exciting premieres. Wind Symphony concerts feature innovative formats that include visual art, the spoken word, and dance. The ensemble makes its home in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Art, a hall acclaimed nationally for its acoustics and beauty. The ensemble is featured each year at the December Commencement and undertakes concert tours on behalf of the university throughout the Great Lakes region.

The Wind Symphony is comprised of select musicians, most of them students at Michigan Tech, who perform repertory representing a variety of historical and national styles. Remarkably, the ensemble is composed entirely of individuals who specialize professionally in fields other than music. Wind Symphony musicians represent society's future architects, software designers, teachers, computer technicians, environmentalists, and engineers.

This year marks the Wind Symphony's inaugural season with new music director Nick Enz. Enz holds a bachelor's degree and teaching certificate in music from Bethel College in Kansas. He is familiar to Copper Country audiences through his performances with Mike Irish and the Pine Mountain Music Festival Orchestra.

Broadcasts of the Michigan Tech Wind Symphony and other area artists can be heard on Public Radio 90, WNMU-FM, Marquette.

Michigan Tech Wind Symphony activities are made possible in part by the generosity of audience members.

Tickets

The musicians of the Michigan Tech Wind Symphony invite you to join them for enjoyable evenings of music in the Rozsa Center. MTU Ticketing has ticket information.

Music educators in Michigan's Upper Peninsula may attend concerts of the Michigan Tech Wind Symphony and Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra for no charge. Please call or write to the Michigan Tech Fine Arts Office for the necessary coupon to be mailed to you at your school.

Auditions

An audition is required of all musicians seeking admission to the Michigan Tech Wind Symphony.

Auditions take place during the first week of the fall and spring semester and by appointment at all other times in the year. You may request detailed information about audition requirements by contacting the Fine Arts Office.

Musicians interested in performing with the Michigan Tech Wind Symphony are invited to attend the ensemble’s first rehearsals each semester (end of August and beginning of January). You will be provided with information about openings, auditions, and schedule. Students enrolled at Michigan Tech also receive a syllabus with course requirements. Michigan Tech students: you are encouraged to enroll in the course, FA3401, before your audition takes place. This reserves the Monday and Wednesday evening rehearsal times on your schedule should you make the group; if you do not, the course can always be dropped. If you discover you have a course conflict with some portion of the rehearsal times but still wish to participate, contact Mr. Enz.

Below are the audition requirements. For more specific help please follow these suggestions.

Winds

2-minute excerpt from a solo of your choice that exhibits slow tempo and lyrical playing
2-minute excerpt from a solo of your choice that exhibits a quick tempo and technical facility
Major scales in all keys (memorized)
A chromatic scale across the full practical range of your instrument (memorized)
Sight reading

Percussion

Requirements for percussionists are analogous to those for other instrumentalists: solo excerpts, sight reading, scales (where applicable). Specifics are determined by the characteristics of your instrument of specialty. Contact Nick Enz, music director of the Wind Symphony, to learn more.

Symphonic works make considerable demands on players. To get the most out of their experience, Michigan Tech students are encouraged to seek private lessons while participating in the Wind Symphony.

Similarly, each section is required to schedule weekly sectional rehearsals to not only practice as a section, but also to rehearse chamber ensembles.

Contact the Fine Arts Office for more information about auditions, ensembles, and music minors.

Audition Suggestions and Tips

Solo/Etude excerpt suggestions:

These excerpts should best illustrate who you are personally as a musician. Don’t pick something that is too easy or too hard for you. Think of it as a "performance resume."
These should be solos or etudes.
The technical piece should demonstrate your ability to play fast passages with precision and correct articulation. Rhythmic accuracy is imperative.
The slow passage should demonstrate your tone and phrasing abilities.

Scales (Major and Chromatic):

All scales should be memorized.
Scales should be played as evenly as possible in tempi that you feel comfortable.
Be ready to play in a variety of subdivisions (quarters, eighths, triplets, 16ths).
Major scales should be in as many octaves as your instrument allows.

Sight-reading:

The best way to prepare for this is to practice. Sight-read as much as you can.
Rhythm is the first thing under consideration. Do not stop!
Take some time (30 seconds or so) to look over the sight-reading.

Do not miss key signatures!