- I hear thousands of auditions a year
and people will say, "what do you listen for,"
and I talk to my colleagues about it and in many ways,
we all listen to the same basic things.
It's the quality of the instrument first.
How big is the voice?
Doesn't mean it has to be really large,
but can it be heard in the space that we're hiring for,
and can it be heard over the orchestra?
Is it a beautiful sound, and do they have a range
that will encompass what we're looking for?
That's just the basic vocal quality.
If you don't have those things,
you can't get the part.
If you can't be heard, or if you can't hit the notes in it.
So, there's the vocal quality.
Of course then, the musical qualities
follow shortly thereafter, but on top of it all,
is if you want a really big career,
you're people are looking for a charisma,
a certain thing that reaches out
and grabs that audience member right away.
So, it's the basic instrument, first and foremost.
A flute player can go out and buy a better instrument,
or a pianist can get a better Steinway.
A singer can't go buy a better voice,
they have to take what God gave them
and then develop it to its fullest
and then see what kind of career
will happen with that instrument.