2026-2027 Auditions
Brass Auditions will take place on Friday, August 28th. Strings and Percussion Auditions on Saturday, August 29th at First United Methodist Church in Richardson. Open positions with audition repertoire listed below.
Principal Trombone
3rd Horn
2nd Violin (Section)
Double Bass (Sub)
Principal Percussion
THIRD HORN AUDITION REPERTOIRE
SOLO WORK
● One movement (exposition only) from a Mozart or Strauss concerto.
ORCHESTRAL EXCERPTS (third horn part unless otherwise noted)
● Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 1st mvt: m. 199 to m. 219.
● Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 1st mvt: m. 174 to m. 198.
● Saint Saëns Symphony No. 3 1st mvt: [Q] to [R]
● Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 1st mvt: [17] to [21] (Horn I)
● Strauss, R. Ein Heldenleben 1 before [78] to 1 before [80].
● Strauss, R. Till Eulenspiegel 13 before [29] to downbeat of [32].
● Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 1st mvt: beginning to 7 after [A].
PRINCIPAL TROMBONE AUDITION REPERTOIRE
SOLO WORK
● One movement (exposition only) from a standard concerto of your choice.
ORCHESTRAL EXCERPTS (first trombone part except where notated)
● Berlioz: Hungarian March from The Damnation of Faust; 1 before [4]– 2 after [5].
● Mozart: Tuba mirum from Requiem (2nd trombone); entire movement.
● Ravel: Bolero; [10] to [11].
● Rossini: Overture to La Gazza Ladra; [C] – m. 131; [F] – m. 291.
● Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre; upbeat to [5] to 3 after [6]
SECTION SECOND VIOLIN AUDITION REPERTOIRE
SOLO WORK
● One movement (exposition only) from a standard concerto of your choice.
ORCHESTRAL EXCERPTS (all 1st violin parts unless otherwise noted)
● Beethoven Symphony No. 9 3rd mvt: m. 99-114.
● Brahms Symphony No. 4 1st mvt: 2 before Q to end; 4th mvt: B to D.
● Mahler Symphony No. 1 4th mvt: 16 to1 before 19 .
● Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream Scherzo: m. 17-99.
● Mozart Symphony No. 39 2nd mvt: m. 1-27 (no repeats), m. 45-53; 4th mvt: m. 1-42.
● Strauss Don Juan 1st page
SUBSTITUTE BASS AUDITION REPERTOIRE
SOLO WORK
● One movement (exposition only) from a standard concerto of your choice.
ORCHESTRAL EXCERPTS
● Beethoven Symphony No. 9 4th mvt: beginning through end of basso recitativo.
● Brahms Symphony No. 2 1st mvt: E to F ; 4th mvt: 8 before L to M .
● Mahler Symphony No. 1 3rd mvt: opening solo.
● Mozart Symphony No. 35 4th mvt: m. 134-181.
● Strauss Ein Heldenleben 9 to 11 ; 40 to 41 ; 77 to 78 .
● Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 1st mvt: m. 51-94; 4th mvt. A to B.
PRINCIPAL PERCUSSION AUDITION REPERTOIRE
SOLO WORK
● J.S. Bach: Four-mallet Marimba solo of your choice.
● Delécluse: Etude No. 3 from Twelve Etudes for Snare Drum.
ORCHESTRAL EXCERPTS
Snare Drum:
● Prokofiev: Lt. Kije Suite; 1st mvt: 1 – 5 ; 13 – end.
● Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol; 2nd mvt: complete; 4th mvt: beginning – 10 after L .
● Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; 3rd mvt: D – I ; last 4 bars.
Glockenspiel:
● Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (complete)
● Respighi: Pines of Rome; 1st mvt: beginning to 10 after 4 ; 3 before 6 – 6 ; 7 to end.
Xylophone:
● Copland: Appalachian Spring; 48 to 4 after 49 .
● Kabalevsky: Colas Breugnon Overture; 9 – 12 ; 1 before 36 – 37 ; 57 – end.
Cymbals:
● Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2; 3rd mvt: 32 – Allegro scherzando.
● Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; 4th mvt: 2 before 134 to 8 after 134 .
● Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; 4th mvt: m. 272 to end.
Tambourine:
● Dvořák: Carnival Overture; beginning – C ; Q – end.
● Stravinsky: Petrushka (1947); 201 to 207.
Richardson Symphony Orchestra Audition Procedures
Interested candidates should send a one-page resume to be considered for an invitation to audition. Please email your resume to our Executive Director, Laurie Garvie (lgarvie@richardsonsymphony.org) prior to August 1, 2026.
- The Audition Committee will select candidates meeting the highest artistic standards.
- Selected candidates are required to mail a *$50 deposit check* to the Richardson Symphony Offices.
- Deposit check will be returned upon check-in for the audition.
- Selected candidates will be notified during the week of August 15th with their scheduled audition time.
- No refunds for auditions cancelled after August 20th
- *$50 Deposit check should be payable to “Richardson Symphony Orchestra.” Mail check to: RSO Offices; 399 West Campbell Road, Suite 200A; Richardson, Texas 75080