Information for Potential PASO Players
What We Expect from our Orchestra Members
We are a volunteer community orchestra that has been playing since 1932. We value the dedication, the time and effort that it takes to be a member and want you to enjoy your experience in the orchestra. This is a team effort where each player’s actions influence the outcome. Out of respect for each other, for the great symphonic repertoire and for our audience, we as players subscribe to the expectations outlined below. Even though this is a volunteer orchestra, we discipline ourselves so that we can achieve something special.
Please read the rehearsal schedule and complete the personnel form for the Personnel Manager by the second rehearsal. High school students must go over the schedule and personnel form with their parent(s) at the beginning of each season and secure a parent’s signature (in addition to your own).
Auditions
Because of the technical demands of the symphonic literature and the high performance standards of the PASO, the principal of your section wants to hear you play to determine your suitability for playing in the Orchestra. Your audition may consist of playing chamber music together or hearing you perform in concert. Typically you will be asked to meet on a day prior to your first rehearsal to play something of 5-8 minutes duration that demonstrates your musical and technical range (memorized optional). Additionally, the section leader may ask you to play a scale, to demonstrate a particular technique or sight-read a passage from the orchestra literature.
Once you are invited to become a member of the orchestra, the section leader, in consultation with the conductor, will seat you in your section. Seating is determined by your ability as a player, as well as by a strategic decision to place you where you can help produce the best overall orchestral sound and where you can interact with a musically compatible partner.
Click here for a list of expectations (including attendance), an outline of responsibilities, and other information for you to read as you consider joining the orchestra.