Sunday, July 15, 2007

The Audition Fiasco (Postscript)

Some of you already know how this story ends, but I just wanted to let everyone know that after minimal additional drama, my cello and I arrived back in Seattle in one piece the day after the audition.

After the involuntary layover in Chicago, my cello finally made it to Rochester on the incoming plane that I returned to Chicago on less than an hour after it arrived. After opening the cello case in Seattle (one of the more harrowing moments of the trip...) I discovered that the instrument was not only intact, but it was still basically in tune after spending an entire day and night in the unheated baggage purgatory at Chicago's O'Hare. Apparently, my flight case did the job it was designed to do, to say the very least.

So I now await the results of the audition from the powers that be in Rochester, which should arrive sometime around the beginning of April. In regards to my own perception of the audition and my thoughts about my chances of getting accepted to the program, I remain quite squarely on the fence - there are a lot of factors in my favor, but the unfortunate reality remains that all things considered, I didn't play my best, and ultimately, how you play is the single biggest determining factor in admission to these places. I can only hope that all the other factors in my favor outweigh the playing aspect, and that the professors recognize my sincere interest in attending this great school, and my determination (stubbornness?) in auditioning a second year.

Thanks for the encouragement and kind words from everyone. I'll keep you posted, and for those of you in the Pacific Northwest, you should be able to hear me yelling for joy or swearing profusely sometime around the beginning of April, depending on the contents of mail from the East coast.

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