Orchestral Excerpts

Join us for an intensive one-week program focused on the fundamentals of orchestral excerpt preparation. Through the study and performance of specific excerpts (a list will be provided before the session) as well as audition solos (concerti, Bach), participants will develop greater facility with bow strokes, articulations, sound, phrasing, and style. The program will also explore the expectations and perspectives of audition committees.

In addition, discussions about the audition process, practice strategies, overcoming nerves, and obtaining tenure will help bassists build valuable tools for success. The week will culminate in a mock audition, giving students the opportunity to experience an audition from both sides of the screen.

This program offers an excellent opportunity to prepare for school placement, university, or professional auditions, or simply to renew your technical and musical foundations.

Proposed program:

• 9AM: Warm-up and technique fundamentals class
• 10AM-12PM: Private lessons
• Afternoon: Workshops on selected excerpts and topics, with multiple opportunities to perform in mock audition rounds
• Evening: Optional chamber music coaching

Throughout the week, each student will receive at least two private lessons and will perform daily in class.

Ali Kian Yazdanfar

Ali Kian Yazdanfar maintains an active career not only as Principal Double Bass of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal but also as a soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue.

Although he began playing the bass at the age of seven, his interest in science and mathematics led him to earn a degree in physics from The Johns Hopkins University. Immediately after graduating, he won his first audition and joined the Houston Symphony. He went on to win three subsequent auditions — for the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., for Principal Bass with the San Francisco Symphony, and for Principal Bass with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, where he currently performs.

Read more

In addition to the what is mentioned above, the workshops also include:

• Chamber music coachings
• Opportunities to participate in one or more student concerts
• Networking activities with fellow musicians and faculty members
• Accommodation in double occupancy and three meals per day
• Practice studios equipped with pianos (available from 7AM to 12AM)
• Housekeeping, laundry (for a fee), parking, and free WiFi
• Free tickets for concerts at Salle Gilles-Lefebvre (subject to availability)
• Opportunity to discover the beautiful landscapes of Parc national du Mont-Orford, the majestic Lake Memphremagog, and the tourist activities of the city of Magog