Symphony Orchestras
I Performed Trumpet Auditions For

Canadian “National Arts Centre Orchestra”

I auditioned for the Principal Trumpet position with the Canadian “National Arts Centre Orchestra”  in Ottawa under the direction of Mario Bernardi in early 1973.

At that time, the “NACO” was considered to be a ‘chamber orchestra’ comprising of approximately 45 musicians. At that time, the “NACO”, was a Canadian State funded orchestra with a performance season that provided a performance season that exceeded forty weeks. And, if I recall, in 1973, Canadian “National Arts Centre Orchestra” was officially called ‘The Canadian National Chamber Orchestra”.

After receiving an invitation to audition for the “NACO”, I spent a couple of days driving from Massachusetts to Ottawa, Canada in the dead of winter in my ‘soulful’ 1953 Chevrolet.

I was suffering from a head cold prior to my departure, and the long drive with little rest amplified my cold systems. My chops were quite stiff, I felt bad, I was not prepared, and I performed the selections I was designated to play poorly.

Florida Symphony Orchestra

In the spring of 1974, I also auditioned for the Principal Trumpet position with the now-defunct “Florida Symphony Orchestra” which was operating out of Orlando, Florida under the direction of Charles Gottschalk (1971-1982). The “Florida Symphony Orhestra” was formed in the early to mid-1950’s.

After receiving an invitation to audition for the “Florida Symphony Orchestra”, I traveled to Orlando from Baltimore via AMTRAK train. I did not pay the additional fee needed to get a private ‘sleeper’. Instead, I sat in the low fare ‘coach’ all the way to Orlando which was approximately a 20 hour trip via train. I got no sleep when I arrived in Orlando about three hours before my scheduled audition. I remember getting a sandwich and a cup of coffee at a popular bar frequented by college age kids prior to this audition.

Although I was musically much more prepared than I was for the ill fated ‘Ottawa’ audition, I was quite tired from travelling and did not perform well.

Principal Trumpet Audition With the Springfield, Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra In 1974

This was the first and only audition I ever performed where every selection I was directed to play was executed completely from memory.

And, this audition proved to be a marathon that pretty much demonstrated everything I learned about playing classical trumpet between 1967-1974.

By way of nine months of weekly trumpet lessons with Don Tison, long time Principal Trumpet player with the Baltimore, Maryland Symphony, I was completely prepared for this particular audition.

In fact, this audition produced one of the very best days in my life I ever had as a trumpet player. I played flawlessly and did not produce a single ‘nicked’ note. I played a full, vibrant sound from beginning to the end of the entire audition.

The Conductor of the Springfield Massachusetts Symphony from 1970-1986 was a flaming egotist named Robert Gutter.

Up to 1974, the Springfield Symphony personnel included three and possibly four UMASS/Amherst faculty members. Walter Chesnut on trumpet. Percussionist, Peter Tanner and his wife Joanne on Flute. And, quite possibly, Dr. Charles Lehrer who was a virtuoso oboe player.

Via the “International Musician“, the monthly publication of the American Federation of Musicians, the Springfield Symphony announced auditions for a principal trumpet chair in the summer of 1974. At that time, the Springfield Symphony was considered one of the very finest regional symphony orchestras in the United States. And, my former trumpet teacher, Walter “Wally” Chesnut was the principal trumpet player from 1967-1974.

I contacted my former teacher, Wally Chesnut at UMASS. In 1974, Wally would routinely attend the Berkshire Brass Quintet performances that were booked in the general Amherst, Massachusetts area.

All of the musicians in this brass quintet were former UMASS students. And, the 2nd trumpet player was the fabulous Doug Purcell whose musicianship was much admired by Wally Chesnut as well as myself.

I asked  Wally Chesnut  if he would recommend that I submit my resume and request an audition for the principal trumpet chair for the Springfield Symphony. Wally told me that he felt that the Conductor, Robert Gutter had a big ego and could be difficult to work under. And Walter Chesnut also told me that Conductor, Gutter liked to surround himself with musicians that attended a ‘big name’ music conservatory. Wally said that Gutter really liked the idea that musicians who attended ‘big name’ music conservatories would be likely to eventually be appointed to more prestigious musical positions. And, Conductor, Gutter could gain ‘bragging rights’ accordingly. But, Wally encouraged me to submit my resume and if I was invited to audition, Wally said I would gain experience if nothing else. I also contacted UMASS/Amherst, percussionist Peter Tanner. I took an applied, percussion course with Tanner at UMASS which was a music education degree required course. Both Peter Tanner and his wife, Joanne attended quite a few of my many UMASS trumpet recitals. Peter Tanner told me the same things that Wally Chesnut told me.

I decided to mail to the Springfield Symphony my resume and a letter requesting an invitation for an audition.

By return mail, I received a letter from the Springfield Symphony inviting me to audition for the principal trumpet position as well as a date and time to show up at the large Springfield Symphony Hall for this audition.

Prior to the relatively short drive from my apartment in Northampton, Mass to the scheduled audition in Springfield, Mass., I completed a light, 20-30 minute warmup on all four of my trumpets. And, I noticed that my ‘chops’ felt particularly good that day. And, I did not feel the remotest apprehension or nervousness about the upcoming audition. When I arrived in Springfield, I was completely relaxed, and confident that I would
play particularly well that day.  Via my studies with Don Tison, I continued to regularly practice all of 150 plus major 1st trumpet orchestral excerpts I had already memorized.   And, I did not care in the least what the outcome would be.

When I showed up at my appointed audition, I was the only musician present. In fact, the only other person in this huge auditorium with large balconies that seated about 2,600 people was the Conductor, Robert Gutter.

The first thing that Conductor, Gutter told me was that Rolf Smedvig was the current ‘acting’ principal trumpet player for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Too this day, I found this ‘proclamation’ to be quite odd. This is because Smedvig was appointed at the age of 19 in 1971 as the third trumpet, assistant principal trumpet with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. And, Boston was a ‌minimum of a 4-5 hour round trip drive to
Springfield from Boston in ideal driving conditions. How could Smedvig possibly juggle the substantial time requirments to perform and rehearse in Boston and then deal with the same in Springfield? Plus, by 1974, Smedvig’s own “Empire Brass Quintet” was becoming almost a full time gig on its own. And, Smedvig also actively taught trumpet in Boston as well.

After completing the ‘Smedvig’ discourse, Conductor Gutter began with a condenscending interview. Gutter wanted to know why I did not attend a ‘big name’ conservatory. I told him I could not afford tutition outside of UMASS/Amherst and I also told him that my Father graduated from UMASS in the late 1930’s with a Bachelors in Forestry and Wildlife Management. (I did not tell Gutter that I completely botched my audition to the New England Conservatory during my Senior year in High School). I also told Gutter that I wanted to go to a school with a very large co-ed student body as well as an institution that supported a large and varied curriculum as well that supported students from all walks of life. Gutter went on to tell me how much he disliked everything about UMASS. Gutter also made numerous derogatory comments about my UMASS trumpet instructor, Walter Chesnut.

Gutter finally said, “Let me hear you play.”

I brought my four trumpet Schilke trumpet case that included my Bach Bb, Schilke C, Schilke D/Eb, and Selmer 4 valve piccolo trumpet to this audition.

In the front center of the big concert hall stage there was a music stand setup with some trumpet parts on it. I quickly glanced through the selections, and then told Conductor, Gutter that the sheet music was not necessary. I turned the music stand around so it faced away from me. I then asked Gutter, which of the orchestral trumpet excerpts he would like me to play.

By this time Gutter had walked off of the stage, and was seated in the middle of the hall, several rows from the stage. Gutter seemed surprised when he realized that I did not need the sheet music he had set out for me to read.

And, periodically throughout this audition, Gutter continued to quiz me why I did not attend a ‘big name’ conservatory and to make derogatory comments about both UMASS in general and my former trumpet teacher, Walter Chesnut. However, Gutter did seem to be pleased that I completed a few months earlier, nine months of weekly private lessons with Don Tison, Principal Trumpet with the Baltimore Symphony.

I did not play a single warm up note before I begun playing the following excertps that Conductor Gutter designated as follows:

On C trumpet I performed excerpts (not in this order) from:
• Antonin Dvorak 9th Symphony – 1st movement
• Bartok – Concerto for Orchestra
• Beethoven – Leonore – Off stage trumpet calls #2 & 3
• Bizet – Carmen Suite #1
• Brahms – Symphony #2
• Bruckner – Can’t remember the symphony numbers I played excerpts from but No. 7 was called out
• Copland – Fanfare for the Common Man
• Dvorak – Symphony No. 9 (“New World”0
• Debussy – La Mer
• Gershwin – American in Paris – various jazzy trumpet solo’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PMEgao1nE
• Mahler’s Fifth Symphony – opening licks, Mahler 3rd Posthorn solo
• Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition
• Prokofiev – Lt. Kije Suite – Cornet Solo
• Ravel – Piano Concerto in G Major – various licks, Bolero (muted theme)
• Respighi – Pines of Rome
• Richard Strauss – Till Eulenspiegel, Zarathustra, Don Quixote, Ein Heldenleben, Alpine Symphony, Don Juan
• Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade and Capriccio Espagnol
• Schumann – Symphony #2
• Scriabin – Poem of Ecstasy
• Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 – Loud – 32 bar march part
• Sibelius – Symphony No. 2 – Livks in 4th movement
• Stravinsky – Rite of Spring, Petrushka (1947 version), The Firebird, L’Histoire du Soldat – “Royal March” 1st trumpet solo – about 16 bars which is all I could remember
• Wagner – Lohengrin, Parsifal – various licks

D Trumpet:
• Vivaldi – Gloria – 1st movement

Piccolo Trumpet:
• J. S. Bach – Brandenburg Concerto Nº 2 F Major – played a large percentage of the high trumpet licks featured in this concerto
• J. S. Bach – Magnificat – various licks

Throughout my playing of all of these orchestral trumpet excerpts ,Gutter was frequently walking around all over this large hall including into all of the balcony areas.

After playing the two Bach trumpet excerpts while Gutter was seated back near the stage area, Gutter looked at me kind of funny like he was surprised about something.
So, I asked Gutter if he would like me to play the trumpet excerpts from both of the Bach compositions one more time. Gutter said, “that would not be necessary”.

Gutter then asked me if I could play any trumpet solo’s?

From memory I performed excerpts from the following trumpet solo’s:
• Alexander Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto for trumpet in Bb. I performed the first half of the concerto. When I asked the conductor if he also wanted me play the vigorous ‘Allegro Con Brio’. ending, I was directed to so.
• Hummel Trumpet Concerto – Eb trumpet – excerpts from the different movements
• Haydn Trumpet Concerto – Eb trumpet – excerpts from the different movements
• Tomasi Trumpet Concerto – C trumpet – opening 30-40 bars only which is all I could remember
• Leopold Mozart’s Trumpet Concerto in D – piccolo trumpet – excerpts from both of the two movements
• Tartini – Trumpet Concerto in D major – piccolo trumpet – most of the first movement
• Albinoni – Trumpet Concerto in D minor – piccolo trumpet – most of the 2nd Allegro movement including the movements conclusion.
• Telemann – Trumpet Concerto in D – piccolo trumpet – 1st Adagio movement only

Gutter asked if I knew the Jolivet Conertino for Trumpet – C trumpet – I told Gutter that I could not perform any of the Jolivet Conertino from memory.

By this time, after glancing at my watch, I had been playing “this, that, and the other” on various trumpets almost continuously for over 90 minutes. And, I did not miss a note. I played flawlessly on this day. By far, the best audition I ever played.

And, I got the distinct impression that Gutter was making a determined effort to find out how long I could play before I physically began to falter.

After, I played bits and pieces from all of the trumpet solo’s I could play from memory, Gutter walked back onto the stage next to me and asked me to play the following:
• Tchaikovsky – on C trumpet – Symphony No. 4 in F minor – Trumpet fanfare near the beginning of the composition

And he bent over and placed his left hear directly in front of the bell of my C trumpet…just inches away from the front of the bell. I immediately determined that Gutter was completely nuts, and I became not only annoyed, but borderline angry.

At this point, I determined to utterly destroy Gutter’s hearing. I decided to amplify the FF/Forte Fortissimo to a ‘deafening blast’ volume.

My performance of the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 in F minor trumpet fanfare was clean, but ‘over the top’ deliberately loud in a less than ‘musical’ manner.

When I completed this final Tchaikovsky excerpt, Conductor Gutter, looked at me and said, “Your sound is so bright!!!” I will remember this comment from Gutter till the day I die.

In an increasingly condescending manner, Gutter continued to tell me that I made a mistake not attending a ‘big name’ conservatory.

Gutter then told me that he was going to audition over the next week two more trumpet players. A trumpet player that graduated from Curtis in Philadelphia in the Spring of 1974 and another trumpet player who graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in NY in 1973. Gutter said he planned on designating two trumpet players as finalist, ‘Acting’ Principal trumpet players for a minimum of one full year before Gutter would make a decision on which player would be assigned as ‘permanent’ principal trumpet.

Gutter than asked me how I felt about being designated as a finalist/acting principal trumpet player?

I really disliked Gutter’s personality and condescending attitude about my scholastic, musical background. So, I told Gutter that I felt he should look elsewhere for a principal trumpet player for the Springfield Symphony Orchestra.

Gutter was startled by my comments to him. When he asked me to digress further, I said nothing and I packed up my horns and walked out. My audition with Gutter put an indelible ‘bad taste’ in my mouth. And, I pretty much made up my mind during my drive back to my apartment in Northampton that this would be my last audition to perform with a symphony orchestra.

Perhaps I have thin skin, but I did not look forward to associating with elitist pricks. Gutter reminded me of the “musician who thought he was twice as good as he really was, but that elevated appraisal of himself equaled to be half as good as he really was!”

(NOTE): When I returned home from this audition, I contacted my former trumpet teacher at UMASS, Wally Chesnut. I told Wally what transpired at the audition with Conductor, Gutter. Wally just laughed and said, “At least I warned you“. Chesnut suggested that I write down a description of everything I played for future reference which I did. To my surprise, I discovered the pad with my notes on this audition buried in a drawer I was cleaning out back in 2019. This notebook was one of the few bits of musical ‘memorabilia’ that was destroyed by water damages inflicted in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.