Hello,
Does anyone have any experience of the auditions for The National Children's Orchestra.
My 9 yr old child is auditioning soon on Violin for the Training Orchestra and will be playing pieces at Grade 5 level.
What is the standard like in the Orchestra and does anyone know what the sight-reading is like and can give me some insight?

Thanks

Hi there
My 10 year old daughter is auditioning for the first time this year for the under 11 orchestra. I am also not too sure what to expect but I have emailed the NCO to enquire whether they need to provide a copy of their music for the adjudicator as it was not one of the FAQ's on their website. I emailed at 12.30am before I went to bed and got a reply at 8.40am the same day. I would suggest emailing them if you have any specific enquiries as they are most helpful.

it might also be an idea to post this thread in "students" forum too as i am sure a number of users have done NCO auditions

What pieces is your son playing and whn's the audition?

Hello there!

I have a fair bit of experience as 2 of my children used to be in the NCO and several of my pupils over the years.
Firstly, they are very nice to the children in the auditions and try to relax them as much as possible. The level of sight reading varies according to the age/ orchestra they are auditioning for. In general I would recommend sight reading as much as possible of a similar standard to the pieces that have been chosen to play for the auditions. That should be good enough preparation. If you can get your hands of any bits of orchestra/ band music from school to try that would also be useful. Most schools have some.
Best of luck!
Kim

Hi

My daughter is auditioning again this year - for the sixth year in succession. She absolutely loves NCO and will be very disappointed to leave next year once she is too old.

The organisers do everything they can to make the child feel at ease. They are very firendly and approachable.

For the sight reading test the younger children are usually only asked to play the first line or so (they can play more if they able to) and it will be pretty straightforward. There are two sight reading tests - one they have the opportunity to try in the warm-up room and another they are given in the audtition room itself. If your child has the opportunity to try some of the sight reading tests for the grade they are working at that should be fine.
Good luck to your child - just tell them to enjoy playing