Winning the Audition with Hiram Diaz

Are you putting in what feels like countless hours in the practice room but still frustrated by a lack of success at auditions?

Learn exactly what Hiram Diaz of The President’s Own Marine Band did to win the big audition and how you can apply to your own audition prep.

Hiram shares a ton of actionable advice including:

👉 Why in spite of having world class teachers and spending hours and hours in the practice room he wasn’t winning any auditions (and what he figured out that changed that)
👉 How he was able to get brutally honest with himself about what he could and could not play
👉 Why it’s okay to make a mistake in an audition if you continue to have a convincing musical product throughout
👉 Why he swears by recording yourself and listening to it immediately rather than while walking home from your practice session
👉 Hiram’s use of visualization in preparing for his audition (he goes into this with a level of detail I’ve never heard before!)
👉 His method of recording yourself while watching a tuner but without trying to fix anything and what that reinforces
👉 And much more!

Purchase long-term access to this workshop via the Hitz Academy Library for only $29!

The Brass Junkies 88: Jeffrey Strong

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TBJ88: St. Louis Symphony trumpeter Jeff Strong on preparation, playing with the Marine Band and having an air blowing epiphany

I've had the privilege of playing a number of gigs with Jeff and he is one of the most effortless and musical trumpet players I've ever played with. Just incredible.

At one point in this interview I thought he was going to break me I was laughing so hard!

Don't miss this one!

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during this episode over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 68: Dr. Amy Horn, Former Horn Player of The President's Own Marine Band

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Amy Horn recently finished a 29-year run as a horn player with the President's Own Marine Band. Her story about auditioning for the group is must hear! I wonder if she's the only person to ever win a major military band audition after sleeping in a pea-green Chevy Citation!

From the show notes:

Dr. Amy Horn, 29-year member of The President’s Own Marine Band and Adjunct Professor of Horn at George Mason University joins Andrew & Lance to explain how to bloom where you’re planted. A native of Ohio, Amy studied at Bowling Green University with Herb Spencer and played under legendary bandmaster Mark Kelly. We hear the amazing story of her audition for the Marine Band (including camping out in her pea-green Chevy Citation), how she cut a rug on the road with Patrick Sheridan and why she switched from trombone to horn. We learn how she started the Capital Horns, hear stories about her teaching and performing career, including gigs with the Washington Symphonic Brass and the Washington Conservatory of Music.

Her biggest question for Jens is J or Y. Frankly, the world wants to know.

The Brass Junkies: Tage Larsen of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

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Tage Larsen, 4th/utility trumpet with The Chicago Symphony sat down with me & Lance for a fascinating look at his highly successful (and highly diverse) career.

I played for one season with Tage in the Dallas Brass and can't even begin to describe how much I learned from him. He is such an efficient player and sounds totally fluent in more styles than I can count.

As I shared in the interview, I remember my third day on the job with Dallas Brass when we had been having intensive rehearsals and my chops were toast. I was a very inefficient player at that age because I could get away with it. I vividly remember Tage playing the intro to Mahler 7 about five minutes into his warmup on that third day and it looking as if he was playing a long tone. My face was toast and his tone was still silk. I learned an awful lot in that moment.

Tage spent time in The Marine Band, Dallas Brass and the St. Louis Symphony before his current position and he explores what he likes about playing 4th/utility. We also get into the role of classical music in society and the notion that we should have sincerity in all that we do. Shockingly, he only uses one mouthpiece. That's what he said anyway.

Links:

Tage's DePaul School of Music Page

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer of FredBrass

The Brass Junkies: Michael Colburn, Former Commander of The President's Own Marine Band

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Mike Colburn, former Commander and Conductor of The President's Own Marine Band in Washington, D.C., joined us to discuss his impressive career.

Colonel Colburn (or "kernel" as Lance like to call him) recently retired from a long and distinguished career, which began as a euphoniumist (probably a word.) He is now the Director of Bands at Butler University and believes in living a forward-focused life.

Oh, and he suffered a severe wally-ball injury and has a thing for ficus trees.

Links:

Mike's Butler Univeristy Page

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation athttps://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer of FredBrass