West-Eastern Divan Orchestra 2012 auditions

The regulatory requirements that rule the annual call for auditions to enter the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are hereby established.

The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra was founded by Daniel Barenboim and the late Edward Said in 1999. They decided to create a workshop for young musicians from Israel and various countries of the Middle East with the aim of combining musical study and development with the sharing of knowledge and comprehension between people from cultures that traditionally have been rivals. In this workshop, young musicians build upon their musical knowledge while living side-by-side with people from countries that may be engaged in conflict with their own. The orchestra meets during several weeks every summer and since 2002 it has had its permanent home in Andalusia, Spain. Since then, a significant number of Spanish musicians participate in the Orchestra. With an intensive work plan (each session lasting an entire day and combining different activities) the young artists develop their musical abilities. Once the working period finishes, the concert tour of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra commences.

  

 

1.1. – The purpose of these requirements is to rule the access to the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.

1.2. – The access to the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra shall be made by an audition. All candidates must attend an audition in any of its available modalities: live audition or recorded audition.  

1.3. – There shall be held auditions for all the musical instruments necessary to perform the annual tour repertoire. The repertoire shall be specified in the call.

1.4. – The selection of candidates shall be made in accordance with the principles of publicity, attendance and objectivity depending on the performing quality and technical level of the candidates.

1.5. – The musicians who have passed the audition for the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, in any of its editions, may be invited to take part in the orchestra considering his/her performing quality and technical level proved in the edition they participated.  

  

 

2.1. – The Barenboim-Said Foundation shall call at least one audition per year for entering the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which shall be published on the Foundation’s web site and, if necessary, other distribution media shall be used.

2.2. – The call shall specify the dates of the orchestra’s workshop and tour.

2.3. – When exceptional circumstances coincide, the submitting deadline mentioned in the announcement may be expanded if the Audition Board considers it appropriate.

  

 

In order to be able to compete in the auditions, the musicians of the aforementioned specialities must meet the following requirements:

3.1.- To be a national or have a background of any of the Arab countries of the Middle East (Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, etc.), Israel or Spain. By background we mean that any of their blood relatives, up to the second degree, are passport holders of any of the aforementioned countries.  

3.2.- To be between 14 and 28 years old. Should a candidate be over or under the established age register, the Audition Board may consider his/her candidacy by taking into account the special circumstances concurring in his/her case.

  

 

4.1. – A properly filled in application form must be submitted. Such application form shall be available, in English and Spanish, on the Barenboim-Said Foundation’s web site, www.barenboim-said.org. Application forms can be submitted via the web site, fax (fax number +34 955 03 73 84) or ordinary mail to the address below:

 

West-Eastern Divan

C/ Cardenal Bueno Monreal, 58, 2ª planta

41013 Seville

Spain

 

Applications sent by ordinary mail must have a postmark dated within the application period established on the relevant call.

4.2. – A period of no less than 15 days for submitting applications shall be established in the call.

4.3. – Applications in English, as well as in Spanish, shall be accepted.

4.4. – We shall not accept applications after the deadline. As an exception, applications from musicians, who due to force majeure or political reasons have not been able to submit them within the deadline, may be accepted. Such cases must be proven.

  

 

5.1 – Live auditions shall be held in the cities and dates stated in the call.

5.2. – A recent recording may be used as a form of auditioning. The length of the auditions shall be, in any case, lower than 15 minutes. Only recordings in DVD format shall be accepted.

5.3. – The deadline for the reception of the recordings shall be established in the call. Recordings sent by ordinary mail must have a postmark dated within the application period established on the relevant call.

All recordings must be sent to the address below:

 

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Zugang über Musikkindergarten

Leipziger Straße 40

10117 Berlin

Germany

5.4. - A piano accompaniment during live or recorded auditions is not compulsory, but highly recommended. The Barenboim-Said Foundation will not provide the candidates with an accompanying pianist.

5.5. – Both audition modalities shall have the same validity.

5.6. – In the event of section 4.4., an extraordinary audition date shall be set up.

  

6.- AUDITIONS REPERTOIRE

 

6.1. – The recommended repertoire that the candidates must perform in live as well as in the recorded auditions shall be established in the call by instrumental speciality.

6.2. – Candidates may perform in their auditions a different repertoire from the recommended in the announcement.

  

 

            The criteria for selecting the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s musicians, amongst the candidates of the auditions, will be as follows:

·         The performing quality of the required pieces.

·         The technical level of the candidate.

  

 

The Audition Board is the authorized body to choose the candidates who shall become members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. This Board is made up of a minimum of two prestigious and well-known musicians appointed by Maestro Barenboim. This Board will attend live auditions and listen to the recorded ones.

  

 

9.1. – Audition results will be published within a maximum period of three months after the last live audition has taken place, according to what is stated in the call.

9.2. - The selected candidates will receive a communication via e-mail. Those candidates who have not been chosen will not receive any communication. If any of the selected candidates would like to receive a communication via fax or ordinary post, they should communicate so to the Barenboim-Said Foundation.

9.3. – Those candidates who have not been chosen in first instance shall be part of the reserves list. The candidates of such list may become members of the orchestra in the event of the cancellation of a member of the West-Eastern Divan. If there is a vacancy in the orchestra, the organization may announce the filling of this vacancy by any of the candidates from the reserves list.

9.4. – Exceptionally, if a vacancy should be filled once the orchestra’s workshop has started, the organization may establish a selection committee to choose a candidate who is not in the reserves list. 

  

 

The selected musicians must send the Foundation a document accepting their participation in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.

  

11. AUDITIONS RULES  

 

11.1. - The candidates’ audition expenses will not be covered by the Barenboim-Said Foundation.

11.2. - The Barenboim-Said Foundation will not return any recording sent by the candidates for the auditions, regardless of whether the candidate is selected or not.

11.3. – The Audition Board’s assessment is unappealable.

11.4. – The participation in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s auditions implies the acceptance of the conditions.  

  

 

12.1. The Barenboim-Said Foundation will cover all travel and living expenses as well as health insurance during the West-Eastern Divan Workshop and Tour.

12.2. The members of the orchestra will not receive any payment from the Barenboim-Said Foundation for their participation.

12.3. All West-Eastern Divan members must have a current passport with a minimum six months validity from the date of the last tour concert.

12.4. The Barenboim-Said Foundation shall be in charge of the arrangements for obtaining visas, if necessary.

12.5. Once the candidate is chosen as a member of the orchestra, he shall grant the Barenboim-Said Foundation the right for setting, reproducing, editing, communicating, distributing and changing any of the orchestra’s activities such as concerts, rehearsals, workshop, travels, etc., during his participation in the same. The Foundation may start, in its own interest, the exploitation of the recordings, on its own or together with others, regardless of its origin, as well as carrying out such exploitation, by its own or by third parties, totally or partially, without limits of time or space, being therefore able to produce and/or sell in Spain and worldwide, as well as to reproduce, execute, spread, etc,. by any of the known or unknown means, the aforementioned recordings.

  

 

The contact information for any question or comment shall be detailed in the audition call. 

 

December, 28^th 2010.

    

This call is ruled by the Regulations for Entering the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, published on December, 28^th 2010.

 

We hereby announce the call for applications to enter the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra for year 2012.

 

 

1.1. – The Barenboim-Said Foundation opens the application process for the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra auditions. Those musicians chosen by the Audition Board will participate in the 2012 orchestra.

1.2. – The workshop and concert tour will take place from July, 7^th to August, 3^rd 2012 in Europe and will include concerts in Andalusia, London, Germany, France and Italy, among others. The workshop will be held in Berlin, Germany. The tour includes concerts in Andalusia, and London, as well as concerts in Germany, France and Italy.

1.3. – The repertoire presented by the orchestra in the 2012 tour will consist of L. v. Beethoven’s Symphony series, among other pieces.

1.4. – There will be auditions for the following musical instruments: violin, viola, violoncello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone and timpani.

1.5. – A maximum of 20 vacancies shall be offered for the orchestra, including all the instrumental specialities.

 

1.6. - Continuing with the work started in 2010, along with the call for auditions to enter the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the access to the Al-Andalus Orchestra is regulated herein. This orchestra shall be made up of young musicians from the Arab countries of the Middle East, Israel and Spain.

1.7. - In order to be able to compete in the auditions to enter the Al-Andalus Orchestra, the musicians of the aforementioned specialities must meet the following requirements:

1.7.1. - To be a national or have a background of any of the Arab countries of the Middle East (Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, etc.), Israel or Spain. By background we mean that any of their blood relatives, up to the second degree, are passport holders of any of the aforementioned countries. 

 1.7.2. - To be between 14 and 28 years old. Should a candidate be over or under the established age register, the Audition Board may consider his/her candidacy by taking into account the special circumstances concurring in his/her case.

1.8. - The Al-Andalus Orchestra will meet for a period of approximately 10 days  at the end of June / beginning of July, in the same place as the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, where it shall rehearse and share one week of musical and human coexistence. The Al-Andalus Orchestra shall not participate in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s concert tour.

1.9. - The members of the Al-Andalus Orchestra will be chosen from all candidates who have participated in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s auditions and who have shown enough music potential to continue their musical training in the Al-Andalus Orchestra during the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s workshop.

1.10. - The Al-Andalus Orchestra will be made up of a minimum of 20 musicians and a maximum of 60. 
  

 

2.1. – The deadline for submitting all applications begins on the same date of the publication of this call on the Barenboim-Said Foundation’s web site, and will finish on February, 15^th 2012.

2.2. – When exceptional circumstances coincide, the deadline for submitting applications may be extended only by decision of the Audition Board.

  

 

3.1 – Live auditions will be held in Seville, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beirut, Cairo and Amman. In case it shouldn’t be possible to organize live auditions in any of the above mentioned cities the candidates would be able to attend the auditions in a different city where auditions take place or to send a recent video recording. The dates of the live auditions are as follows: 

3.2. – The deadline for the reception of recordings will finish on March, 11th 2012. Recordings sent by ordinary mail must have a postmark dated within the application period.

3.3. – All recordings must be sent to the following address:

 

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

Zugang über Musikkindergarten

Leipziger Straße 40

10117 Berlin

Germany

  

 

The recommended repertoire for the audition for each instrumental speciality is as follows. Candidates should perform one or two movements of each piece. Orchestral excerpts of the candidate’s choice will also be accepted upon request of the Audition Board.

Violin: A concerto by W. A. Mozart and a romantic or modern piece.

Viola: A concerto by C. Stamitz or by F. A. Hoffmeister and a second piece.

Violoncello: A concerto by J. Haydn and a romantic or modern piece.

Double Bass: A concerto by G. Bottessini or by S. Koussevitzky and a second piece.

Flute + Piccolo: A concerto by W. A. Mozart and a romantic or modern piece.

Oboe + English Horn: A concerto by W. A. Mozart and a romantic or modern piece.

Clarinet + Clarinet in Eb + Bass Clarinet: A concerto by W. A. Mozart and a romantic or modern piece.

Bassoon + Double Bassoon: A concerto by W. A. Mozart and a romantic or modern piece.

Horn: A concerto by W. A. Mozart and a romantic or modern piece.

Trumpet: A concerto by J. Haydn or by J. N. Hummel and a romantic or modern piece.

Trombone: A concerto by F. David and a second piece of your own choice.

Timpani:  studies number 45 and number 35 by the Krüger Schule.

The timpani scores can be downloaded here.

 

User ID: auditions

Password: auditions1234

  

 

The 2012 Audition Board will be made up by two internationally renowned soloists appointed by maestro Daniel Barenboim. This board will be attending live auditions and listening to all the received video recordings.

  

 

            The criteria for selecting the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s musicians, amongst the candidates of the auditions, will be as follows:

·         The performing quality of the required pieces.

·         The technical level of the candidate.

  

 

7.1. – Audition results will be announced within a maximum period of three months after the last live audition has taken place.  

7.2. –All selected candidates will receive a communication by e-mail. If any of the candidates would like to receive the results by fax or ordinary post, they should communicate so to the Barenboim-Said Foundation.

7.3. –Not receiving any communication within three months after the audition’s date shall imply that the candidate has not been selected.  

  

 

8.1. - If you have any further questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact the Barenboim-Said Foundation using this form or at the following number: +34 955 03 73 46.

8.2. - The participation in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s auditions implies the acceptance of the conditions.  

 

Sevilla, December 23^rd 2011

 

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