Overview

Shen Yun Performing Arts will be holding open auditions for its orchestras on the following dates at Shen Yun Headquarters in New York:

June 12-16, 2013

Positions annually entail about five months of touring and seven months at our New York campus. Throughout the year, we provide a monthly salary of $2000 (for most positions), the option of full room and board, and coverage of all touring expenses and hotel accommodations.

In six years, we have grown to three companies, each including dancers, a full orchestra, and solo singers. We have nearly 300 artists touring the world simultaneously, performing all-original music and dance.

Top venues in 2012 included Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the London Coliseum, and, for the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall. 

 

Qualifications

Experienced musicians worldwide are welcome to apply, provided they hold a master's or doctoral degree in music, or equivalent advanced degree.

As the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company, Shen Yun's mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. In promoting this culture and its enduring values through our performances, we have also made meditation practice a daily part of our schedule, finding that it brings great benefits to our performers.

Our company philosophy is based on the spiritual discipline of Falun Dafa. Applicants should be willing to learn Falun Dafa meditation and follow its principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance.” No previous experience with meditation is required. We suggest candidates familiarize themselves with the practice by visiting www.FalunDafa.org, and reading the books Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun that are posted there and can be downloaded for free.

String Instruments

Violin

    Please prepare the following:

    Mozart: concerto of choice (movement I) with cadenza
    One movement from any standard concerto or solo work
    Orchestral excerpts (1st violin parts):
    • R. Strauss: Fledermaus Overture, bars 1-12, 27-36, 388-416
    • Brahms: Symphony No. 1, mvt. IV
    • A. Bruckner: Symphony No. 9, mvt. III, bar 57-138 (2nd vln part)
    • Mozart: Symphony No. 39, mvt. IV
    • R. Strauss: Don Juan
    • Schumann: Symphony No. 2, mvt. II
    (2nd violin part) Smetana: Overture to Bartered Bride
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Viola

    Please prepare the following:

    One movement from any standard concerto or solo work before 1900
    Two contrasting movements of any J.S. Bach solo work
    Orchestral excerpts:
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, mvt. II
    • Berlioz: Le Carnaval Romain
    • Brahms: Symphony No. 3, mvt. I
    • Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn
    • Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream - Scherzo
    • R. Strauss: Don Juan
    • Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, mvt. I
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Cello

    Please prepare the following:

    One movement from any standard concerto or solo work
    Two contrasting movements of any J.S. Bach solo work
    Orchestral excerpts:
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, mvt. II
    • Brahms: Symphony No. 2, mvt. II
    • Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream - Scherzo
    • Mozart: Symphony No. 35, mvt. IV
    • R. Strauss: Don Juan
    • R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
    • Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, mvt. II
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Double Bass

    Please prepare the following:

    First movement of a standard bass concerto
    Bach: one movement from any of the solo suites for cello
    Orchestral excerpts:
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, mvt. III
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, mvt. IV
    • Brahms: Symphony No. 1, mvt. I
    • Brahms: Symphony No. 2, mvt. I & IV
    • Mahler: Symphony No. 2, mvt. I
    • Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4, mvts. I & IV
    • Mozart: Symphony No. 39, mvts. I & IV
    • Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
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Woodwind Instruments

Oboe

    Please prepare the following:

    Mozart: Oboe Concerto in C Major, K. 314, mvt. I
    Orchestral excerpts:
    • Rossini: The Silken Ladder, p. 174
    • R. Strauss: Don Juan, p. 158, tranquillo section
    • Mendelssohn: 3rd Symphony, p. 169, vivace non troppo section, mm. 1-16
    • Tchaikovsky: Opening from the Ballet Suite "Swan Lake"
    • Brahms: Violin Concerto, mvt. II, solo
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Flute

    Please prepare the following:

    Mozart: Concerto in G, exposition of the first movement
    Orchestral Excerpts:
    • Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No.2 for orchestra (1912), solo
    • Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, opening solo
    • Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream, Scherzo, solo
    • Dvořák: Symphony No. 8, mvt. IV
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 3
    • Bizet: "Entr'acte" or "Intermezzo" from the opera Carmen
    • Rossini: William Tell Overture solo
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Bassoon

    Please prepare the following:

    Mozart: Concerto in B-flat, K. 191: 1st and 2nd mvts, Exposition
    Orchestral Excerpts:
    • Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, Op. 36, mvt 2 ending solo, m. 274 to end
    • Mozart: Overture to Le nozze di Figaro, mm. 1-7, 101-172
    • Ravel: Bolero, solo, Reh. 2 to Reh. 3
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 4: mm. 15-25, mm. 184-199, mm. 300-302, m. 348 to end
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Clarinet

    Please prepare the following:

    Mozart Concerto: 1st Movement, Exposition
    Orchestral Excerpts:
    • Mendelssohn: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream
    • Brahms: mvt. II, opening from Symphony No. 3.
    • Beethoven: mvt. I, 474-492 from Symphony No. 6.
    • Rachmaninov: mvt. III, Opening to 1 before 47 from Symphony No. 2.
    • Rimsky Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, mvts. I and III.
    • Shostakovich: Symphony No 9, mvt. II, 1-52, mvt. III, 1-17
    • Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No.2 for orchestra: Section 155 - 158, Section 201 - 204
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Brass

French Horn

    Please prepare the following:

    Mozart: Concerto No. 3, mvt. I
    Orchestral excerpts:
    • Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, mvt. I
    • Bruckner: Symphony No. 4, mvt. I: Bewegt, nicht zu schnell (beginning to A)
    • Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, mvt. II, solo
    • Mahler: Symphony No. 5, mvt. III
    • Brahms: Symphony No. 2, mvt. I with ending solo
    • Strauss: "Till Eulenspiegel," Op. 28, Gemächlich (beginning to 1)
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Trumpet*

    Please prepare the following:

    Haydn: Trumpet Concerto, mvt. I with cadenza
      Orchestral Excerpts:
    • Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 – off-stage calls
    • Bizet: Carmen, Prelude to Act I – mm. 3-27
    • Mahler: Symphony No. 5, mvt. I – beginning to 84, 211-256
    • Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition – Promenade
    • Respighi: Pines of Rome, mvt. II (Pini presso una Catacomba), off-stage solo
    • Stravinsky: Petrouchka (1947), Ballerina's Dance – 1 before rehearsal 134 to rehearsal 139, and rehearsal 143 to 147
    • Wagner: Parsifal, Prelude – 8 after rehearsal 1 to rehearsal 3
    * B♭ Trumpet and C Trumpet required
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Trombone

    Please prepare the following:

    F. David: Concertino for Trombone, mvt. I
    Orchestral excerpts:
    • Mahler: Symphony No. 3 – mvt. I: 13 to 17; 1 bar before 58 to 13 bars after 61
    • Mozart: Requiem, "Tuba Mirum"
    • Ravel: Bolero – 10 to 11
    • Wagner: Die Walkure – Ride of Valkyries, solo
    • Rossini: William Tell Overture, 1st trombone – letter C to 9 after D
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Bass Trombone

    Please prepare the following:

    Bach: Cello Suite No. 5 (Sarabande) or Lebedev Concerto for Tuba
    Orchestral excerpts:
    • Haydn: The Creation, No. 26
    • Wagner: Tannhauser Overture – from A to bar 54
    • Wagner: Lohengrin, Prelude to Act III
    • Wagner: Die Walkure – from 6 with the upbeat to 3rd bar of 7
    • Rossini: William Tell Overture, Storm Scene – letter C to 8 after D
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Players of Traditional Chinese Instruments (Pipa, Erhu and Suona)

Please see our How to Apply page and contact audition@shenyunperformingarts.org
for questions regarding repertoire.

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Conductors

Please see our How to Apply page and contact audition@shenyunperformingarts.org
for questions regarding repertoire.

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Application Form

We appreciate your interest in Shen Yun Performing Arts. Applications are only being accepted for positions listed. Please fill out all fields in the form below to apply online. We require all applicants to fill out our online form.
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At our New York headquarters June 12-16, 2013.
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