Sectional and Principal Coaching

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Designed To Support

This coaching program is built to reinforce every other pillar of the Orchestral Training Division:

  • Mock Audition Training: Prepares you for the section-round part of the audition process
  • Excerpt Labs: Sharpens your technical command before playing in section
  • Mindset Coaching: Gives you the psychological flexibility to adjust, lead, or support under pressure
  • Audition Library: Helps you analyze past ensemble performances and internalize group dynamics

Format

  • Weekly Sectionals (live on Zoom or hybrid)
  • Grouped by instrument family (Brass / Winds / Strings / Percussion)
  • Rotation of key repertoire (Mahler, Strauss, Mozart, Shostakovich, etc.)
  • Principal-led sessions with Q&A and optional student participation
  • Pre-recorded materials and excerpts sent in advance
  • Available on-demand afterward via Student Portal

Why It Matters

Orchestras aren’t solo projects. To succeed in an ensemble, you must know:

  • When you matter, and when to disappear
  • How to lock with the principal player without needing constant instruction
  • What real ensemble intuition feels like — and how to develop it
  • How to be flexible under a conductor’s changing interpretations
  • How to rehearse with other professionals — without overplaying, overtalking, or underdelivering

Who It’s For

  • Players auditioning for roles with ensemble responsibilities (especially principal or co-principal)
  • Festival applicants expected to lead sections or play key rep
  • Musicians moving from solo/chamber to full orchestral contexts
  • Anyone serious about fitting inside the section without friction
  • Students who want to learn how to lead without being loud and support without being invisible

Faculty Include Principal Players From:

  • New York Philharmonic
  • MET Orchestra
  • San Francisco Symphony
  • Berlin Philharmonic
  • Royal Concertgebouw
  • Chicago Symphony Orchestra
  • Orchestre de Paris
  • (Full rotation schedule available monthly)

Join the Section

Don’t just play your part. Learn how to make others sound better too.
That’s what gets you hired — and what makes you a musician worth following.

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