Exploring Excerpts: a violist’s guide to building skills for orchestral playing, by Melissa Matson

I could not be more excited to offer this insightful and encyclopedic resource about viola audition excerpts!! Melissa Matson is bringing her detailed excerpt practice sheets, amassed over thirty years of teaching excerpts, together in one amazing book. Here is a sneak peak:

As a violist in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for nearly four decades (with over two decades as Principal Violist and an earlier decade as Assistant Principal), I experienced first-hand the technical and musical challenges of being part of a much larger musical instrument - the symphony orchestra. Learning so much repertoire throughout this rich and inspiring career has required the mastery of a wide variety of techniques, all ready to be called on when needed - making me a better violist!

Over many years of teaching Orchestral Repertoire to violists at the Eastman School of Music, I found myself addressing the same issues with every group of students, year after year. Rhythmic accuracy! Intonation! Articulation! Sound! Style! These should be considered “basics” for any violist - and yet they seem to be thrust into a more extreme examination when put into the concept of “excerpts.” In addition to discussing the expectations, I created etudes that isolate particular elements (through rhythm practice, bowing patterns, melodic simplification or framework, guide fingers for shifting, etc.). These etudes evolved into detailed lessons for practicing excerpts with focus and intent. Some ideas are fairly standard while others are admittedly a bit wacky - but all are intended to inspire the journey towards the dexterity, reliability, and stylistic versatility of a successful orchestral player.

Click below for a free download of Melissa’s Beethoven 5 excerpt practice sheet. You will also be notified when this encyclopedic resource releases in the Fall of 2022.