Auditions

I was asked to be on the panel for the auditions we were holding at our church for the worship team. This was an all-day event and we met with 15 people throughout the course of the day.

The format was straightforward: introductions, a few questions and performance of the assigned song.

I have auditioned candidates for worship teams in the past and it was usually done on a demand basis meaning that if someone had expressed an interest in joining the worship team we would set up a time for the audition. For this event we had provided an invitation to the church for people interested to register and to attend the audition on a specific date. A group event as opposed to a one-off meeting.

There were support materials provided to the candidates along with a link to the Playback app that we use for rehearsing our parts.

There were some outstanding auditions and, unfortunately, there were some train wrecks. Admittedly auditions can be intimidating for people. You are on a stage. Alone. Looking at a panel of three people. And you know that they are making a judgement on your musical talent. Easy to be nervous.

We did try to make it as easy as possible and to create an environment very similar to a typical Sunday morning.

Musicians and vocalists can fall into 5 broad categories related to their level of talent: beginner, intermediate, advanced, exemplar, virtuoso. More often than not I see most church musicians and vocalists falling into the first three categories with a limited number in the advanced category.

Hence the need for auditions as we need people that are in the intermediate to advanced levels.

It is tough to decline someone that wants to serve. We prefer to say not now but later and here are some areas to develop.