AUDITION DAY Book Release February 2, 2022

Opus Cello

presents

AUDITION DAY

Your Guide for a Successful Orchestral Cello Audition 

A book by Blaise Déjardin  

Taking a professional orchestral audition is a unique challenge in the life of a young musician. In this how-to book, Blaise Déjardin (Principal Cellist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra) takes you on a journey through all the necessary steps to achieve a successful audition. You will learn how to plan your preparation, from organizing your practice sessions to managing your mental state, so that you can show up feeling ready and confident on audition day. In addition to a step-by-step plan of action, this book includes 38 orchestral cello excerpts, complete with fingerings, bowings and detailed instructions on how to approach each excerpt. 

This book is endorsed by some of today’s most renowned cellists:

“Blaise Déjardin delivers a blockbuster hit for any aspiring cellist who is looking for a hands-on manual on how to thrive in an audition. His in-depth knowledge is gold, his delivery precise, poignant and practical.”

Johannes Moser, International Soloist

“Blaise Déjardin lays it all out in his new book. From general concepts of preparation to specifics of execution, Audition Day is a gold mine of time-tested tips and solutions. Any young cellist contemplating an audition would be wise to take his advice to heart.”

Carter Brey, Principal Cello, New York Philharmonic, USA 

“This is a fantastic book to prepare an orchestral audition, giving advice not only from the cellistic side but also from a psychological point of view, so useful for all auditions…a precious book to read!”

Gautier Capuçon, International Soloist

“What a terrific book! It is thoughtful, logical, clear, and extremely helpful. Anyone taking orchestral auditions will find this an excellent and valuable resource.” 

John Sharp, Principal Cello, Chicago Symphony, USA

“Blaise has done a very important work with the creation of this book. The words in this book come directly from a great cellist with the necessary experience and the ability to communicate it clearly. I strongly recommend it!”

Kian Soltani, International Soloist

“This highly detailed book is clearly a labor of love, and timely, as too little attention has been paid in the past to what for many musicians is the most consequential 10 or 15 minute performance of their lives. This book should be an eye-opening guide and will be an excellent starting point for young cellists - I can’t recommend it strongly enough!”

Brinton Smith, Principal Cello, Houston Symphony, USA

Audition Day is one of the rare books addressing the psychology of performing under pressure for young musicians, and is endorsed by one of the premier performance psychologists in the world:

“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, lost, or paralyzed by uncertainty when one is new to orchestral auditions. And while there may be no single approach that works for everyone, there are certain essential guidelines, principles, and key details that seem to be universally helpful.

Blaise shares these foundational strategies - as well as some intriguingly counterintuitive yet well-reasoned bonus tips - in Audition Day. An audition preparation guide that I suspect will be a calming and reassuring presence not just during the months and weeks leading up to your audition, but on the day of the audition as well!”

Noa Kageyama, Performance Psychologist, Faculty at the Juilliard School, NYC, USA

Foreword written by Steven Ansell, Principal Viola, Boston Symphony Orchestra:

"Cellists will be especially pleased because this book focuses on them, but it can be used as a primer for any instrumental audition as the tenets that it promotes are universal. Mr. Déjardin's insights into every detail of preparation are comprehensive in scope and colored with the prism of experience. His comments on standard audition repertoire are practical and simply explained, and the entire book could not be better organized or more succint. (...) A very useful toolbox for audition success and starting a career as a professional orchestral musician."

This book is enriched by illustrations from Jeffrey Curnow, cartoonist for NPR Classical and Associate Principal Trumpet, Philadelphia Orchestra.

AUDITION DAY is available for purchase from February 2, 2022 in-store and online at Johnson String Instrument (www.johnsonstring.com) , in-store at Salchow & Sons (NYC), as well as online at www.blaisedejardin.com and www.opuscello.com

For more information, please e-mail contact@blaisedejardin.com