Testimonials
Testimonials from three 2007 “Fearless Audition Training for Hornists” attendees:
Audrey Good
Hornist, Sarasota Orchestra and The Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse Horn Quartet
Audition results since F.A.T. Seminar 2007:
- Houston Symphony 4th horn audition Finalist
- San Antonio Symphony 2nd/4th horn audition Runner-up
- Charleston Symphony 2nd horn audition Winner
- Nashville Symphony 4th horn audition Finalist
- Sarasota Orchestra auditionWinner
- Excerpt from her testimonial. Full version found below.
By going to Fearless Camp last year and openly addressing those feelings of nervousness and lack of control we get when we’re about to audition, that alone was a relief! Then, luckily, in addition to addressing the fear we experience, you gave us tools and strategies to begin to eliminate the self-defeating thoughts and habits we all pick up along the way
Alena Zidlicky
Student at Rice University with Bill VerMeulen
Getting fearless is GREAT!!! I never realized how much your perceptions and attitude about your own horn playing can be so effective! When you really learn how to let go of all those negative thoughts, it’s really liberating! It’s really a life changing experience. Since I’ve gone through the fearless camp, I’ve found that performing in front of others has been very easy, and I feel great about playing! It’s like getting back to the days when playing horn was FUN!
Jenny Smoak
Student at Indiana University with Jeff Nelsen
With the intense auditioning training that we had every day throughout the week in FAT camp, I learned the excerpts I was working on better than I have ever known any piece of music. When the fall orchestra audition came around, I performed the best audition I have given to this day. I had never felt so prepared musically and fearlessly as I did for that audition. I also used all of the knowledge and lessons from FAT camp for the next orchestra audition, and again they served me so well! I felt so comfortable walking into the audition room because I had practiced that walk and that feeling hundreds of times prior to that one. When I sat down, I remembered that the judges “wanted me to do well” and I successfully played as fearlessly as I could!! I felt so great about the auditions I played for since FAT camp…I take the lessons and techniques everywhere I go: the practice room, the stage, or the audition room because they help every aspect of my playing.