Audition Tips

Obtain audition requirements and materials far in advance.
Decide on a solo piece that shows off your strengths.
Use a tuner and metronome during practice. This will help you correct pitch and rhythm problems as you learn the piece.
Prepare expressive parts as carefully as technical parts. Identify the mood and message of these sections.
Be aware that the audition committee may only ask for part of a piece. Be prepared to start your piece from various points (not always at the beginning).
Be familiar enough with your material so that you can perform it no matter what happens.
Yes, you can practice sight-reading. Take an étude book, flip to a new page, take a few minutes to study the music, and then sight-read it.
An excellent goal is to know your scales from memory.
Rehearse in your performance or audition clothes. Are you comfortable? Practice walking in your shoes.
Record your audition material using a computer, tablet, or smartphone to assess your strengths and weaknesses. Build up your strengths and work on weak areas.
Practice playing in front of an audience and let them critique your performance.
Learn the context of your excerpts by listening to the entire piece played by an orchestra. For most pieces there are numerous recordings readily available.

Dress appropriately and treat the audition as you would a job interview. Let the audition committee know that this is important to you.
Arrive early and warm up.
Bring music and anything else you might need (extra strings, reeds, etc).
Be ready to interact with the audition committee. They are friendly and want you to succeed. It’ll help you relax.
Be courteous.
Be professional.
Take plenty of time at the audition—don’t rush!
Get involved in the music. The audition committee wants to hear the joy and expression of the music as much as they want to hear accuracy.
Think positively.
Use your best posture.
Relax and breathe!
Keep going even if you make mistakes—don’t quit.
Know that if the audition committee asks you to play something with a change it doesn’t mean you played it wrong. They may want to see how you take and make a correction.
Enjoy yourself!
After the audition, there’s no reason to freak out. Sometimes people like to overanalyze after an audition. It’s a learning experience. Take away from it what worked and what can be improved on.