How They Won #4 - Elina Rubio, violin
Aktie
June 8, 2025
In this installment of our audition winner series, violinist Elina Rubio spills her go-to prep strategies, mindset shifts, and what helped her land a spot with the Utah Symphony. Real talk, real tips—here's the interview.
What position did you recently win and in which orchestra?
Section Violin with the Utah Symphony Orchestra.
How early did you start preparing for this specific audition?
A month and a half before the audition.
Were most of the requirements pretty standard or were there any unusual excerpts on the list?
Most of the excerpts were standard, only two were new to me.
In the month leading up to the audition, what percentage of your practice time was spent on the audition music vs your other commitments?
I would say 50/50!
In the week leading up to your successful audition, how many hours were you practicing each day?
No more than 3 hours, two was enough if I had other concerts and rehearsals that day but three was perfect.
Which orchestra are you leaving?
Leaving the Minnesota Orchestra, I was a One-Year contracted musician last season and I stayed based in Minneapolis as a first-call substitute musician this season.
Do you remember how many excerpts you played in each round?
3 excerpts plus concerto in the preliminary round, 5 excerpts plus concerto in the semi-final round, 6 excerpts plus concerto in the final round.
What were the THREE most important things you did in the week before your audition win that you feel led to your success and why?
I would say my number one was playing rounds. About a week before the audition I started randomly choosing groups of excerpts and playing them from start to end practicing performing without knowing what was coming next.
My number two was playing the same rounds with the metronome after playing them through- always setting the metronome a little under the final tempo to clean up some parts and make sure I could play slower if the committee asked me to do that.
My number three was probably making it a goal to get enough sleep (a generous 8 hours) - that by itself made a great difference overall in my physical and mental health leading up to the first performance.
Did the committee ask you to repeat any excerpts, and if so, what kind of requests did they make?
On the Final round they asked me to repeat one excerpt with more differences in dynamics and then they asked me to repeat another one playing it at a much faster tempo than when I first played it.
Did you have any connections to the orchestra or anything that led you to want to audition for this orchestra or position in particular?
I had heard of the Utah Symphony Orchestra but I do not know anyone and I don't have any connections there- excited to meet them and work with them!
Biggest congrats to Elina on her win! You can follow here on instagram @elina.rubio or visit her website here.