Auditions for high school all-state, regional honors, and youth orchestras could be considered purely as a means to an end when trying to land a seat in a coveted ensemble. However, the benefits of preparing for an audition during high school extend far beyond simply winning a spot. The audition process allows students to improve and become better musicians by learning their strengths and discovering areas in need of improvement. More specifically, learning audition excerpts gives students the opportunity to master typical challenges of the orchestral literature and to learn to adapt with consistency to changes in style and character in short fragments of music while playing in a way that would fit within a large ensemble.