Thanks Jim, I'll try that out next audition. I've been so overwhelmed lately...sports, music, auditions (one of which i totally bombed today because i got the wind knocked out of me and almosted passed out). I think my director was about to tell me not to audition ...i was in bad shape. Especially after a national french exam, lol. *snore* I'm beginning to lose total confidence in my playing partly because I'm not going to be the youngest in the school next year, so I don't really have anything to fall back on. People look at me by how long I've been playing (2 yrs), and not how much I've actually accomplished in that time. So i've been really discouraged. My director also decided to announce that i'm going to be plaing euphonium in marching band next year... I need vacation....

One thing that contributes to the physical symptoms of nervousness is a lack of oxygen. Taking several really good deep breaths and holding for a second before letting them out will get some oxygen in you. If you concentrate on breathing it will take some strain off your brain as well. Another thing to realize is that how you deal with the stress of performance is as much a part of you as is your sense of time, pitch or anything else. As you gain experience you'll probably become more comfortable but in the meantime there is no reason to beat yourself up for getting nervous. Chalk it up to experience and pat yourself on the back for having the guts to go through with the audition.