Question: one what do you judges look for the most in an audition??? two how can i get the air to quit leaking from the sides of my embochure??? and three what would be a good way to practice but not wear myself out the few days before the audition???

Answer: 1. Judges in auditions usually split your playing up into 4 groups:
sound--do you have a rich big sound? will you hold your own in an orchestra?
pitch--do you find the center of each note and do you know the pitch problems in your horn and do you fix them?
technique--fingers, multiple-tonguing, single-tonguing, speed, rhythmic precision, etc.
musicianship--can you find a style to match the piece? Do you know the piece and what to do with it?
So, basically, if you find a piece that is not too hard, but shows off your abilities, and if you learn the piece and make it sound good, and if you pay close attention to the above 4 things, you should do fine in an audition. 3 more good things to remember: Bring water, get there early, and dress nicely.

2. It's hard for me to diagnose an air leakage problem, but it sounds like your butt plug isn't in tight enough. Okay, sorry, seriously, my guess is that the muscles in your chops aren't strong enough, in general. You may be playing too much and your muscles just get tired, or you may need to do some exercises to help you RELY MORE ON YOUR AIR!!!! You need to blow more air and don't rely on your chops. Use the James Stamp book in your warm-up and if you do it right, it should help enormously. Also, do a trick to build mouth strength (the ladies'll like this one too ;-) ) hold the eraser part of a pencil between your lips without touching your teeth. Hold the pencil straight out like that for 30 seconds, and increase the amount of time as you see fit. Have fun!

3. You should know the point at which you know you are working things but aren't hurting yourself. As long as you don't damage your chops, you can work pretty hard UP UNTIL THE DAY BEFORE THE AUDITION!!! The day before, just do a moderate practice session, and perform all the pieces in front of your parents or something. The day of the audition, just do your regular warm-up (DON'T DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT) and run the tough parts of the pieces. You shouldn't play for a couple hours before you get to the warm-up room. And remember, the more auditions you do, the better you know what you have to do to prepare better! Good luck!
-Joe
Joe@TrumpetBoredom.com

Answer: Judges will look more towards musicality... everyone can play notes and rythyms... but what they are looking for is style... of course precision has to be there... but they can deal with a few cracked notes if your are playing musically... sound of course is ALWAYS of upmost importance... if you have air leakage from the side of your mouth... try and lock down your corners better... a good way to do this away from your horn is to hold your corners down like youre trying to hit a high note and hold it as long as you can... if you don't feel a nice burning sensation then you're doing it wrong. and a good way to practice a few days before the audition is to play the exact same thing all 3 days... practice the same way... don't practice any harder the day before... work out a section and play through your piece say 3 times... and do that each day before... and it should keep your chops ready for it.
-Byron
byron@trumpetboredom.com