Jauvon Gilliam, for seven years a timpanist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, really, really wanted to win the vacant timpani position with the US' National Symphony Orchestra when the opening was announced in 2009.



So Jauvon rented a minivan, packed up his drums and drove 26 hours across the United States to audition. He got called back and made the drive a second time.



To make sure he was mentally prepared, Jauvon Gilliam called up timpanists in major American orchestras along the way and asked if he could play for them. He wanted to get used to playing nervous, in unfamiliar situations. The first two attempts went terribly. The next two went much better.



By the time he got to Washington, Jauvon Gilliamwas in great form. He was the orchestra's unanimous choice for the position in March 2010.



Jauvon also mananged to get a teaching position lined up at the University of Maryland, starting in the fall of that same year.