If it's at all practical, get a piccolo. It may make the difference.

that's a good point, excel at Piccolo and posses an alto flute, always a good idea..

another idea, learn your parts from the actual part and/or score, one on a jury can always tell when someone is playing from an excerpt book or the actual part

I thought if someone does piccolo in an orchestra or even band, that makes them a Flute 2.

Sibelius 1 and Milhaud Suite Provencal asks for 2 piccolos at 1 point. They may prefer to take the 2nd and 3rd best flautists on that basis. I have seen the acute embarasment of an orchestra management when it turned out that neither flautist could play the piccolo (they didn't make that mistake again!). In any case, would you rather not play at all or play 2nd flute?

you always have an advantage if you are a good picc player and also be able to play alto...

Yeah, there are some neat alto parts in the Stravinsky's Right of Spring and in Holst's Planets

I'm actually gripping piccolo right now...I'm just saying that doesn't doing piccolo keep you from being first flute? From what I've heard, people are super super competitive when it comes to flute in orch. Someone told me that flutes are also hard to find...

That's because there so few positions availabe for flute in an orchestra and so many good/great flutists out there. In a college orchestra there may be 3 flutes, 1st (Principal), 2nd, and 3rd/piccolo. There could be 20 flutes in a band.

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In the college orchestra that I play in, all three of us are capable of playing picc, but normally the 3rd flutist plays that part. I don't play the picc parts, but rather the solos because I'm the principal flute.

if you look at the musicians union paper, AFM, the jobs are designated as 1st, 3rd/picc, etc. , so if you are a good picc player you have a better chance at good jobs

Is Alto flute really neccessary in a string+wind orch? Alto flute is so expensive and I know I will seldom play them at all. China made Altos are cheap, but they are made out of tune.

You should try the Jupiter alto in HK if you can , they are very affordable, it comes in handy if you get a chance at a good theater gig

OK, I'll look for Jupiter Alto here, thanks teacher Patrick.

If playing the piccolo really would limit you to 2nd flute (and I sincerely doubt it would), just keep quiet about it when you apply. Don't lie, but don't volunteer the information.

why would you not volunteer info that would help you get a job? the flute world, especially the orchestral world, is extremely competitive, one needs to be able to display flexibility and the ability to learn quickly..

being a good picc player has only benefited me, as has owning a good alto flute

I'm still just talking about Youth Orch....is it really that competitive???