Trust me - I was extremely skeptical about Libertadores that year as well... to the point that I barely prepared the piece before seating auditions. Unlike the wind sections, you can definitely get away with some sight reading in the violin section, but the judges showed no mercy on my lackluster audition, and you can see me in the very back of the first violin section ;'p.

Of course, I was proven wrong when we actually performed the piece. Despite the weird singing and clapping sections, Libertadores is one of the most memorable and powerful orchestra pieces I've ever played. It was definitely a missed opportunity to not fully prepare it. I think the lesson to be learned is to never jump to conclusions about a piece before you have fully explored and experienced it. And also, it's awesome that you were doing all of those piccolo solos! That was definitely one of the most memorable aspects of the piece.