The piece is scored for a small orchestra accompanied by a processed pre-recording of a smaller ensemble performing an original neo-Baroque composition by Bates.
[5] In the score program notes, Bates remarked, "Auditorium begins with the premise that an orchestra, like a person, can be possessed.
"[1] Bates had only recently taken an interest in Baroque music, about which he said in a pre-premiere interview with the San Francisco Classical Voice, "Michael (Tilson Thomas) gave me a list of names to explore.
[1] Reviewing the world premiere, Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle said the piece "felt oddly undercooked — more like a 15-minute storyboarded mockup than a fully formed creation."
He added, "Perhaps the biggest disappointment in Auditorium is how little it shares the orchestrational virtuosity of Bates' earlier works, including Alternative Energy and the recent phenomenal Anthology of Fantastic Zoology.