Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Random notes from a judge
It is great being a judge. Everyone is terrified of you, they look at you with these hopeful faces.
I can only say how grateful I am to be sitting behind the judging table, and not standing on stage. I have always hated competitions because I was so terrible at them.
Today is the first day we got a lunch break. The other days I survived by scoffing pretzels during the short consultation breaks.
We are doing 12 hour days. Frustrating because I need to be preparing some pieces I am doing with orchestra at the end of the month. Have been getting up at 6:30 so I could get an hour's practice in before the judging starts.
This has the corollary effect that the competitors who come between 3 and 4 in the afternoon don't get the the same alertness from this juror as the ones who play before.
The weather is gorgeous, unusual here. I haven't been able to go outside at all, very maddening.
It is funny how you can tell the good players from the mediocre just by how they set up before playing. The ones who are not so good don't look like the instruments really belong to them. The girls who are spending more time fiddling with their hair than straightening their fiddles are less likely to be really in command when they start playing.
I can only say how grateful I am to be sitting behind the judging table, and not standing on stage. I have always hated competitions because I was so terrible at them.
Today is the first day we got a lunch break. The other days I survived by scoffing pretzels during the short consultation breaks.
We are doing 12 hour days. Frustrating because I need to be preparing some pieces I am doing with orchestra at the end of the month. Have been getting up at 6:30 so I could get an hour's practice in before the judging starts.
This has the corollary effect that the competitors who come between 3 and 4 in the afternoon don't get the the same alertness from this juror as the ones who play before.
The weather is gorgeous, unusual here. I haven't been able to go outside at all, very maddening.
It is funny how you can tell the good players from the mediocre just by how they set up before playing. The ones who are not so good don't look like the instruments really belong to them. The girls who are spending more time fiddling with their hair than straightening their fiddles are less likely to be really in command when they start playing.
# posted by vailian : 1:30 PM
