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Today's turn of events at a local piano competition prompted me to ask the competition director some serious questions:

1) If one judge is on time but the other is late, how long should the competition director wait? The delinquent judge arrived one hour late. For the first hour, the on-time judge had to judge solo.

2) Should a competition ever begin with just one judge? EVER???

3) Should the door remain open where the competition is taking place? So that people walking by, ringing cell phones, and other noises can bother the contestants?

4) Should the family be charged money ($5 per person, excluding actual winners) to attend the awards concert/ceremony?

5) Should a judge be making comments about the "length" of the piece? The delinquent judge (yeah, that same one) wrote my student, "something shorter would be more appropriate." Huh????????

No--I am not bitter. My student won something. But, still, give me a break already!

I feel your pain.

It seems to me that if it's a two judge event, then the competition shouldn't begin until the 2nd judge arrives. Depending upon the rules of the competition, it would seem more balanced that if the competitors agree to start with only one judge, then there should be only one judge through out and the other judge should not be compensated. If the judge calls in and says he'll be lated because the I-5 is closed because of an accident, the rules committee can make a call, but fairness would seem to dictate that the composition of the judging pool not change mid-stream.

Unfortunately, many of us have to deal with just one judge all the time - it would be nice if there could be more than one.

No, there should be no audience nor off-stage noise to distract the performer. This is something the competition committee can control, and it should be spelled out in advanced and adhered to, otherwise, protests are valid.

If it's just an awards ceremony, why on earth would any one need to pay a fee? Greed? What do they want, just the winner to show up?

What do the competition rules state about the length of an entry? If nothing, then comments are inappropriate and the judge should be called on it.

Aren't competitions fun???? :t:

#4 is the one that would really tick me off. Assuming, of course, that money had already been spent for entry fees and GA$ (ouch!) to get to the event, you would think that the awards ceremony would be free of charge. And $5 per person (for audience members) can really add up even for the winners, by the time all the grandparents, studio-mates, friends, etc. are included.

I've never seen circumstances quite like that. I'm with John on the judging issue. Two judges for the whole thing or one judge, but not one for some students and two for others. That ensures that every one will feel aggrieved about the process. Even the winners will be uncomfortable because they'll never be sure whether they were favored by the presence or absence of the additional judge.

A single judge isn't necessarily a problem, as long as everyone knows the rules. A recent competition in our area had a single invited judge for the final round, so everybody knew that one person's views and tastes would add some spice to the event. The judge himself made that clear in his opening remarks.

Like lalakeys, I think charging money to attend the awards ceremony is just bogus. What sort of competition was this, or is that information you would feel uncomfortable discussing?

The Awards Ceremony is actually the second half of the competition, where all first place winners compete against each other (which also doesn't make much sense when a 7-year-old is playing against an 18-year-old). There is a modest cash prize for the "grand prize" winner. I guess the audience fee goes toward this grand prize. But, still.

To her credit, the lady who runs this competition is extremely nice and professional, and she apologized profusely for what happened. I would hope she'd make some changes for next year.

And, yes, I had to wait in line to lodge my grief. Apparently grievances were rampant today. It's really too bad.

I am surprised people actually accept single-judge competitions. The minimum I think is two, just to be completely fair--three is better. The great majority of piano competitions in my neck of the woods have two or three judges.

AZN -

I am aware of this particular competition and have had students participate in the past. I've always wondered why there is a charge for the Awards Ceremony. Also, I do not like the fact that the student has to give their SS# on the application form. This seems totally irrelevant to me and technically, is not legal. The most money received is way below what the IRS requires.

I didn't have any students enter this year and in light of your critique, am rather glad to have not been there. I know the lady to whom you refer and yes, she is very nice and cares a great deal about students and that things are run properly. Perhaps if you and a few other teachers would write a letter listing your concerns she may change things for the better.
In fact, I will also write a letter expressing my concerns. This is a worthwhile competition and I'd hate to see it fold after all these years.

Just a note to everyone - just because someone asks for your SSN, doesn't mean you have to provide it. It seems like every where we turn, someone wants it. They don't get it. We just leave the fields blank if they ask for personal information we don't wish to share.

Wow, asking for a SSN?? That's nuts. Anything below $600 per year I think is not required to be reported.

It is sad that said competition had such issues. There are some competitions (like WMTA auditions) that have only one judge per room. Probably for monetary and practical reasons. But we always have very strict guidelines for the judges (and if they do not adhere, they don't get used in subsequent years). We also have room monitors who are responsible for handing the music to the judge, closing the door, and making sure that the hallway outside remains quiet. Without someone with that particular job, I'm afraid people just don't care or realize what a disturbance they are creating.

Yeah, I'm not thrilled about the SSN requirement, either. Maybe it's an outdated idea and it was never removed.

The competition does have "room captains," but they are college students who know nothing about piano competitions. One of them was so lost, when people ask her where to register, she directs them to go upstairs to the competition rooms.

If it's MTAC sponsored, consider letting the state officers hear your concerns.