Klarinet Archive - Posting 000071.txt from 2004/11

From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Problem with the Mozart Concerto
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 08:32:57 -0500

This was at best a clumsy lapse by the judges, at worst an ignorant lack of
knowledge of or interest in the organization's own rules. Students are, in
all the similar auditions I've been involved with, shown in and out by a
room monitor/proctor - usually a non-auditioning student from the school
hosting the audition. Our students at PennaMEA and our local Bucks County
MEA auditions are told not to speak in the room (to avoid potentially
identifying themselves to the judges, who have their backs to the students)
but, if necessary to ask the proctor any questions out of the judge's
earshot. The proctor will ask the judges if the question hasn't already come
up and been answered before.

That said, I suspect that the marked up copy on the stand was only meant to
show the auditionees where to start and stop. It *should* have been the
prescribed edition, if for no other reason than the page layout was probably
different. If for some reason a copy couldn't be provided for the audition,
the judges *should* have made an explicit statement to each student either
orally themselves (the judges can always talk so long as they don't look) or
through the proctor or even with a sign posted on the stand next to the
mark-up telling the students to play the prescribed edition. In our
auditions each student is required to have a published copy (not a Xerox) of
the piece, so no student should be able to say he/she doesn't have music to
play.

Assuming your student wasn't so nervous that he missed instruction that was
given about this, if everyone was thrown in the same way, his relative
position may still be what it should have been. You might bring it up
directly with whoever organized the audition in case
he/she isn't yet aware there was a problem. At least the organization may be
more careful next year.

Karl Krelove

> -----Original Message-----
> From: D. Blumberg [mailto:FilmPromotion@-----.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 03, 2004 7:52 AM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: [kl] Problem with the Mozart Concerto
>
>
> I've now taught for over 22 years and this one is the first that I've
> heard of:
> A student of mine last weekend had his All-Catholic Audition which the
> solo piece was the Mozart Concerto Mvt 3 KELL/International edition.
> The audition specifically names the publisher and it is expected that
> all players not only use the edition named but follow it to the letter
> (articulation, etc)
> what is printed. I'm fine with that - no problem. I don't like the
> Kell edition at all, but if that's what the deal is, that's what the
> deal is.
>
> So, my student comes in to the audition with the Kell edition and
> looks at the stand which has the music marked asto what section to
> play. Problem?
> Uh yeah........ The edition that was in front of him WAS NOT THE KELL
> EDITION!!!!! These morons used another edition NOT THE REQUIRED ONE
> and the articulations were very different. So now my student sits
> there with a dilemma - does he play what's in front of him basically
> sight-reading the edition (my guess is that they put the
> Fischer/Bellison in front of him but he doesn't recall at all (but for
> 100% sure it wasn't the Kell and was very different articulation and
> visually asto page layout, etc). Or, does he set what they put in
> front of him aside and play what he knew was the required edition
> marking on his music the section asked for and just play it with the
> comfort of what he practiced.
>
> He played what was in front of him.
>
> These audition committees as told upfront to judge on exactly what is
> printed and no variations are accepted. If the edition is slur 2
> tongue 2 and the player slurs all or tongues all it is considered a
> mistake not an interpretation (as put by the head of District
> Auditions "these is a band director festival not a private teacher
> festival").
>
> So hopefully the goofballs hearing him were also looking at the
> edition that they put in front of the players also (they are seated at
> a table separate from the performer).
>
> What would you have done in that situation? I probably would have sat
> down, looked at the different edition and asked the judges (or the
> guide) why there was a different edition in front of me and did they
> expect us all to sight-read the edition or play what we actually were
> told to practice.
>
> David Blumberg
> http://www.toptempo.com
>
>
>
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