I’m fortunate to enjoy most aspects of my work. I hesitate to say ‘job’ as being a musician is so much more than that. It’s most definitely a vocation. As expected with any type of work, some parts of my ‘job’ are more interesting than others. Adjudicating, or judging piano competitions, is a favourite element alongside writing. I’ve adjudicated at various competitions and festivals of all levels and abilities around the world for the past fifteen years; it’s compelling and always varied.

There are positive and negative facets to piano competitions. Many dislike the competitive concept, believing that playing the piano is subjective and that one performer can’t be compared to another. This may be true, but try telling that to my students! On the whole, they love taking part in such events, and I make sure they know that the outcome is somewhat irrelevant; participating is most definitely the crucial factor, because if there’s one component for which competitions are highly beneficial, it’s student development. Learning a specific repertoire and meticulously preparing it within a certain time frame is a game-changer as far as progress is concerned. Whether it’s an 8- or 10-minute programme for younger players or a 20- to 30-minute programme for the more advanced player, without exception, all my students improve.

‘But couldn’t they improve by working towards an exam or a concert?’ It’s a valid point, but after repeatedly entering students for concerts, exams, and competitions, to me, it feels as though participation in a competition takes top spot. Contests appeal to certain types of students because they are perhaps perceived as a more exciting, ‘dangerous’ option. Older students appear to love the ‘edginess’ that only a competition provides. One of my students reached the second round of the BBC Young Musician in 2022. She went to Cardiff to play alongside 25 other competitors at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and she performed a 12-minute programme in the college’s large concert hall in front of a panel of three judges. ‘How did it feel’, I asked. ‘Terrifying’ she said, ‘but I loved every minute of it—it was exciting, I was really ‘on edge’ and it was exhilarating’

But I’m also on the ‘other side’ of the coin. Being a jury member is a privilege and a responsibility. I often work with a panel of judges, which generally bodes well for a more considered outcome. Sometimes I agree with all selected prize winners, while at other times, I don’t (although this is rare).

How does a larger jury panel make their decision? At competitions that I have been involved with, every member awards a mark for each performance, and the marks are added together: the competitor with the highest mark wins. But not all competitions work in this way. I’ve judged the G. Henle Verlag Children’s Competition for the last few years. Similar to other online competitions, competitors upload their performances to YouTube, and we watch and listen, awarding marks for each performance, usually out of 3, and those who receive a 3 or 3+ move to the final round. In the final, we meet online, listen to the selected ‘finalists’ again, and discuss possible winners. It’s necessary to hear many competitors several times, especially the front runners, just to make sure we are happy and in agreement with our decision. This final ‘session’ has been known to last 3 or 4 hours; it’s not an easy process when there are 500 or 600 participants.

I was one of five jury members at this year’s Pianist Magazine’s composing competition. After selecting a couple of ‘finalists’ from the scores that we were all sent, we meet in person for a good few hours and play our chosen pieces for each other before deciding the winners. For the first time this year, we provided written feedback to those competitors who requested it. Feedback is another oft-forgotten ‘positive’; in an age where students want to know why they haven’t won a particular competition, adjudicator’s thoughts are welcome and are, hopefully, mostly constructive.

Some competitions have set repertoire; the Henle competition focuses on one composer per year, and age-appropriate repertoire is selected from a specific collection of pieces. Other competitions offer a completely free choice, which my students prefer. This allows us to give that newly learned concert study an ‘outing’ alongside more secure repertoire. Participation in competitions encourages students to constantly expand and develop their repertoire.

Recently, I adjudicated a series of piano classes at the Thailand Youth Performing Arts Festival, held in Bangkok. Thailand joins its neighbouring countries in preparing youngsters very thoroughly for competitions. There was a varied level of playing at this event, but all students played from memory and displayed an assured confidence during their performances.

Those who intend to audition for a place at a music conservatoire need to develop a ‘track record’ of their piano playing (or a biography) as early as possible. When I coach students for this demanding task, which is also a competition of sorts, a prospective student must prove they are worthy of such a place. Competition wins, concert performances, as well as attendance at various courses and master classes, all help to build their profile and bolster their application.

Perhaps I may have persuaded those who think competitions are elitist and a waste of precious time and energy to reconsider. Maybe not, but from my perspective, at least, they are a worthwhile tool in a teacher’s toolbox.