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…
Tag: Piano Competitions
Judging a Piano Festival in Thailand
During the past year I’ve been teaching at Royal Holloway, which is part of the University of London. Employed as an external faculty lecturer, I’ve been working with undergraduate and postgraduate students. Every Monday I took the bus to the campus, which isn’t far away from where I live in Windsor, Berkshire. One morning, during…
The London Youth Piano Competition 2022
Competitions have always been a popular fixture in music. Whether you agree with them or not, contests have taken place since the beginning of time, and it’s often the case that the ‘best’ person doesn’t necessarily win; music, being so subjective, is open to many interpretations and, often, beyond technical issues, it’s all a matter…
Montecatini International Piano Competition 2021 | Online Edition: Aisa Ijiri
I am delighted to welcome pianist, artistic director and Steinway Artist Aisa Ijiri to the blog. She has written the following guest post highlighting this year’s Montecatini International Piano Competition, of which she is the founder and artistic director. The Montecatini Competition is open to pianists of all nationalities and age groups. There are a…
The 70th Hong Kong Schools Music Festival
Returning from my latest trip to Asia this week, I reflected on another thoroughly enjoyable sojourn to a favourite part of the world. I visited Asia twice last year and have a further trip planned later in 2018. There are so many wonderful facets to my visit that it’s difficult to put into words. Three…
The Chicago Amateur Piano Competition
Love them or loathe them, piano competitions are more popular than ever before and there are no shortage of entrants, irrespective of standard or ability. And subjective as they are, piano contests can fire the imagination, motivating players to reach new heights in their quest for keyboard perfection. For a professional pianist a competition has…
So You Want To Organize A Piano Competition? Part II
Amateur pianist and competition planner, Sally Olson, lives in Chicago (US) and is on the committee of the Chicago Amateur Piano Competition 2016. This competition, which began in 2010, is steadily growing in popularity with entrants hailing from many countries. Few realise the tremendous amount of planning, fund-raising and marketing behind such an enterprise. Last…
From the Adjudicator’s Chair
This week, several readers have contacted me asking whether I could write a blog post on the subject of what adjudicators or jury members are looking for in a competition performance. It’s wonderful that so many of you are preparing for amateur piano competitions all around the world. The main concern or question seemed to…