Competition-2

This is what we are proposing!:

Our intention is to create a video library of the Classical Music pieces which young musicians play as they are *beginning* to learn to play their respective instruments, and as they move into intermediate and, eventually, advanced repertoire. Our goals are:

(1) to encourage excellence

(2) to provide an opportunity for young musicians to observe *other* youngsters who are playing at a high level, and to encounter a wide range of classical pieces which others are playing

How can a child know "how they are doing" when they've only played an instrument for a little while? After they've been taking lessons for a period of time, and worked on a number of pieces, how can they measure their progress? How can their *parents* tell how they're doing? The child's teacher will offer commentary and evaluation, of course. But, at least in our experience, it helps a *lot* to be able to observe *other* young musicians who are playing the same instrument, and playing it well! Sometimes (but too infrequently, as we see it), a young musician will be part of, say, a piano studio, at which one or more teachers bring their students together, from time to time, to listen to each other play. And sometimes there is a recital, or a competition, at which youngsters can observe others who are playing well.

By the time young musicians have become more advanced, they can obtain recordings, usually by one of "the masters," of the pieces they are beginnning to play. Often, *several* of "the masters" have recorded a piece, offering a variety of role models for playing the piece extremely well. By listening to recordings such as these, a musician receives *tremendous* guidance ... and inspiration!

However, with very few exceptions, "the masters" do not, of course, make recordings of the pieces which children learn to play as they are early in the process of developing their musical skills. Most of the time, there are few, if any, "role models" which are available to children who are learning instruments, or to their parents. For this reason, it can be *very* difficult for a young musician, or for that youngster's parents, to know "how they are doing." A child at age 5, or 8, or 12, may be playing as well as one of "the masters" did when they were young. In fact, children may be absolutely *brilliant*, for their age. But to their ears, or perhaps their parents' ears, they are *very* unlikely to sound, quite yet, like "the masters" do when they are *older*! We know of so many children who were playing *wonderfully*, but felt they were playing badly, because they were comparing themselves to recordings they had heard, or perhaps performances they had seen in person or on TV, of "the masters." We have also had many adults tell us that they quit playing when they were young because they felt they weren't doing very well, and now they realize they didn't have a clear way of evaluating their playing at the time ... they just knew, e.g., as one friend told us, that he "wasn't playing like Horowitz" ... and these adults often express regret at quitting when they did, and wonder how far they might have gotten if they had continued! One of our major goals is to have children and parents become more and more knowledgeable about what constitutes excellence in a young musician!

And so, our PLAN: we are inviting excellent young musicians to submit videos of pieces which they are playing in a truly excellent way.

As to the competition:

1. We will be using a "ladder" format. Each submission will be evaluated by our judges (superb teachers and performers). If the judge(s) rate the performance "excellent" (by which we mean that the judges feel that *other* young musicians would be benefited by watching it), a *portion* (usually 2-3 minutes) of the video will be placed on our web site, so that it can be seen and heard by young musicians from all over the world. If another young musician submits the same piece to the competition, and the judges feel the playing is superior to the first submission, an excerpt from the second performance will replace the first on the web site, and the first performance will move to the next lower rung on the "ladder." The names of the "top three" players of any given piece will continue to be listed on the site's "ladder standings." [As you are probably aware, video takes up a *great* deal of space on a web site, which is the reason we'll only be using an excerpt on the site. However, over time, we will be creating a series of DVDs which have the *entire* performances by as many young musicians as possible. In this way, there will be a growing library which will be available for viewing by young musicians, who will be able to observe superb playing of a *wide* range of classical pieces!]

2. We will also have an "overall" ladder standing for the "beginner" category, and additional ladder standings for the "intermediate" and "advanced" categories. [On the application form, there will be a place for a young musician's teacher to note whether she or he feels that the piece submitted should be considered "beginner," "intermediate," or "advanced." If there is a question about appropriate category, our judges will resolve the issue.] This competition is ability-grouped, rather than age-grouped. If a quite-young musician is capable, for example, of playing an intermediate piece, they will be entered into the intermediate division with that piece.

3. A young musician must have their parent's (or guardian's) permission in order to participate in the competition, as well as to allow us to use the applicant's video on the web site and/or on DVDs. In addition, the contestant's teacher must "sign off" on any video submitted, by vouching for the excellence of the playing. [An application to participate will appear on this site after the "pilot" phase of this project. It may be printed or copy/pasted into a word processing program, and then printed. During the "pilot" phase of this project, we will handle the application process by e-mail, rather than by formal application.]

4. As to the logistical aspects of the program: we request that videos be submitted, if possible, in mini-DV format (directly from the camera, not compressed in any form ... we will have to compress each video in order to present it on the web, etc., and more than a single compression can negatively impact both the video and audio aspects). We will also, at least during the "pilot" phase of the project, accept "Hi8" format video. There is a nominal fee US$25 which must be submitted with the video (this is to assist us in maintaining the external hard disk space we require in order to store the video, and also the web space required to host the videos which will be placed on the site). If you have questions about other logistical matters, please ask us by e-mail. Upon your request, we will provide the "snail mail" address to which the videos are to be sent.

5. Eventually, we hope to be able to award prizes for various categories of the competition. However, we will *not* be awarding prizes during the "pilot" phase of this project. (As to prizes which may be awarded in the future, they will be announced on this web site.)

We *very* much look forward to hearing from you, including with regard to any ideas you may have about this project, and we look forward to hearing and seeing your playing when you submit videos of your performances!