The Violin Competition Wiki

Why Not Compete?
Some teachers feel that focusing on competitions distracts students from more important work, such as building repertoire and technique. If you do win a competition, you may need to perform your piece in public within the next few months or year, which can disrupt your teacher's syllabus. Some teachers point out that winning competitions does not guaranteed success as an instrumentalist, and that many well-known top players never won big competitions during their youth, whereas many top competitions winners never had a career. Another problem with competitions is that they are time-consuming and expensive.

Where to Compete?
There are several different categories of instrumental competition. Everyone knows about the high profile, international contests such as the Queen Elizabeth, Tchaikovsky, Menuhin, Hannover and Indianapolis. But there are also thousands of smaller competitions, both local and regional, that young soloists can aspire to.

Orchestra Solo Competitions
Many professional and community orchestras sponsor young artist solo competitions. Some offer prize money, and all of them offer the chance to perform as an orchestral soloist. The audition requirements vary; there are often age categories, or stipulations on the length or type of piece to be performed in the audition. Most concerto competitions require accompanists. Some supply the accompanist, and some are conducted without one, but it's most common for applicants to be required bring their own pianists.

Association-Sponsored Competitions
In the U.S., professional music teacher associations such as ASTA and MTNA sponsor instrumental competitions that offer both prize money and the opportunity to advance to regional, state, and even national levels. Often the competition categories are subdivided according to the instrument, so that, for example, violinists are not competing against pianists, as they are in orchestral competitions. These auditions are often open to the public, like recitals. Attending one of these competitions means that young performers can meet and socialize with other young performers. But in order for a student to enter one of these competitions, their teacher has to belong to the association.

Private Competitions
Some individual philanthropists and foundations endow their own competitions. Examples of these include the Jack Kent Cooke and Davidson Foundation, and the Sphinx Organization. Like the association-sponsored competitions above, the winners of these competitions are usually offered a performance opportunity, as well as prize money. Applications for these competitions may be more complex than orchestra solo auditions. Sometimes you have to fill out many pages of essays, procure recommendation letters, and send in an audio or video recording of your playing in advance in order to be admitted to audition. Some of these competitions are restricted to applications of particular ethnic groups or geographical location.

Finding the Competitions
Competitions can be hard to find, especially if they are being sponsored by small organizations. There is no database on the internet for minor competitions. The first resource to go to is your teacher, who may have other students doing competitions, and who may be receiving mailings from sponsoring organizations. Also check bulletin boards at your school, music school, and youth orchestra. Try searching through the websites of your local community orchestras, or calling the orchestras if they don't have websites. Word-of-mouth is another way to learn about competitions. Find out what competitions your friends are entering and where they got their applications.

The Economics of Competitions
Competitions are expensive. You'll need to find an accompanist and pay that person's hourly rate for rehearsals, plus their competition fee. You may also have to pay gas and parking money. If you know any of the other competitors, you may be able to reduce everyone's costs by using the same accompanist. If you do so, you should probably ask the competition organizers to schedule your auditions close together. Most competitions charge entry fees, and some require pre-screening tapes, which can be expensive to produce. Also factor in that your some of your presumably-expensive violin lesson may be devoted towards preparing for the competition. Since most competitions have dozens of entrants but only a few prizes, your changes of winning are slim, even if you play very well. You could spend hundreds of dollars each season on competitions, win a few, and still not break even.

What to Play
Requirements vary. For big-name competitions, you usually have to play a selection of pieces, such as concertos from various time periods, a piece of unaccompanied Bach, and showpieces. Some competitions require everyone to play the same pieces. Others give more latitude, but may impose a time limit, so you may need to cut your piece.

Often, due to programming constraints, youth competition winners are allowed to perform only one movement of a concerto, although it is often possible to play a complete, one-movement work such as Zigeunerweisen and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. Sometimes winners are required to play the piece that they auditioned with. If this is the case for your competition, think hard about what you plan to play. Will you be able to stand it, a year from now?

Talk to your teacher before selecting a piece to perform. Sometimes he or she might have insight into the particular conductor's preferences, and certainly your teacher will have insight into what you do best in auditions. Choose a piece that plays to your own strengths. If you have super fast fingers, play a flashy piece. If you have unusual depth, play a moving, Romantic piece. Or, best of all, play a piece that shows different
strengths. For example, the first movement of Vieuxtemps IV is not a great piece of music, but it is a great competition solo. Don't play a Mozart concerto unless you can pull it off with incredible style.

How to Prepare
You'll feel most comfortable if you are over-prepared. It helps to go back to a piece that you've learned before and can re-work for the second or third time. Take it out in public as much as possible before the competition. Play it front of your school. Play it at recitals, in nursing homes, and for helpless bystanders on public streets. If your teacher is willing, play it for the student who comes before and after you. Practice playing it cold. Practice playing it at the time of your audition (which might be as early as 8 AM.) Be sure to give your accompanist a copy of your piano part with any cuts you've made, and to have several good run-throughs. You should understand each other thoroughly about issues of tempo and dynamics. Don't always practice your piece at top speed. Work up technical passages with the metronome every day, and don't neglect you scales, arpeggios, and etudes, because they are the building-blocks of your piece. If you practice nothing but the piece, the piece will deteriorate.

This may sound obvious, but many people I've known have gotten lost on their way to competitions, which often happen at remote locations. Be sure that you or your driver has good directions before setting out (don't rely only on Mapquest—take a real map) and bring the cell phone numbers of your accompanist and the competition organizers, if possible. Also—make sure your accompanist has good directions and a map.

Plan your competition outfit in advance. No matter how well you play, the judges may mark you down if your appearance seems disrespectful. I know numerous competitors who were criticized , either verbally or in written comments, for dressing too casually or having hair in their face. On the other hand, don't over-dress. It seems presumptuous to walk into your 10 AM audition in a performance gown. Go for something that would be appropriate to wear to church or synagogue, or to a place of business.

Many competitions require that you provide a clean copy of the audition piece. Xeroxes are not allowed because they violate copyright law. If you have a good music library in your area, you might be able to borrow a copy there; otherwise, make sure to purchase a second copy of your music in advance and mark any cuts. Don't give them your old copy with all of your personal markings and notations, particularly if your notations indicate that your playing was ever less than perfect.

The Big Day
On the day of the competition, wake early and eat a light breakfast. Bring a snack to ward off low blood sugar. I like to arrive at least an hour early to get a feel for the environment and to warm up. Others like to arrive at the last moment and not hang around too much. But be sure to be a little early, as some competitions end up running ahead of schedule.

Don't over-do your warm up. I never play a piece the whole way within a few hours before competition. As my teacher says, "You don't want to leave your best performance in the warm-up room."

Some people swear that the potassium in bananas helps calm their jittery nerves before the audition. One great tip I received was to walk up and down stairs beforehand, because exercise gets your heart going and reduces nerves. I've also found it helps to play a slow movement of Bach before going into the audition room.

No matter how well-prepared you feel, when you walk through the door and see the other competitors and their cases, you're bound to feel a bit nervous. Put your blinders on. And don't listen to their warm-ups. Remember, everyone sounds better through a door. If you listen to them, you will feel intimidated. Just stay focused on what you're there to do.

In the Audition
Some auditions take place behind a curtain, so that the competitors and judges are both anonymous. Obviously, in this case, it is very important not to speak, no matter what happens. If you have an emergency, like a broken string, motion for the volunteer who brought you to the room.

In an open competition where you can see the judges, be sure to smile, make eye contact, and greet them. Don't be put off if they act flat or grumpy. (I, for one, have received effusive, warm comments from very grumpy-acting judges.)

Once you begin playing, you may notice them talking among themselves or rustling papers. Don't stop playing. It's better to have them scream at you than to stop prematurely because they probably won't allow you to start up again. Stay focused on your piece.

If you make an error, keep going. Your pianist will be right there with you, and your error might be completely covered, particularly if the judges are not violinists and don't know your repertoire. If the judges do notice your fumble, they will be impressed to see that you can think on your feet and keep your cool.

You might be stopped before you get to the end of your piece. Don't consider this an insult or a bad sign—the judges may be on a tight schedule, and they can tell your level of playing and musicality without hearing your entire piece.

After you finish playing, the judges may applaud, they may ask you questions, or they may be curt and dismissive. Again, you cannot infer anything, negative or positive, from this behavior.

Waiting for the Phone to Ring
Don’t. After all the build-up to the big audition, it's over in ten minutes with no sense of resolution. In an open competition, at least you get to see the other competitors. But many competitions are closed and there is nothing to do but go home and wait. The best thing to do is keep busy. Go out, go to a movie, get your mind off it.

Competitions often tell you that you will be informed of the results by mail. But what they say on their printed form, and what they actually do can be two different matters. Often, winners get a phone call or email that night. But sometimes it takes several days, or even weeks for the calls or letters to arrive. Sometimes only the winners are informed and everyone else is kept in the dark. It can drive you crazy, calling your friends who were in the same competition to see if anyone has heard anything.

The Problem of Jealousy
Of course we all want the best for our friends. But it really stings when your friend wins the competition and you don't. There is no cure for this feeling, so you have to live through it and get used to it. Sometimes, the roles will be reversed and you will win when they don't. The best thing is to be gracious and try to enjoy their success.

Judges' Comments
Sometimes, contestants are mailed copies or a synopsis of the judges' comments a few weeks after competitions. Actual copies are the most useful because you don't know what the synopsis writer has edited out. Sometimes these include numerical scores in certain categories, such as intonation, musicality, rhythm, tone, and stage presence. You might notices a marked divergence between the scores given by individual judges. If the judges have signed their names, you may be able to tell which one was a pianist, violinist, or conductor—which can be valuable information in itself.

Links
Here's a list of links to competitions to enter or follow. Please add to the list in chronological order and include web links or other contact information when possible.

International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Indianapolis, Indiana. September 2006.

Haverhills Sinfonia Soloist Competition. Suffolk, UK. September 2006.

Hanover International Violin Competition Hanover, Germany. October 2006.

Naumberg Viola Competition. October, 2006. New York, New York.

Uralsk International Violin Competition. Uralsk, Kazakhstan, December 2006.

Lasker Young Soloist Competition. Newton, MA. November 2006.

Baltic International Violin Competition. Gdansk, Poland, September 2006.

Wieniawski Competition. Poznan, Poland. October 2006.

Paganini Violin Competition.. Moscow, Russian. November 2006.

Kendall National Violin Competition. Sydney, Australia. May 2007.

Concurso Internacional de Violín Pablo Sarasate. Navarrería, Spain, May 2007.

Ilba Competition. Ragusa Ilba, Italy. June 2007.

Singapore National Violin and Piano Competition. Singapore. December 2007.

Early Music Network Baroque Violin Competition. Atlanta, Georgia. 2007.

Benjamin Britten International Violin Competition. London 2008.

Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists Cardiff 2008. 11 - 20 April 2008.