Posted by Aubrey Foard on December 13, 2000 at 01:04:34:
In Reply to: Is there instrument bias? posted by MG on December 11, 2000 at 23:12:34:
Very interesting topic. I've been through and won a number of concerto competitions, and I've received a lot of comments/outcries from both sides. I've always been told that, as a tuba player in a concerto competition, it's not enough that you be a better tubist than your fellow tubists, but the best musician out of all the musicians there. Tuba players already have a strike against them in almost any situation that pits them against all other instruments. Whether this is from a judge's past experience or personal views, it doesn't matter.
As musicians, we have to be head over heels above everyone else, or we won't stand a chance. As a tuba player in a concerto competition, you not only have to prove that you have great technical prowess, intonation, tone, and interpretation, but that you're the most musical, expressive, and passionate candidate out of all the other musicians there. A great tuba player won't win a competition unless they're also the best musician.
Another interesting point to consider: I often meet many tuba players, who sound like just that: tuba players. Yet, these people more often than not seem to be all technique and no musician. Is this generally true of tuba players? Should we not have the same passion and expression as a solo violinist? Should we not be the best musicians as well as the best tuba players?