Judges' scores

I gave what I have to admit was a rather poorly prepared audition that included a musical screw-up on my part, so I was not altogether surprised that two of my three judges gave me marks that might be summed up in the word "Meh!"

The third judge, however, gave me the lowest possible marks in several respects, which seemed to me unwarranted, and arguably incompatible with his or her writing below the numbers that my second piece (I presented two excerpts) was "much better all around" than my first.

I have not done a BSR audition in several years, and this is the first time that the judges were not identified on the form. In my last audition, one of the judges, who was someone with whom I have worked numerous times, seemed to me to overrate my audition, perhaps out of personal partiality. So I was not prepared for the severity of the ratings this time around.

I suspect that anonymity makes the judges feel more free to say what they really think. It's unpleasant and it can be seriously discouraging for a time, but in the long run they are probably doing you (doing us) a favor by showing how difficult it is to make a really favorable impression on them.

Baritonobasso

"The students are overstimulated. Willie, remove all the colored chalk from the classrooms!"