Some of the amazing feedback from participants in the world’s first screened conducting competition:
“I think the removal of bias is crucial and it was wonderful to see this achieved!”
“This competition gave me the experience of ‘live’ conducting — seeing what happens when you only use your hands — rather than the tamer conducting achieved in a rehearsal. It was quite eye opening.”
“I think that conducting competitions should pay much more attention to the sound that conductors provoke and less to the superficial impressions.”
“Interesting to see this situation of ‘not allowed to speak’ versus ‘allowed to speak’; from the moment the conductors were allowed to speak, they only mentioned issues they can easily show in their conducting.”
“I do think that ALL rounds could be done blind. I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t sustain the philosophy of the competition through the entire process. Thank you, again, for the opportunity, and experience!”
“It was a great experience, and the idea that the jury was behind a curtain was brilliant!”
“During the weeks leading up to the competition, when I would tell people what I was working toward, it was exciting to say I was going to a competition that would be judged by sound—in small part for the novelty of the idea, but mostly as an affirmation that conducting makes a difference. That seems silly as I write it, but I think it’s not trivial—conducting can be mere visual display, orchestras can play without a conductor, and so audiences and orchestras alike have reason to be unsure what the conductor is really doing up there.”
“I loved the idea of a conducting competition that’s ‘blind,’ that depends on the sound of the orchestra as the direct measure of the conductor’s effect. It seems especially important now, in the age of YouTube.”
“Participating in this competition shed a light on strengths and weaknesses in my own conducting and has given me plenty to think about in terms of next steps.”
“Rather than ‘change’ the way I think about conducting, it helped to confirm notions and philosophies regarding the way conductors and orchestras interact with each other, and how effective a conductor’s physical vocabulary needs to be.”
“The competition process was as humane and warm as a competition could possibly be. I was very aware of that and grateful for it.”
“There have been plenty of times when I suspected that favouritism affected an outcome for me, either against me or in my favour. I think Audite may be the only way to avoid or eliminate the problem, and for that alone it’s an experiment worth trying and worth continuing.”
“I deeply appreciate your making this valuable opportunity”
“Thanks to the prizes from this competition, I’ve got the chance to be on the list of the candidates who will appear in the next season concert of the top major professional orchestras in Tokyo, Japan. Before the competition, I had completely NO possibility to appear in the concert of them.”
