None of you here know me personally, so I feel like I can share this. I was asked to judge a solo and ensemble event a while back, which I did so without hesitation. I heard some very amazing young players. The grading system that we used was very straightforward, and I tried my very best to take into consideration the ages of he students as well as how long they have played, and most importantly, to be fair. Well to make a long story short, I had to give some "Novice" marks to a few students (3 I think) all from the same school. They were young players and I found it hard to give them the score, but it was the only fair thing to do. They were obviously not prepared for the event, which I blame partly on the band director. I also tried to give constructive advice that each of them could take home. Later on that day, I was in the hallway and encountered one of the band directors who was in conversation with someone else. She was very rude, talking about me when she had to know I was there, and made me feel like a heel. Instead of confronting her, I let it go. Apparently, I was not the only judge to give her students low marks, but for some reason, I feel as if I was singled out. Anyway, that is all. I just needed to let it out! This has been bugging me for a while, and I needed to share with someone outside of my little music world here.
