Music Scholarship time again and a couple of days of listening to candidates which is very interesting, but very tiring as we obviously have to take lots of notes, so that when it comes to decision time we don't start mixing folks up.
One interesting thing is that they often choose pieces from exam syllabuses and seem to alight on the same pieces. I heard one Grade VI Piano piece once last night at a school concert and twice today along with a Grade VII Violin piece last night and today. It provides a comedy page turn for the accompanist, big crescendo...whip page over and then play huge spread D major chord. Who type set that we wonder? Most unusual as publishers must have people who check for this sort of thing.
In between we still do all the usual rehearsals which has meant a very musical few days.
2 comments:
I was like that twenty years ago when I was at the RNCM Junior School. Every horn player played Poulenc's 'Elergy for Denis Brain', every pianist played Gershwin's 'Three Preludes' and every clarinetist was trying to play the Stanford or Finzi concerto! There is some cultural curiosity going on there, but I don't know what ;-)
Ah the Poulenc 'Elegie' - did it for Grade VIII. We don't have a huge choice, let's face it.
I was a Junior at the RCM - happy days. What was/is your first instrument?
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