Tuesday, June 19, 2012

58 and not looking good for 60…


58 years old and not looking in the best of shape. If anything, they are looking quite thin and frail and there isn’t much support to help them on through. At first you may be thinking I’m talking about my dad, but for starters he’s not quite 58 and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a thin or frail appearance.

What I am talking about though is an event 18 years senior than then one held in Coffs Harbour, and that is the eisteddfod of the city of Grafton. For an event that saw talent travelling from the north of Yamba to as far south as Coffs Harbour, the music component of the eisteddfod is now in a sorry state. In the space of two days, the piano, vocal, and instrumental (woodwind, brass, strings and percussion) eisteddfods will be over and done with. Piano will be held in two sessions on the Thursday morning and afternoon, instrumental on the Thursday evening, and then the vocals Friday morning.

For an event that would hold strong competition and rivalries back in the 90s, the Grafton Eisteddfod brought the communities of surrounding towns to one place to celebrate making music. Over the last five years the participation numbers have gradually dwindled down. Out of all of the musical sections of the eisteddfod we will only see one musician take part for an open-age championship. Very few musicians 16 years and over will take part, and the number of people taking part in younger sections are very few and far. The majority of sections will contain either one or two competitors.

So why the massive fall from grace? For a community that is sometimes referred to as being “hockey mad”, the musical side of things has been on the rise over the last few years. Yesterday (18/6), the Clarence Valley Con held an enormous workshop for four of the primary schools in the Clarence region. The primary schools music programs have grown considerably with students continuing on with private or further music studies in high schools. There certainly isn't a wane in musical interest, but to lose a community-based musical opportunity

For the Coffs Harbour Instrumental Eisteddfod, this was a problem being faced in previous years before a dramatic turnaround of events. While there were fantastic musicians that had emerged, there weren’t so many coming through at the time in the junior ranks. Numbers were thin, and there was little community support at the time. With a new organiser for this component of the eisteddfod, they immediately sought after ideas as to how not only to increase numbers but make the event more interesting. By no means was the organiser clueless, but in fact what they did was branch out to the musical community for support, suggestions and establish a basis of communication. When the lines of communication are open, things are bound to happen and not remain stagnant. The first couple of years were slow, but there was a gradual change in events as not only did numbers lift but sections could start being separated (a common problem when strings would be against wind instruments). Strings could break away from the combination of woodwind and brass instruments in different sections, and AMEB grade sections were established for students preparing for examinations (traditionally held a couple of months after the eisteddfod) to name a couple of changes. 2012 would be the first year a championship would separate into strings only, and wind instruments only. For where the Coffs Instrumental Eisteddfod is up to now, you can read my previous entry.

Some people from Grafton visited the Coffs Instrumental Eisteddfod this year and remarked at not only how well it was run, but thoroughly enjoyed the performances from these musicians located on the mid-north coast. One audience member felt guilty having paid only four dollars to be treated to high standard performances by these young musicians. Already there have been expressions of interest from some Grafton students to travel down for the Coffs Eisteddfod next year after hearing about this festival of music. And in its first year, the Lower Clarence Eisteddfod is looking at establishing a place within the Grafton community.

Will there still be a place for the Grafton Eisteddfod? The chips may be down, but can the diamond be produced under this pressure?

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Coffs Instrumental Eisteddfod 2012 Wrap Part 1

It’s been a long time since I last put in a blog entry. A lack of motivation to write, combined with a busy teaching schedule is not the best combination I have found. After the Coffs Harbour Instrumental Eisteddfod I do feel the urge that I should write since this was not only the annual event for student instrumentalists in the region, but it was also a special occasion. The 40th anniversary of the event was to be made something special, and it ended up being an extraordinary gala of music. Quite easily the best eisteddfod I have ever attended, regardless of whether I was a student, audience member, or teacher.

I have decided to write this up in two parts. The first part in regard to the event, and the second in relation to a discussion I had with the adjudicator afterwards.

The 40th Coffs Harbour Eisteddfod was as it should truly be, and that is a music festival. For the first time it didn’t feel like there was a strong competitive spirit in the air, but more like an enjoyment of going up to perform and to be inspired by each other. I feel this has been something partly educated to the students, but a strong part of this was encouraged by the adjudicator for the event, Louise King. From the Thursday morning when the secondary schools performed right through to the Saturday evening with the concluding championships, the whole event was a festival of a wide variety of music spanning different eras, genres, and stylistic playing.

Good consistent playing was rewarded in different sections, regardless of ability or favouritism. Over the last few years I have felt adjudicators for this eisteddfod have been pressured into giving away first places to those who attempt a higher standard work but don’t necessarily play well, let alone perform stylistically correct. This year saw a dramatic change to that standard. To think a saxophone would win a baroque section over instruments from (or closer to) that era, or even 3rd Grade AMEB instrumentalists winning sections due to more consistent playing than 7th to 8th Grade AMEB standard performers. Every section felt like anybody could win, with nothing presumed. From an audience perspective it really made you think about each of the performances and what were the highs and lows of each item presented.

After every section, all performers would be brought forward and a small discussion of the section would be conducted. Louise would share some of her thoughts, perhaps pose some questions to the performers, maybe even discuss some aspects of the era or genre of music depending. Not only was this enlightening for students, but also informative for the teachers present. At times, some of the things addressed by the adjudicator would reaffirm what teachers had previously been saying to their students (surprise, surprise… lol). A lot of the students felt encouraged and comfortable with performing as a result of this technique used by Louise, some even taking on board advice from previous sections and putting it to work.

There were very few criticisms I’d have of this eisteddfod since it ran so efficiently. The major disappointment was the lack of audience for the championships. A lot of families and friends were prepared to be present for their children/students and see them perform in the small-medium sized ensemble sections, but not hang around to see high-standard performances in both the Junior and Open championships. These championships certainly could have been done justice by having a larger audience present, especially with the fired-up performances of Ciesla’s klezmer music, a Brahms Hungarian Dance, a Piazzolla tango, and a movement of a Rimsky-Korsakov concerto to name a few.

There are two ideas that come to mind to solve this problem. The first is to lock the doors once everyone has entered, perhaps giving a warning to “enter at their own risk”. While this idea would not be taken too kindly, I would go for option two of holding the championships prior to the ensemble sections of four or more members. The performers have a larger, more responsive audience and they would feel more inspired and encouraged to step up the playing. It’s almost the equivalent of the Melbourne Cup where the grand event is held in the middle of the afternoon, but not at the end of the racing day.

Ten years ago I had wrapped up my second open championship of the Coffs eisteddfod. There was no acknowledgement or celebration of the eisteddfod being held for the 30th year, and by no means did it feel festive in any way. Not as many people performed that year, and we had quite some talent emerging through the ranks (especially in the junior sections). In ten years, how will we reflect on the 40th edition of the eisteddfod? And what will the 50th celebration be like? My hope is that this event may remain and establish a tradition of being festive and enjoyable, and not of the view that eisteddfods are purely “competition” where only the best are acknowledged, but rather music and the diversity of musical ability at different stages can be appreciated.