• Home Page
•  »  COMPETITION
•  » The Jury

The Jury

2010 Senior String Division Jurors
	Peter Salaff, violin Director of String Chamber Music, The Cleveland Institute of Music A Founding Member, The Cleveland Quartet
	Phillip Ying, viola Ying Quartet Associate Professor, Eastman School of Music
	Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, piano Piano and Chamber Music Faculty and Director, Professional Piano Trio Training Program, New England Conservatory Chamber Music Faculty, Juilliard School Weilerstein Trio
2010 Senior Wind Division Jurors
	Marie Speziale, trumpet Professor of Trumpet and Chair, Brass Department, The Shepherd School of Music, Rice University Associate Principal Trumpet (ret), Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
	Gail M. Williams, horn Professor of Horn, Northwestern University Chicago Chamber Musicians
	Debra Richtmeyer, saxophone Professor of Saxophone, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign President, North American Saxophone Alliance, Conn-Selmer artist/clinician
2010 Junior Division Jurors
	Anthea Kreston, violin Violin and Viola Faculty, Hartt School of Music Amelia Piano Trio
	Kurt Baldwin, cello Associate Professor of Cello, University of Missouri, St. Louis Arianna String Quartet
	Zeyda Ruga Suzuki, piano Suzuki & Friends Pro Musica Washington
	Kathleen McLean, bassoon Associate Professor of Music, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University Toronto Symphony Orchestra Toronto Woodwind Quintet

Review an archive of past Fischoff Competition jurors (through 2009).

The Fischoff takes great pride in inviting the nation's finest musicians and music educators to serve as Competition jurors.  Each Competition Division – string, wind, and junior – is adjudicated by the finest professional specialists in each field.  Jurors come together to form a larger panel for the Final round.

Selecting the “best” ensemble from all of the competitors can be a Herculean task.  The jurors do have some formulas on which they can rely.  However, their decisions are guided primarily by their own musical integrity and experience as performers and instructors.  They listen for interpretation – tempi and dynamics; ensemble performance – balance within the ensemble, blend, and unity of the members; technical accuracy – rhythm and intonation; and overall performance – poise, artistic impression, and expression.

Jurors individually rank the ensembles in each division. These rankings are combined, then averaged for each ensemble to arrive at a group’s composite ranking.  Rankings are a good method for determining the prize winners, but the real value for these young musicians comes from the written comments of the jurors.  The juror evaluations are distributed to all performing ensembles at the completion of the Competition.  From the written comments, the musicians gain valuable and constructive feedback, which is intended to stimulate their growth as artists and ensembles.

Identifying conflict of interest issues is very important to the integrity of the Competition.  During all Competition rounds, ensembles perform anonymously, identified to the jury only by number.  Conflicts of interest between jurors and ensembles or any individuals within an ensemble are carefully addressed and handled appropriately.