On Music Competitions

"People who make music together cannot be enemies... At least while the music lasts"

So are the words of Paul Hindemith.

Sounds collect in the middle of space and disperse into the consciousness of individuals. Making music is an act of giving because we express sound onto silence. It is an act of patience because we work with others to create the right combination of sounds. Finally, it is an act of unity because our collective consciousness must respond to the demands of the sound itself.

A competition requires a winner. Winning is ensuring that others lose.

I believe the goal is this: understand the music so well that you can be free from the score. In being free, we can more fully open our ears, heart, and mind. We can absorb the totality of sound. It is only in pursuing this that we can become the music. Once we become the music, we can express the true essence of who we are. This is freedom.

Freedom is not for anyone to judge.