Who would be an adjudicator?

by Dr. Roy Newsome

I get quite angry at all the griping by certain members of the brass band public - and press - about adjudicators, who are not in a position to bite back. They make their decisions, honestly and impartially, announce them to the world and have to live with them. They can only sit back and ‘take it on the chin’. It’s often said that adjudicating is not an exact science. Arthur Butterworth explains it like this in an article which appears on the website of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators (ABBA): ‘While it may be possible for a listener – an adjudicator – to state a personal preference for one performance more than another, it is not possible to measure such preference in hard and fast arithmetical terms and say without contradiction that such and such a performance is the “best” in the same way that a referee or umpire can decide the outcome of a game.’

People don’t realise how much work adjudicators do in preparation for a contest. For starters, there are years of experience as a player and conductor, with serious study of music as a subject – in some cases as a career. However, there is also specific study for each contest adjudicated, for example, learning the score, researching information about the composer and his other works, and assessing the expected standard of playing in the competition about to be judged. Adjudicators are fully aware of the time spent by conductors and members of bands in preparation for a contest, and also of the demoralising effect of a bad result. They have been there themselves – many times. Score study for the adjudicator means realising the possibilities within the score and attempting to understand what the composer has indicated, not only in terms of accuracy of notes, but of stylistic possibilities, ranges of tempi and so on. However, the adjudicator needs to be open-mined about interpretation, and to be able to recognise whether or not the performance is faithful, within realistic limitations, to the score. Doing the preparation means that they can listen in an informed manner, recognising instantly any faults in notation and rhythmic accuracy, taking note of tuning discrepancies, poor balance, the sound of the band and, of course, those clipped notes that bedevil most performances. The adjudicator will also be noting style, the effect of nerves and of all the other things that collectively determine the quality of a performance.