What's the difference between a Violin and a Viola?....

.... Which I will answer at the end of the post! :)

I must say, even though the music for the first three days of the Eisteddfod has been brilliant, I've been very glad to have a slight respite on Monday with no morning session (and I would think the adjudicator Ian Hytch possibly feels the same) - Time to recharge the batteries, reflect on everything that has been, and look forward to what's to come.

Monday's session started with an array of instrumental solos, kicking off with the U14 and U16 Viola classes. Small classes, as the Viola is often passed over for the Violin and, as Ian stated, is often "The Butt of the Jokes" in the orchestral world. The young performers performed well, and it's clear that, like their Violinist friends these young players are getting excellent tuition - I do take a slight issue with one performers use of a backing track however. It's a new thing, being able to use a backing track in the Eisteddfod, one I understand, but do not wholly agree with for various reasons. For a start there are plenty of excellent accompanists on this island, so finding one isn't really a chore (and if you don't know any, ask around or make a note of who you've seen this year). My other issue is the restrictions it places on your performing freedom. You can't interpret the music the way you really want to (even the best musician will struggle to do it exactly as they want with a pre-recorded track), and volume is inevitably always an issue. However, as much as I dislike the medium, I've come up with a few tips to help anyone who really feels they want to use a backing track.

1) Check the rules. Backing tracks are actually only allowed for the popular music, jazz and musical theatre vocal classes. If you use it anywhere else you leave yourself open for disqualification.
2) Make sure the instrumentation doesn't over-power your voice. You need to a) find a track that has no additional voices on it, and doesn't feature a guide-melody part - often the melody is added to the piano part (for example) on backing tracks to 'help' the singer. In truth, this only hinders your freedom as a performer.
3) Know your track, the volume(s) it has and inform the technician. Quite a lot of the time a track might start very quiet, so they'll turn it up so you can hear it, and then suddenly WHAM! In comes the band full pelt and you're drowned out. A simple note with your CD/ipod stating that 'it starts quietly and gets much louder 30 seconds in' will give the sound guy a fighting chance of adjusting the volume for you. Or better yet, find someone who is a bit technically minded who can edit your tracks volumes for you (or do it yourself if you have the know-how)
4) Always have a spare. Fran Bourget and her team are fantastically organised, but accidents can happen, and on the off chance that it's got lost in the post, or been misplaced, or perhaps your CD is scratched and just won't play, make sure you have a backup or two. Burn another CD and bring it with you, and/or make sure it's on your ipod etc.

The rest of the afternoon featured some lovely brass playing from the U16 and U18 classes, as well as some more excellent piano playing from Jack Colley, who, after his distinction worthy performance of 'La Cathedrale Engloutie' was  invited onto the stage during the interval to be shown a pedaling technique that will help improve his performance even further. This has highlighted something that I'm really enjoying from the adjudicator Ian. He really wants to offer his time and help people improve. I've lost count the number of times I've heard him say 'come and see me after' - I don't know when this magical after is, because he really does have a very full schedule, but I hope some people have taken him up on that offer as he is a very knowledgeable man. The Vocal Jazz U18 class was a wonderful class featuring some great young singers, and from the mutterings and comments I heard after the session, class winner Elliot Hearne made an incredible impression with his rendition of Ray Charles' 'Hallelujah, and I love her so'. Elliot's ease at expressing himself in this genre is incredibly clear, and his confidence, stage presence and ability to scat (bearing in mind he's only 12 and he scats like he's been doing it for years) mark him as one-to watch in this style.
- The afternoon finished with the Junior Choirs Folk Song Class, featuring the Guernsey Music Centre Primary Choir. With 73 young singers on-stage and a flute choir to boot, it was quite easily the largest number of performers we will see on stage this year. It's really great to see so many young performers in one place enjoying themselves and learning through music.

Now, the evening session....
- It certainly started differently to anything else audiences might expect. As they walked into the auditorium they were treated to music playing through the sound system, which was later revealed to them as new compositions of local composers that would feature in the next class. Ian Hytch is himself a composer, and as I was in the O18 class I must say I've been looking forward to what he might have to say about my work. But I what I didn't anticipate was him inviting Elizabeth Beacom (from the U18 classes) and myself up onto stage to sit with him as he adjudicated us! It's a very surreal experience, being on that stage and not performing, you do feel very exposed. But, it was a very useful and worthwhile experience, and the highlight of this class for me was Ian asking if he could have a copy of my piece 'Can it be True?' to perform with his choir. It's not every day an adjudicator flat out asks you for your work, and as a composer, getting your work performed can be a chore (people do tend to want to perform stuff they know!), so I am delighted.
- I want to highlight Elizabeth's composition 'Bletchly Park', which won the John Longmire Trophy. Written for percussion ensemble, I got a real sense for the subject matter that she was writing about from the midi-recording, and I really hope she manages to get a local ensemble to perform this. Elizabeth seems to have found her niche in writing in the minimalism genre of composition, and it's great to see a composer blossom when they find their voice.

The evening continued with an excellent collection of choral music from the island's young choirs, a particular highlight being the Guernsey Music Centre Youth Choir's 'I'm a Train', before we headed into the territory of Lieder. Now, Lieder is a style of music that is, in all honesty, not everyone's cup of tea. My dad for one makes no qualms in making his lack of enthusiasm for the genre known. But it is one of technical difficulty, not only for the demand of the singer knowing German, but for the teamwork required of the pianist and singer. As Ian stated when adjudicating, it really is a team effort, and without that it simply doesn't work. Niall McCathie took the opportunity to introduce his piece and explain the song for the audience with delightful humour, which I think was a lovely touch to ease the audience into the class. I want to highlight Jane Martine from this class. I've heard Jane sing over many years, and I think tonight I heard her sing the best I've ever heard her. It's great to watch and hear someone develop, and this song really suited her. Well done Jane.
- We were then treated to a great mother-son duo of Jack and Laura Colley performing a piano duet to great success and style, before continuing with the Piano Sonata class. A demanding class that requires a pianist to explore two movements from one sonata, we were treated to two very different performances. John Morris' technical abilities were very apparent in his nimble-fingered Haydn Sonata, while Marilyn Pugh's subtle sense of style and elegance shone through in a Mozart Sonata. Ian praised both pianists, but on this occasion style won out over technique. Well done Mum!

(Niall McCathie and Helen Grand rehearsing for the Lieder Class)

The evening concluded with the Operatic Solo class: one Ian said he had been very much looking forward to. Like Lieder it is, again, a style that not everyone can really get on board with. With the likes of Katherine Jenkins and Britain's Got Talent Winner Paul Potts it's become more well-known and listened to than before, but a lot of fans of these singers will still tell you they don't like opera or don't even know what it really is. It was great to see this class well represented, and I think everyone sang well and conveyed the essence of the genre. One thing I would like to see more of in the Opera Class is for performers to treat it more like the Songs from the Shows classes are treated. I'm not saying come out in full costume and a set with choreography... but then again, why not?! It is, after all, the original form of 'musical-theatre'. The Adjudicator himself stated how the singers could move more to really get the essence of the piece and make it more like a snippet of a full opera, and I wholly agree. I think a move like that might make the Opera Class seem less stuffy and 'high-brow' and open it up to people who think they won't enjoy it. It's something for singers to consider at least.

All in all, Monday's sessions have been very interesting, insightful and, as always, highly entertaining. Well done everyone involved so far, it's turning out to be a great festival.
I'll leave with the answer to the post title, which, in response to the Viola's always being the butt of the joke, I thought they could use a pro-viola joke:

"What is the difference between a Violin and a Viola?....
..... There isn't actually any physical difference....
..... It's just that the Violin looks smaller next to the Violinist's head!"