Photo Credit: Leonard Yakir

I had never competed before even though I have practiced the violin seriously from the time I was four at the Special Music School in New York, and I had performed at lots of venues. I had traveled to Europe to study and attended summer music festivals since age 8. Competitions just were not something I was drawn to or felt ready for. But the Music Teachers National Association series, held in March at its National Student Competitions in Austin, Texas, was a great place to start.

A similar event at a teacher convention near home might be right for you, too. They feel very relaxed, but professional. For this competition, I competed by state first, then divisions of the country (like Eastern, Western, Southern, etc.), then nationals. Only the first-place winners proceed from one round to the next. The state and regional rounds of the Junior Division (ages 11–14) are held before the convention gets started, so things seem quiet and calm. You can stay focused and more relaxed. Every player is anonymous. The feedback from the adjudicators was spot on and, in my case, instructive and encouraging.

I didn’t listen to other players; I just concentrated on my music and on keeping my technique sharp. It paid off and I took first place in the 2006 MTNA Eastern Division. I had to give a winner’s recital the same day, which was such fun with the charge of winning behind me.

The local paper ran an article and the mayor invited me to city hall, where I was presented with a certificate of achievement. I was then invited to perform in several concerts.

Students have to play the same program throughout all stages of the MTNA competitions. I worked the same program off and on for six months.

My teacher had me work on different concertos right after the rounds of the competition and then we came back to the original program a few weeks before each of the three rounds.

It was great to have a goal and to master the pieces in this way. All my practice hours became so focused: get this bow stroke, figure out the dynamics of that phrase, release tension, clean up that old problem that gets in the way of speed.

I could go on and on.

The last round presented some strange problems for me. I was starting to have a real growth spurt and I needed to move to a heavier, full-size bow and perhaps a full-size violin. Finding a bow that gave me the sound of my beloved 3/4-size bow that I could control was really tough; I almost shed a few tears traveling around to try new bows. My left hand started to lose its shape a little with so much focus on my bow arm.

As I grew, my intonation began to suffer, but I just knew I could not deal with too much change a few weeks before the national rounds.

We settled for a bow that was a little too inflexible for my Bach Partita, but was great for my Kreisler and Bruch, so I struggled to play lighter.