Thanks Al!

Event: Heritage Hills Invitational
When: September 6, 2003

My name is Al Lilly, and I am the music caption head for the Central States Judges Association. I wanted to show the readership of Simply Instrumental what a day in the life of a judge is like, and to tell you what goes on the day of a contest for most judges.

The morning of September 6th is beautiful, sunny and warm. I tried to sleep a little later than normal, because I knew we had a big show to judge that night at Heritage Hills High School. The report time for the show was 4:00 PM with a 5:00 PM start, so I knew I had to leave home by noon to insure I would make the trip safely.

Another judge on the panel agreed to meet me in Martinsville, IN and ride down with me to the show. So, we rendezvoused at noon, and drove south toward the southern part of Indiana for the show. Passing through the towns, we talked about general things, friends we knew in common, and discussed the places along the way and experiences we had in those places.

We arrive at the school at 3:00 PM, having made great time and being there more than an hour before the report time. Being so early is generally not a good thing, but the Heritage Hills folks were ready for us in the hospitality room. Great food and friendly folks are just two of the things that make judging in Indiana so rewarding! We grab a quick sandwich, change into our CSJA attire and get our gear ready for the evening. As I am judging GE at the show, I review the contents of the ISSMA GE sheet. I have judged with it many times, but since I had not really used it much in the summer, I review the Criterion reference to make sure I am still familiar with the content of the boxes and the subcaptions.

I then create a tote sheet to keep track of scores during the evening, put fresh batteries in my tape players and my microphone, and get a bottle of water to have in case dry mouth hits during the show. As Central States judges, we double tape ourselves for self-review and analysis often during the season. As chief judge on the panel, it is also my task to ask all CSJA judges on the panel to double tape one band during the contest. I then later listen to their commentary and offer feedback on that taped commentary to the other judges. The chief judge passes around a hand held recorder at random, and asks the panel to double tape at points during the evening.

So, we depart the hospitality room and walk up to the press box. Once all the judges arrive in the box, we set out our judging materials and each judge stakes a claim to areas either on top of the box or in front of a window in the press box. Music judges are generally closer to the field, and visual judges prefer to be high up on top of the box to get a better view of the show. With additional guest judges hired by the host, the total number of judges on the Heritage Hills show was nine, which meant that space was at a premium. Six are required to judge the ISSMA sheets, and Heritage Hills added judges for drum major, percussion and color guard.

When I judge, I have several reference sheets in front of me throughout a performance. First, the score sheet of the band is at hand, so I can write in areas of concern during the show. Second, I keep a side sheet of notes on each segment of the band program to discuss the show in critique with the director. Third, the back side of the ISSMA sheet is always present on my desk, to constantly refer to the criterion reference and know where the performance of each band fits within that established criterion reference. I also keep a tote sheet and number sheet to know where I have placed each band in relation to all other bands in each subcaption, and as a whole. Finally, I keep a couple of extra pencils, a solar calculator (to total scores) and a clipboard to hold sheets and addition materials at hand, so that all my materials are easily accessible. This process keeps the desktop organized, and keeps me in a mode to judge without constantly searching for materials.

Back to the show! The first class wraps up quickly, and awards for the class go off without a hitch. Five fine bands perform excellent shows for such an early point in the season. I always hope to see bands later in the season to see how their shows have progressed, and several groups tonight look to be well into preparation for their season.

When the AA class starts, I circulate the tape recorder for the double tape to start getting an idea of the kind of commentary bands are receiving. Numbers had generally looked fine through A class in terms of consistency and in terms of box location and assessment, so I wanted to see what kind of commentary is going on tapes. At the end of the class, the judges break for a short restroom trip while awards are given. I did not leave the box, so when awards are announced, I immediately know there was some error in tabulation or scoring. I go to the tabulator and find that the tabulation is correct, but the person in charge of the show announcement has made an error in the announcing of the awards for AA class. As chief judge, it always worries you when you find that the awards being announced make members of the panel go, "What? I didn't have them up, did you?" Luckily, the host quickly corrects the error with the competing bands. I am glad to find that it was not one of the judges who had made the error, but feel bad knowing that kids will be disappointed to learn that they did not win a caption award.

The AAA bands are the next to perform, after a short food break. When they finish, the schedule shows that the show is right on time, which is a good thing! With 16 bands, you never want to get too far behind. It throws off all the bands to run far behind schedule, and makes the contest seem and feel longer for judges and band members.

Once Jasper has marched a fine program, we finish our tabulation and scoring for all competing bands. As is tradition, the host band performs in exhibition as the final tally of scoring is completed. The panel makes our last tape of the night for the host band, and then collects our stuff and walks to the school for critique, which is held in the cafeteria area of the high school. We grab a copy of a show recap to profile out all of the captions, and see where we agreed and where we disagreed. If there is a split within a caption, the two judges discuss what each has heard or saw and talk about the show, to see why the split occurred. Sometimes, the split in scoring is really a spread that stays consistent throughout a show, due to the tolerances of the individual judges. Other times, it can be a situation where a judge on one side of the field gets a particular reading on a group, while the other gets an opposite or different read. [As an aside, I remember one contest where I was on side 2 at the 40-yard line judging music performance, and a band had constructed a show where the majority of the band was on side 1 for the whole show. Two rather zealous mellophone players all but overpowered the band on my side of the field. When we got to critique, the judge on side 1 mentioned the mellophones once or twice, but I had numerous times of mentioning the out of balance performance. It turned out that the band was placement off center and the mellophones were stuck out on the flank on side two so often that I heard nothing but them. The design had been the problem, and in music performance, I commented on the error and made note of it in scoring the band. The band found that similar things had happened on two prior shows, and so revised their visual and musical construction to alleviate the error. They were a state finalist that year!]

The interesting thing about most critiques is who chooses to show up at them, and what they have done to prepare for the critique. Unlike most will lead you to believe, the critique is not a place where judges and directors hold yelling matches and argue incessantly over scores and placings. Many times, the directors have listened to their tapes and ask for a specific clarification or additional information about a comment the judge has made on tape. Sometimes, there are issues that require greater discussion, and sometimes there are band staffs who come to critique without the director. The non-certified staffs are generally not allowed into critique without the head director, unless a representative of that school is present with them (assistant director, etc.). It is the belief that directors are responsible for all members of their staff in critique, and many of the most serious misunderstandings between staff and judges have come when band staffs comes to critiques to "set the judges straight" without the knowledge or guidance of the director.

A critique timer allows each band five minutes at each station, which are usually divided music/visual, but sometimes divide music/visual/effect, depending upon the contest. Caption judges, if CSJA members, are give a separate table and that table is made part of the rotation. Caption judges not a part of the CSJA are also made a part of the rotation, but are not always required to attend critique, depending of course upon their own arrangement with the contest host. CSJA members are required to attend and participate in critique.

As chief judge, I present the invoice and collect the payment for the judges who have judged the show. I then usually return home, although will sometimes stay the night and drive home the next morning if the drive is long. Often times, contests are far enough away that they are a bit of a drive, but close enough that you can sleep in your own bed that night, which for most of us is a good thing.

For the Heritage Hills show, I arrive home about 1:15 AM Sunday morning. I sleep a little late the next day and make the late service at church, then spend the rest of the day resting up and preparing for the week. Some judges live far enough away that they fly in the day of the show, and fly home after the contest. This means they are often away from home for more than two days to judge a single marching band event.

Unlike statements that I commonly hear and read, judges have no favorites. We have no hidden agenda and no expectations for bands. I work hard to maintain my knowledge of what is current, to add to my knowledge of new musical compositions for all styles and genres of music. I often attend many different kinds of productions to get a better grasp of this contemporary literature in live performances. Hearing a "perfected" recording is one thing, but to see the performer live is another matter, and more closely relates to adjudication of the live performance. Judges are not all band directors or musicians, although many are. Some are designers and performers, or work in visual design or costuming. Regardless, they spend countless hours honing and refining their knowledge and their adjudication skills. Moreover, they are there to serve the students and the directors by assisting in the education and growth of musical arts and musical and visual activities. They strive to the best of their ability to remain at the cutting edge of contemporary performance.