Just curious to hear what others think of this topic...
As a professional tuba player I have been influenced by many great players over the years. I've taken individual private lessons with a number of phenomenal players and all of them have had an impact on me in one way or another. The most important people that have had a significant impact on me are those that I studied with privately on an ongoing basis. All of these people have impacted me in different, yet significant ways.
When I see the results of competitions I have wondered why ALL previous private instructors are not listed. I'm not talking about listing every person that a player has ever had a lesson with, but the people that they have studied with on an ongoing basis. For me, I am very proud to say that I studied regularly with Sam Pilafian, John Manning, Stephen McEuen, David Unland and Donald Stanley. (These names are listed beginning with my most recent teacher in graduate school and ends with my first private teacher...although that seems so long ago now!)
ALL of these people have had an enormous impact on how I play and what I do today. Of this list, Donald Stanley is the person that I worked with the longest, and not to slight the others, was the person that kicked my a** most when I needed it and never gave up on me. He was my first actual tuba teacher when I began my undergraduate degree. It doesn't seem fair that I would only mention my most recent teacher (Sam Pilafian) when my undergrad teacher (Donald Stanley) invested the most blood, sweat and tears (my blood and tears!)
I have seen on occasion more than one teacher listed, but it depends what competition it is. Maybe the application for some competitions ask only for the current private instructor? Maybe current teachers need to discuss this with their students to make sure they understand that previous teachers up to that point have been an integral part of the development process? Not sure. Most of the time the results are posted online. Doesn't cost anything to list all teachers - screen real estate is free. Maybe the competitors won't read the results if more information is included? I highly doubt that.
Just thought I'd bring this up and see what others think. ...and no, I didn't just have my name omitted from a list! Saw colleagues of mine who have.
I appreciate your insight.
Most sincerely,
Mike Milnarik
