Idol, Part 3: Ima Hogg Competition

Well kids, it's a few hours before the finals of the Houston Symphony Ima Hogg competition. This is the second year we have done it "American-Idol" style, holding the finals in public and letting the audience participate in the voting. Also for the second year, the finalists (four of them) are accompanied by the Houston Symphony during the final round. This was a big hit last year and seems like it will be even bigger this year.

The prizes are not as monetarily big as AI, but are prestigious enough in our small classical world: the first prize winner is given a concert with the Houston Symphony in Jones Hall and a small cash award of $5000. The second prize is given $2,500 and a summer outdoor performance with the Houston Symphony. The third prize is $1,000, no concert, ditto the fourth prize, with a check for $500.

Really, having made it to the finals is a win in itself. Especially now that all finalists get to play the "Finalist" concert with the orchestra, and a good conductor, in an acoustically very nice hall like Rice's Stude Hall. Way better than the underwater muffled sounds of Jones Hall, and way, way better than playing an amplified concert outside at Miller Theatre in the dead heat of a Houston summer.

I can't give my picks out for the winners- I don't want to jinx it. Suffice to say that last year, the orchestra favorite did not win first. We think it was because her piece was not as technically demanding as the person that won first. Which really opens up a can of worms: do you give more points to someone who plays an "easy" piece with great beauty and artistry, or someone who plays a "hard" piece, maybe not as perfectly or beautifully, but give them points for having the cojones to do it in the first place?

This is the big problem with all competitions, any competition. It happens in the Olympics, on American Idol, on Dancing With the Stars.

This year the repertoire played by the four finalists are not as disparate in terms of technicality, it should be interesting to see what happens. I think the big question will be one of instrument popularity. Tune in on KUHF to the live radio broadcast and vote for your favorite on the KUHF website or the HS website!