Volunteers

The organisation which goes on behind the scenes at the Dublin International Piano Competition is a feat of daring, determination and decency. It takes an army of helpers and all the precision of a full-scale military operation to move the competitors, from home to practice, practice to performing venue and back home again. It takes the wisdom of Solomon to be able to soothe the anxieties, cope with the disappointments and boost flagging morale and above all - it takes stamina.
The logistics of preparing for an invasion of 60 competitors, often with tutors or mentors, require some careful strategic planning. There is the small matter of ensuring that each competitor has a piano of a certain standard on which to practise. Then come the manoeuvres, battling through the traffic to fetch and deliver the players on time to their practices and their recitals. In between there are other considerations; their meals, their tea and coffee breaks, sheet music for the judges and anything else that may occur.

None of this would be possible without the helpers & volunteers all, who give up their time, their homes, their pianos, their cars and often their families to welcome these young contenders from all over the globe.