General Rules

General Rules

  1. The competition is controlled in all matters by the Committee and a majority decision of those present will be final.
  2. The Committee may withdraw a class if there are too few entries, split a class if necessary or transfer any class to another day or time.
  3. All trophies are held for one year only and should be cleaned and returned to the Trophy Secretary not later than 30th December in the year of that Festival.
  4. The recording of performances and adjudications by any means is not permitted.

Entries

  1. No performer may enter the same item in more than one class.
  2. “Grade”classes are an alternative to age-determined ones.
  3. “Own choice” titles, composers and authors must be given on the entry form and strictly adhered to.  Last minute changes may lead to disqualification.
  4. In all classes where there is an age limit, the operative date is 1st September in the year preceding the Festival.  The age of an ensemble is that of the majority of its members.
  5. Late entries and entries that are incomplete by the deadline will not be accepted.

The Adjudicator

  1. Performers should begin only when the Adjudicator indicates.
  2. No performer, teacher or other member of the audience may approach the Adjudicator unless invited to do so nor engage him/her in conversation on any matter pertaining to a performance, otherwise the competitor may be disqualified.
  3. Awards in all classes are at the discretion of the Adjudicator, whose decisions and reports must be accepted as final.
  4. The Adjudicator may stop, or ask for a repeat of, the performance of any test piece.
  5. Unless otherwise stated, Adjudicator’s copies should be provided for all “own choice” items.  Failure to do so may result in disqualification.

The Accompanist

  1. In all Solo Classes, the services of the Official Accompanist must be used for set pieces, but performers may bring their own accompanist for “own choice” items.
  2. Choirs may use their own accompanist for all items.
  3. Copies of “own choice” pieces for the Official Accompanist must be sent to the Secretary at the same time as your entry.

Performance

  1. The order of performance is decided by ballot.
  2. The Committee may disqualify any performer who is not ready to perform when called.
  3. Performers who fail to observe time limits in “own choice” classes may be disqualified or stopped.
  4. Repeats may be played provided the time limit is observed.

Performers are reminded that the photocopying of music without the publisher’s permission is illegal.
In exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to split a class. The committee is aware that this is less than ideal, and it will not happen without good reason.