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PROVISIONS OF THE 5th INTERNATIONAL BALTIC SEA CHOIR COMPETITION

September 23-25, 2022 in Jūrmala, Latvia 

May you have questions about participation, please send us an e-mail to info@ balticchoir.com

 

1. PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION

  • The International Baltic Sea Choir Competition invites mixed, female, male and youth/children (age 7-17) amateur choirs (16-49 signers).

  • Only amateur choirs may participate in the competition.

  • After the evaluation of choir submissions, a maximum of 15 (fifteen) choirs will be accepted for the competition.

  • Choirs awarded with the Grand Prix prize in any of the previous International Baltic Sea Choir Competitions cannot take part in the competition for the following 3 (three) years.

  • Choirs are obliged to participate in the competition’s Opening concert and both competition programs, as well as they should be ready to perform at Grand Prix final.

  • Participants will be evaluated by an international jury comprising of 5 members -choir music professionals. There will be 1 Latvian and 4 foreign representatives.

  • The Jury evaluates each choir's performance in 4 qualities. 

    1. Technical performance;

    2. Musicality;

    3. Degree of complexity of the program;

    4. Overall impression.

  • Each quality is evaluated giving points from 1- 25, summing up a maximum of 100 points. The final number of points is calculated as the average of all Jury evaluations, excluding the highest and lowest points.

  •  After performances of compositions at the compulsory and free program categories, the Jury will establish at least 5 choirs to compete for Grand Prix. The choirs for Grand Prix will be evaluated independently of the results of the previous stages.

  • All results, including those of Grand Prix, will be announced during the closing ceremony on Sunday. The decision of the jury is final and cannot be contested.

  • All choirs will receive an evaluation from each of the Jury members for their performance of the competition programs.

 

  • By April 1, 2022, choirs must send all application materials to competition’s organizers electronically (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or by post, and the materials must include:
    • A fully filled in application form;
    • A record of at least 3 a cappella compositions of various styles sung by the choir (as a CD, DVD, or a link on YouTube. The records cannot be made before 2019);
    • A short description of the choir in English (max. 250 words);
    • A quality photo of the choir.

 

  • The choirs accepted for the competition must approve their participation by paying a participation fee in the amount of 300 EUR by May 15, 2022 after receiving an invoice, and a fee in the amount of 20 EUR for each participating person in August 2022 after receiving an invoice issued by the organizers.

  • The competition will be organized in an epidemiologically safe environment. All participants are personally responsible to comply with the rules that will be valid during the competition dates.

  • The participants will be provided by meals during the competition days – on Friday (late lunch), on Saturday (lunch and dinner) and on Sunday (lunch after the Award ceremony at the after-party).

  • Accommodation and travel expenses are covered by each choir. The competition’s organizers provide special hotel offers made exclusively for participants. The choirs may search for accommodation by themselves, however, it is mandatory that the place of accommodation is in Jūrmala. For more convenient mobility options during the competition, we recommend accommodation within walking distance from the venue of the competition, Dzintari Concert Hall.

  • All rights to audio and video records and photos made during the competition are owned by the competition’s organizers. The choirs will not be remunerated for the recording of their performance. 

  • By September 1, 2022, the choirs, which will be accepted for participation in the competition, are obliged to send 6 (six) original copies of sheet music of all compositions for the needs of the jury and for a competition’s archive. (5 copies of each sheet music will be returned after the competition). The duplicates of the sheet music may be used only with the written permission of a publisher or composer.

  • Participants of the competition approve that they have are aware of the competition’s provisions when sending the application form.

  

2. PROGRAMS OF THE COMPETITION

Within the 5th International Baltic Sea Choir Competition, there will be an Opening concert (the choirs will not be evaluated) and three competition stages.

All programs of the competition should be performed following the indicated sequence in the application form.

 

2.1 OPENING CONCERT at Dubulti Church

Participation in the Opening concert is obligatory.

  • For the opening concert, each choir should present their country-specific program not exceeding 5 minutes. When choosing repertoire, it should be noted that the opening concert will take place at church.

  • Compositions of the opening concert may not be included in the competition’s stages.

  • Piano and other musical instruments are not available at the Opening concert Venue.

 

2.2 COMPULSORY PROGRAM

  • Compulsory composition of the competition. Sheet music of the composition will be available after May 15, 2022 and sent to participants after receiving the participation fee.

  • A composition from the Romantic period of the choir’s own choice.

  • A composition, written after 2000, of choir’s own choice.

  • A folk song of the participating choir’s country, in unison.

Length of the compulsory program: 12-15 minutes of pure music (in case of not observing the time limit, the jury may grant penalty points), and the program should be performed a cappella.

 

2.3 FREE PROGRAM

The free program should include at least 2 (two) compositions.

  • The choirs may not repeat the compositions from the compulsory program.

  • There may be an instrumental accompaniment to one composition of the free program. (A piano will be available at the venue. Other musical instruments will not be provided.)

Length of the free program: 8-10 minutes of pure music (in case of not observing the time limit, the jury may grant penalty points).

 

2.4 GRAND PRIX

  • The program of the Grand Prix performance must include 3 compositions.

  • Only one composition may be repeated from the compulsory or free program.

  • In one composition of the Grand Prix program, both pitched and unpitched musical instruments may be used, while piano in this category may not be used.  

Length of Grand Prix competition: 10-12 minutes of pure music (in case of not observing the time limit, the jury may grant penalty points).

 

3. AWARDS

  • Participants achieving 3 highest results at the Grand Prix category will be awarded monetary prizes:

    • 1stplace — winner of Grand Prix — 3500 EUR and a winners’ cup

    • 2ndplace — 2000 EUR

    • 3rdplace — 1000 EUR

All choirs will receive a diploma for their participation in the 5th International Baltic Sea Choir Competition.

 

 3.1. ADDITIONAL AWARDS:

  • Best conductor’s prize — 500 EUR

  • Best performance of the compulsory composition — 250 EUR

  • Audience Award

  • The Jury may decide on their special prizes:

    • The most attractive performance;

    • The best performance of the folk song in unison.

 

Latvian and English are the official languages at the competition. 

Competition organizer retains the right to alter rules of competition in the case of unexpected major changes. In such a case a written notice will be sent to all participating choirs.