Rules of the Competition |
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RULES OF THE COMPETITION
“Competitions provide a means of promoting talented musicians in an environment which is at once edifying, stimulating and challenging for both competitors and audiences alike”. |
AGE AND NATIONALITY
1. The Benjamin Britten International Violin Competition 2008 (“the Competition”) is open to Candidates of all nationalities born on or after 14 April 1980 and not later than 14 April 1992.
APPLICATIONS 2. The deadline for Applications is 1700 hours (British Time) on Friday 25 January 2008. To be eligible for consideration Candidates must ensure that completed Applications, together with supporting documentation and materials, as listed in Rule 3, are received by the Competition office by 1700 hours (British Time) on 25 January 2008. The Application and supporting documentation and materials will not be returned to Candidates. 3. The Application must contain the following documents and materials: a) Application Form completed by the Candidate online. The paper version of the Application Form may be requested from the Competition Office by phone +44 20 7193 8033 or email to office@britten-competition.co.uk. b) The Candidate’s Programme which should be provided by completing the appropriate section of the Application Form; c) A photocopy of a document certifying the age of the Candidate (for example the first page of the Candidate’s Passport, Birth Certificate or Driver’s License) sent to office@britten-competition.co.uk; d) A high quality recent artistic photograph of the Candidate in either black-and-white or colour format for publicity purposes in the Competition, including use in the Competition Programme and website. The photograph must be submitted digitally (by email to office@britten-competition.co.uk or on a CD-Rom). e) The Candidate’s curriculum vitae sent to office@britten-competition.co.uk; f) High quality unedited video recording on a DVD (Videotapes VHS will not be accepted) of the complete (all three movements) concerto that the Candidate chose as his/her Final Round Concerto. The Recording should be sent to: Benjamin Britten International Violin Competition The Recordings must have been recorded not more than 6 months prior to its submission to the Competition Office. The date and location of the recording must be noted on the cover of the DVD. “Unedited recording" means that Candidates may suspend recording ONLY between movements of the concerto. No other editing is permitted;
NUMBER OF COMPETITORS 4. The Competition Committee will accept a maximum of 32 Candidates as Competitors to participate in the First Round of the Competition.
PRE-SELECTION 5. The Competitors will be selected from the Candidates on the basis of the Video recordings provided by the Candidates as set out in Rule 3. 6. All Candidates will be notified of the decision of the Competition Committee as to whether they have been accepted as Competitors no later than Monday 11 February 2008. 7. Candidates accepted as Competitors must confirm their intention to participate in the Competition, by return of the provided Offer Form by no later than 7 March 2008 and pay a non-refundable participation fee in the amount of £50.00 that should reach the Competition accounts no later than 24 March 2008. Payment details will be sent together with the Offer Form.
COMPETITOR'S PROGRAMME 8. The Competitor’s Programme (see Rule 3f above) is subject to the approval of the Competition Committee. If the Competition Committee has any objection to the Competitor's Programme, recommendations will be made to the Competitor as to alternate pieces. The Competitor has the right to make reasonable suggestions to the Competition Committee in respect of his or her final Programme. Any changes to the Competitor’s Programme shall be finalised by 7 March 2008, after which date no changes shall be permitted. Following reasonable negotiation with the Competitor the decision of the Competition Committee on this matter shall be final.
ACCOMMODATION 9. Competitors will receive accommodation and meals free of charge at Goodenough College for the duration of their participation in the Competition. Continuing accommodation at Goodenough College for the duration of the Competition may be possible for those Competitors who are eliminated from the First and Second Rounds, by separate arrangement with the Competition Office. The Competition will not pay for accommodation for persons travelling with Competitors.
TRAVEL 10. The Competition will not pay or be responsible for the airfares or other travel costs of the Competitor or anyone accompanying the Competitor, which costs are to be at the Competitor’s sole expense.
COMPETITION PIANISTS 11. The Competition will provide Competition Pianists free of charge to the Competitors for the duration of their participation in the Competition for the purposes of Rehearsals (see Rule 13 below) and performance in the First and Second Rounds of the Competition. Competitors are not permitted to rehearse or perform with their private pianists in the First or Second Rounds of the Competition. No exceptions to this restriction will be permitted.
REGISTRATION AND DRAWING OF LOTS 12. All Competitors must register in person at the Competition Office by no later than 1300 hours (British Time) on Sunday 13 April 2008. The Opening Ceremony of the Competition will be held at Goodenough College Large Common Room at 1400 hours on Sunday 13 April 2008. All Competitors must attend the Opening Ceremony or send an authorised representative. The Drawing of Lots which determines the order in which Competitors will perform in the First, Second and Final Rounds of the Competition will be held during the Opening Ceremony. For this purpose, alphabetical order will be used, as follows. The alphabetical order will start with the letter drawn at the Drawing of Lots by the youngest Competitor – ie. if the letter “H” is drawn, Competitors with names starting with that letter will begin the Competition followed with those starting with “I” and so on. Competitor's family name will be used for this purpose. The alphabetical order established at the Drawing of Lots will be the order of play for all Rounds of the Competition. English alphabet letters will be used.
REHEARSALS 13. Each Competitor will be entitled, for the duration of their participation in the Competition, to: A Rehearsal of 20 minutes duration on the day preceding the commencement of First Round performances and 20 minutes duration with a Competition Pianist immediately prior to that Competitor’s performance in the First Round; A Rehearsal of one hour and 30 minutes duration with a Competition Pianist on the day preceding the commencement of Second Round performances; and A Rehearsal of 30 minutes duration with a Competition Pianist immediately prior to that Competitor’s performances in the Second Round; One Rehearsal with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of no more than forty-five minutes duration for the concerto to be performed in the Final Round. The rehearsal will be held on the day of the Competitors performance of the concerto to be rehearsed. Competition pianists will also be available to the Competitors performing in the Final Round for a rehearsal of one hour duration and a play-through with the Competition Conductor of 45 minutes duration on the day preceding the commencement of Final Round performances. No Rehearsals with Competition Pianists or orchestras, other than those specified in Rules 13, shall be permitted unless with the express written permission of the Competition Committee. No rehearsals with private accompanists or orchestras shall be permitted at any time during the Competitor’s active participation in the Competition.
PERFORMANCE 14. The following rules apply to Competition performances: Competitors will perform in the Rounds with the Competition Pianist with whom he or she rehearsed for that Round; All works played in each round, including the violin and piano sonata in the Second Round, must be performed by the Competitor from memory. The order of performance of the Competitor’s Programme within each Round shall be at the discretion of the Competitor.
ELIMINATION 15. Elimination from the Rounds shall be as follows: No more than 12 Competitors from the First Round shall be selected by the Jury for the Second Round; No more than 4 Competitors from the Second Round shall be selected by the Jury for the Final Round; The decisions of the Jury in these respects shall be final and no appeal will be permitted; Immediately following the Jury's announcement of the results of each Round the Competitors eliminated from that Round shall have the right to discuss with any member of the Jury any aspect of the Competitor’s performance in the Competition prior to their elimination. The Jury will be available to the Competitors eliminated for a period of 45 minutes in total for such discussion, which shall be in confidence. The Competitor is not obliged to have such discussions.
RESTRICTIONS 16. All Rounds of the Competition will be open to the public. 17. Competitors are not permitted to speak to any member of the Jury for the duration of their participation in the Competition or after their elimination, except as provided in Rule 15 above, until the conclusion of the Competition. However, it is permissible for the Competitors to communicate with the Competition Artistic Director (who is member of the Jury) and for the Artistic Director to communicate with the Competitors on queries not connected with the individual competitors’ performances, such as repertoire questions, making or not making repeats or cuts etc. 18. Competitors are not permitted to take instruction and/or coaching in the violin from any person for the duration of their participation in the Competition, commencing on 13 April 2008.
PRIZES AND LAUREATES GALA CONCERT 19. The Jury of the Competition may award a First, Second, Third and Fourth Prize, and Special Prizes for particular performances. Results will be announced at the close of the Final Round of the Competition on 21 April 2008. The Jury is entitled in its absolute discretion not to award any prize or prizes. 20. The Awards Ceremony will be held on 22 April 2008 at Goodenough College Great Hall followed by the Laureates Gala Concert. All Competitors in the Final Round of the Competition are required as a condition of their acceptance into the Competition to attend the Awards Ceremony and perform in the Laureates' Gala Concert. The pieces to be performed and the order of performance will be decided by the Jury. Prizewinners will not receive a fee for their performance at the Laureates' Gala Concert. 21. It is a condition of acceptance of the First Prize that the First Prizewinner is prohibited from acceptance into future editions of the Competition. 22. The Prizewinners agree that the Competition Committee is not responsible for and has no obligation to the Prizewinners to ensure that any concerto, recital and recording engagements (“the Engagements”) offered in conjunction with the Prizes are effected. The Prizewinners should be aware that the Engagements publicised with the Prizes are subject to the artistic discretion of the respective organisations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Competition Committee will use its best endeavours to ensure that the Engagements are effected.
IMPORTANT CONDITIONS 23. The Jury of the Competition is fixed by the Competition Committee and consists of no less than 7 members. All Jury members will adjudicate all Rounds of the Competition, except in the case of unavoidable absence through illness or other cause. There will be no less than 7 Jurors adjudicating in the Competition at any time. 24. The Competition Committee is advised as appropriate by the Artistic Director who is responsible for all tasks of artistic nature in the Competition 25. The Benjamin Britten International Music Competitions have unrestricted rights to broadcast, record, televise and film any part of the Competitor’s participation in the Competition, including but not limited to Rehearsals and Performances of the First, Second and Final Rounds of the Competition, as well as the Opening Ceremony and the Awards Ceremony and Laureates Gala Concert. 26. By participating in the Competition, the Competitor grants permission for all or part of all of his or her participation in the Competition, including but not limited to Rehearsals and Competition performances, to be electronically recorded, filmed or videotaped ("the Recordings") for distribution by live, tape-delayed or future transmission in all media present or future. The Competitor agrees that he or she waives any claim whatsoever to any financial reward arising from the distribution or use in any way of such Recordings, whether or not accruing to the Benjamin Britten International Music Competitions, its agents or assignees. 27. If the Competitor is in breach of any of the Rules of the Competition the Competition Committee has the right to automatically eliminate the Competitor from the Competition and the decision of the Competition Committee in this respect is final. 28. The Competition Committee reserves the right to vary and/or depart from all or part of the Rules of the Competition at its absolute discretion including but not limited to postponing and/or cancelling the Competition and/or effecting variations in:- a) the number and age of Candidates selected as Competitors to the Competition, b) the Jury, Competition Pianists, orchestras and conductors taking part in the Competition, c) the occurrence and location of events within the Competition, and no liability shall attach to the Competition for such postponement, cancellation and variations. 29. In signing the Application Form, which forms a part of these Rules of the Competition, the Competitor is deemed to accept and to comply with the Rules of the Competition and the Programme Rules. 30. In any question concerning rules or procedures in the Competition and their translations, the English language text of the same shall preside.
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