Detailed Competition Information

Categories and Age Groups

1. The Competition has 5 categories:

• Strings
• Piano
• Voice
• Woodwind & Brass
• Speech

2. Each category is divided into the following groups:

• Group One (ages 4-5)
• Group Two (ages 6-7)
• Group Three (ages 8-11)
• Group Four A (ages 12-15)
• Group Four B (age 12-15 for full-time specialist music/drama school students)
• Group Five A (ages 16-18)
• Group Five B (age 16-18 for full-time specialist music/drama school students)
• Group Six (ages 18-30)

Repertoire Requirements †

Any Candidate who chooses to include a piece of music written by a British composer born after 1860 will automatically be entered for the competition for the British Music Society Prize. Please indicate entry for this Prize by putting ‘BMS’ in a bracket next to the chosen British composer’s repertoire’s title (please note that the BMS Prize is open to Strings, Piano, Voice, Woodwind and Brass Categories).

Strings Category, Piano Category, Woodwind and Brass Category

• Group One: Choose 2 pieces of music, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 3 minutes.
• Group Two: Choose 2 pieces of music, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 5 minutes.
• Group Three: Choose 2 pieces of music, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 7 minutes.
• Group Four A: Choose 2 pieces of music, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability.  Total performance time may last no more than 9 minutes.
• Group Four B: Choose 2 pieces of music, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 9 minutes.
• Group Five A: Choose 2 pieces of music, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 12 minutes.
• Group Five B: Choose 2 pieces of music, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 12 minutes.
• Group Six: Choose 3 pieces of music, contrasting in style, from at least two different style periods and which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 15 minutes.

Voice Category:

• Group One: Choose 2 songs, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 3 minutes.
• Group Two: Choose 2 songs, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 5 minutes.
• Group Three: Choose 2 songs, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 7 minutes.
• Group Four A: Choose 2 songs, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability.  Total performance time may last no more than 9 minutes.
• Group Four B: Choose 2 songs, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 9 minutes.
• Group Five A: Choose 2 songs, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 12 minutes.
• Group Five B: Choose 2 songs, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 12 minutes.
• Group Six: Choose 3 songs, of which two must be art songs, the other must be an aria. The three songs must be of at least two different languages. Total performance time may last no more than 17 minutes.

Speech Category:

• Group One: Choose 2 extracts of contemporary work from the 20th or 21st Century, such as fiction, poetry or fairy stories, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 3 minutes.
• Group Two: Choose 2 extracts of contemporary work from the 20th or 21st Century, such as fiction, poetry or fairy stories, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 5 minutes.
• Group Three: Choose 2 extracts of contemporary work from the 20th or 21st Century, such as fiction, poetry or fairy stories, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 7 minutes.
• Group Four A: Choose 2 extracts of contemporary work from the 20th or 21st Century, such as modern play, novel, film, radio or TV script, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability.  Total performance time may last no more than 9 minutes.
• Group Four B: Choose 2 extracts of contemporary work from the 20th or 21st Century, such as modern play, novel, film, radio or TV script, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 9 minutes.
• Group Five A: Choose 2 extracts of contemporary work from the 20th or 21st Century, such as modern play, novel, film, radio or TV script, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 12 minutes.
• Group Five B: Choose 2 extracts of contemporary work from the 20th or 21st Century, such as modern play, novel, film, radio or TV script, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 12 minutes.
• Group Six: Choose 3 extracts of contemporary work from the 20th or 21st Century, such as modern play, novel, film, radio or TV script, contrasting in style, which reflect your current level of ability. Total performance time may last no more than 15 minutes.

† Rules on the time limit:

If the total running time of your chosen programme exceeds the time limit set for your Group, you are allowed to make cuts to the pieces and omit repeats to be able to fit the performance within the time limit. However, the performance of each piece must be recorded as a single uninterrupted video. Time limits must be strictly adhered to. The adjudicators will stop assessing any part of the performance that extends beyond the time limit.

Prizes*

All participating candidates will receive a comment sheet for each entry they make and all participating candidates will receive a certificate of participation (electronic).

1. Royal Academy of Music Prize

• A £500 cash prize.
• Publicity across the Competition’s social media platforms including website, Facebook and Instagram.
• Invitation to perform at Royal Academy of Music (London) at the 5th or 6th New Talent British International Youth Music Competition and Festival in the Summer of 2022 or 2023 (when restrictions relating to Covid-19 permit The Competition to return to the original in-person format)
• Royal Academy of Music Prize Certificate (electronic format)

The Royal Academy of Music Prize will be awarded to one candidate. This prize will be adjudicated by Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, Principal of the Royal Academy of Music.

2. Virtuoso Prizes:

• A £300 cash prize.
• A 1-1 masterclass with a member of the jury panel (online format lasting 45 minutes)
• Publicity across the Competition’s social media platforms including website, Facebook and Instagram.
• Invitation to perform at Royal Academy of Music (London) at the 5th or 6th New Talent British International Youth Music Competition and Festival in the Summer of 2022 or 2023 (when restrictions relating to Covid-19 permit The Competition to return to the original in-person format)
• Virtuoso Prize Certificate (electronic format)

Virtuoso Prizes will be awarded to a maximum of one candidate per category. Virtuoso Prizes may be vacated if adjudicators feel the level of performance within the category has been insufficient to attain the Prize.

3. British Music Society Prize:

• A single £100 cash prize for the best performance of a British work written by a British composer born after 1860.
• Publicity across the Competition’s and British Music Society’s social media platforms including website, Facebook and Instagram.
• Invitation to perform at Royal Academy of Music (London) at the 5th or 6th New Talent British International Youth Music Competition and Festival in the Summer of 2022 or 2023 (when restrictions relating to Covid-19 permit The Competition to return to the original in-person format)
• British Music Society Certificate (electronic format)

Please note that the BMS Prize is open to Strings, Piano, Voice, Woodwind and Brass Categories.

4. Age Group 1st Prize:

• Publicity across The Competition’s social media platforms including website, Facebook Page and Instagram.
• Invitation to perform at Royal Academy of Music (London) at the 5th or 6th New Talent British International Youth Music Competition and Festival in the Summer of 2022 or 2023 (when restrictions relating to Covid-19 permit The Competition to return to the original in-person format)
• 1st Prize Certificate (electronic format).

5. Age Group 2nd Prize:

• 2nd Prize Certificate (electronic format).

6. Age Group 3rd Prize:

3rd Prize Certificate (electronic format).

7. Age Group 4th Prize:

4th Prize Certificate (electronic format).

8. Virtuoso Music: Teaching Award

Awarded for excellence in music teaching to the direct music teacher of the Virtuoso Prize and Royal Academy of Music Prize winners.

• Virtuoso Music: Teaching Award Certificate (electronic format).

9.  Virtuoso Music: Teaching Centre Award

Awarded for excellence in music teaching to the music school or music centre where the Virtuoso Prize and Royal Academy of Music Prize winners study.

• Virtuoso Music: Teaching Centre Award Certificate (electronic format).

10. Certificate of Achievement

Certificates of Achievement will be awarded to performers who have, in the opinion of the adjudicators, reached a technically competent and musically interesting level of performance.

• Certificate of Achievement (electronic format).

*Rules on Prizes

• An Age Group 1st Prize will be made in age groups where there are up to four entries, with no other prizes for place given (Age Group 1st Prize may be vacated if adjudicators feel the level of performance within the age group has been insufficient to attain the Prize). An Age Group 2nd Prize will be made additionally in age groups where there are between five and six entries. An Age Group 3rd Prize will be made additionally in age groups where there are seven or eight entries. An Age Group 4th Prize will be made additionally in age groups where there are nine or more entries.
• Printed Certificates are available to be posted to candidates upon request. International postage fee and handling fee will be charged in addition to the Competition Entry Fee.

Regulations

Please read the Regulations of the Competition by clicking here.

Entry and Contact

Entry opens until: 11.59pm BST on Sunday 15 August 2021

Steps of entry for the Competition:

1. Fill in the Competition Entry Form
2. Pay Competition entry fee.
3. Choose and practise your Competition repertoire.
4. Record your Competition repertoire performances. Please see here for guidelines on recording video performances.
5. Compile the performances into a video and upload it to YouTube (or Youku if YouTube is blocked in your country).
6. Read about how to set your YouTube video as ‘unlisted’ here. Read about how to set a password to your Youku video here.
7. Fill out the Competition Repertoire Details Form before 15th August 2021.
8. Attend New Talent Talks which is hosted by members of our Jury Panel and other guest speakers and are available to this year’s participating Competition Candidates free of charge in the week beginning 16th August 2021.
9. Attend the live online Award Ceremony and Award Winners’ Concert. Date and time of the ceremony and concert will be announce in due course.