National Open Competitions

Eligibility To Compete

1. All members of a competing choir, except the conductor, must perform in the Festival as amateurs.

2. No singer may compete as a member of more than one choir in the same competition.

3. Choirs may enter more than one National Competition.

4. No choir may compete at both international and national open level.

Eligibility For Specific Competitions

5. Age limits apply in all National Competitions.

6. National Competitions are open to choirs from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

7. a) Schools of Music and Stage School choirs are not eligible for the National Competitions for Schools but are encouraged to enter the Youth Choir Competition.
7. b) Workplace choirs based in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland should enter the Ibec Workplace Choir of the Year Competition if they also wish to enter the National Open Competitions. The repertoire for each competition should be entirely different. A separate entry form is required for each competition and must be accompanied by the correct fee.

8. a) Any Irish choir may apply to take part in the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition.
8. b) The Artistic Advisory Board reserves the right to invite any Irish choir to participate in the Fleischmann International Trophy Competition.

Repertoire

9. All competition works must have been composed for a cappella (purely vocal) performance except where expressly stated otherwise.

10. Where a strophic work is chosen (i.e. having the same music for each verse) only two verses may be sung.

11. a) Where three works are required, the total duration must not exceed twelve minutes.
11. b) Where two works/chants are required, the total duration must not exceed 8 minutes.

12. The Adjudicators will penalise choirs whose programmes exceed the prescribed limits.

13. No choir can sing the same pieces in another Festival Competition. This applies to both national and international level.

14. Two consecutive Festivals must elapse before a choir can re-include any piece of music in its national competition repertoire.

15. Subsequent to entry, a choir may not change its repertoire or the order in which it will be sung (i.e. the order listed on the entry form).

Entry Procedure

16. a) Only a digital certified copy or scanned copy of an original version of each work in A4 PDF format may be uploaded with the application.
16. b) Choirs presenting a Plainchant repertoire in the National Competition for Church Music are required to specify the chants, indicate their sources and the digital or scanned copy from the relevant volumes.

17. A separate entry form is required for each competition and must be accompanied by the correct fee.

Late Application Penalties

18. In the event that the Artistic Advisory Board accepts a late entry, an additional 50% of the competition fee will be required.

19. In the event of original music not being submitted by the official closing date, an additional €15 will be levied.

Broadcasting, Recording And Photographic Rights

20. It is a condition of participation that a choir agrees that:
a) Any performance it gives during the Festival may be photographed, broadcast live and/or recorded for subsequent reproduction and/or broadcast on radio/television/internet without payment to the choir. All broadcasting and photographic rights to any performance at the Festival shall belong to the Festival which will be free to dispose of them or utilise them in promotional material as it sees ¬ t. It is the duty of all choirs with members under 18 years of age to ensure that informed consent is sought from young people and their parents/ carers is this regard.
b) Any performance it gives during the Festival may, without payment, be recorded and the Festival shall be entitled to possession of any such recording and shall further be entitled to reproduce any such recording and to sell, let for hire, o er or exposure for sale or hire, distribute or otherwise dispose of any recording or reproduction of recording of any such performance in any manner it sees fit.

General Rules

21. The Artistic Advisory Board reserves the right to limit the number of entries for each competition.

22. The Artistic Advisory Board reserves the right to cancel a competition if it feels that there have been insufficient entries.

23. The Artistic Advisory Board reserves the right to advise a choir to enter an alternative level of competition.

24. The Artistic Advisory Board reserves the right to refuse entry to any competition.

25. Requests for permission to enter competitions other than at the times indicated on the timetable cannot be entertained. The Artistic Advisory Board, nevertheless, reserves the right to alter the timetable in light of the number of entries received.

26. A first prize is awarded only for a mark average of 85%+.

27. A second prize is awarded only for a mark average of 80%+.

28. Adjudicators’ decisions are ¬final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding any aspect of their work.

29. It is contrary to law to perform music that has been reproduced illegally. Should a choir do so, the Festival accepts no responsibility for any action taken by copyright owners.

30. The Festival does not contribute to a choir’s travel costs to/from Cork.

31. A choir withdrawing from a competition is not entitled to a refund of the entry fee.

32. The Festival accepts no legal responsibility whatsoever in respect of anything pertaining to a choir’s participation in the Festival.

33. The Festival reserves the right to change its dates in the event that a concert, or other public event or any circumstance outside the control of the Festival renders it impracticable to hold the festival on the scheduled dates.

34. Participation in the Festival implies acceptance of all the rules and regulations.

35. Any updates will be made on the Application Form found on www.corkchoral.ie and will supersede information in the brochure.