Participation

I. Terms of Particpation

  1. The competition is targeted at mixed chamber choirs with approx. 20 to approx. 30 members.
  2. All the choirs that participate in the competition must participate in the concert gala.
  3. The participation fee is 150 € per choir. It is upon admission to the competition. If a choir does not attend the competition, the participation fee will not be refunded.
    Accomodation is self-paid according to the category of accomodation. Upon admission to the competition, 25% of accomodation costs are payable. Full acommodation costs are due six weeks before the competition.
    Transport and catering is self-paid.
    If a choir cancels the participation after official admission, neither the registration fee nor the accomodation costs will be refunded. Additional costs that arise through the cancellation, e.g., for acoomodation, have to be paid by the choirs themselves.
    A travel cancellation insurance is recommended.
  4. Upon registration, the choirs declare that they agree with recordings and programmes by radio and television, as well as recordings on audiovisual media as well as the reproduction and use in all media formats. All rights are transferred to the organizer of the competition by this agreement.
  5. The decisions of organizers and jury are final.
  6. Upon registration, the participating choir acknowledges these terms of participation.

II. Competition Programme

  1. The competition is organised in two rounds (preliminary and final round).
  2. In addition to the compulsory piece for each round, each choir performs at most three pieces of choice in the preliminary round, and at most four pieces of choice in the final round that can be freely chosen. No piece from the preliminary round may be repeated in the final round, except the compulsory piece.
  3. Every choir will perform an a cappella that is diverse and yet structured in a musically sensible way. The dramaturgy of the programme will also be graded. The choirs are expected to deliver stilistically adequate performances. Generally, original compositions shall be chosen. Admittance of adaptations will be decided on request in advance by the jury.
  4. In the preliminary round, one of the pieces of choice is to be a composition from before 1800. This piece can be performed with a reduced number of singers. One of the pieces of choice may be a folk song or a piece of popular music.
  5. After the preliminary round, three choirs will be selected for the final round.
  6. Copyright regulations have to be regarded.

III. Duration of Performances

  1. The duration of performance is the duration from the beginning of the first piece until the end of the last piece, not the net singing time.
  2. The durations of the performances have to be at most 15 minutes in the preliminary round, and 20 minutes in the final round, each including the compulsory piece.
  3. The competition performances are public.

IV. Compulsory Pieces

The compulsory piece for both preliminary and final round is:

Peter Cornelius: „Ich will dich lieben, meine Krone“ op. 18/2
(Carus Verlag)

V. Prizes

  1. Each choir will receive a certificate of participation.
  2. In addition, the following prizes will be awarded:
    1st prize: 3000 €
    2nd prize: 2000 €
    3rd prize: 1000 €
    Audience award: unendowed

VI. Jury

The jury consists of Prof. Frieder Bernius and Prof. Marcus Creed.

VII. Accomodation

Choirs can choose from different categories of accommodation. Details of categories, locations and price can be found here. The price list applies only to memebers of the participating choirs and at most two accompanying persons.

VIII. Special Programme

  1. A concert gala will take place before the award ceremony on Sunday evening to give the choirs the opportunity to present themselves to the audience apart from the competition. Each participating choir prepares a 20 minute programme, which may be composed freely and can contain "specialties" of the choir and its country of origin.
  2. If desired, a participation in a church service on sunday morning can be organised for the choir.
  3. Recommendations for trips to the vicinity of Mosbach (e.g. Heidelberg) and for an extension of your stay can be found here.

IX. Registration

Registration is currently open.

The registration deadline is on 1 October 2015. Choirs will be chosen by the organizer and the jury. Choirs will be informed about admission before 15 November 2015.