Rules and policy
These apply to every season. Dates, the entry fee and the categories belong to a particular competition and are on its own page.
IEligibility
- Open to music students of all ages and nationalities who are not performance majors. Performance majors and professional ensemble musicians may not enter.
- Employees, committee members and adjudicators of the competition, and their immediate families, are not eligible.
- Entrants under 18 are registered by a parent or guardian, who consents on their behalf.
- Multiple winners are selected in every age group and instrument. Entries are judged only against others in the same group.
IIMaking an entry
- Complete the online entry form and pay when prompted. Your entry is complete only once both steps are finished; there is no need to email us to confirm it.
- Performance videos are uploaded to YouTube. Unlisted is fine — the adjudicators only need the link.
- No change of repertoire is permitted after submission, and late video submissions are not accepted.
- If anything prevents you from completing your entry, write to us and we will help.
IIIRepertoire
- Repertoire may be selected from any musical period, and must be published by a recognised publisher.
- Sonatas, concertos and solo pieces are all eligible. Jazz, improvisation and modern electronic music are not permitted.
- Play the work as published. Simplified or abridged student editions are not accepted.
- A single movement of a larger work is accepted, and is usually what fits the time limit. Each competition states its own limit on its page; a recording that runs over may be disqualified.
- Where the work calls for piano or other accompaniment, the recording must include it. The accompanist's playing is not counted toward the score.
- Memorisation is encouraged for piano and optional for strings and winds.
IVYour recording
- Unedited, single-take recordings only. Cuts and compiled footage are not accepted.
- The video need not be professionally produced, but it must clearly show the performer's playing.
- Put the performer's full name and the exact title of the piece in the video description.
- Submissions that break these rules are disqualified.
VJudging and results
- Judging is based solely on the submitted video.
- Adjudicators' decisions are final and binding, and the organizing committee reserves final interpretation of all rules.
- Entrants may not request feedback, contest a ranking, or contact an adjudicator directly.
- Results are published on this site. Nobody is told their score, their rank among non-winners, or an adjudicator's comments.
VILimitation of liability
- The organizing committee assumes no responsibility for lost, late, illegible, falsified, damaged or incomplete entries or notifications, nor for technical issues affecting the transmission of audition materials, nor for incorrect information arising from user, equipment, programming or technical error.
- The committee is not liable for delays, communication failures, unauthorised access or changes to audition materials, nor for injury or damage to participants or their equipment arising from participation. If the competition cannot proceed as planned for reasons outside our control, the committee assumes no liability.
- All awards are non-transferable and non-substitutable, unless a prize of equal value is offered because of availability. Taxes and customs fees are the responsibility of the winner.
- All results are final and may not be appealed. Participants may not request reconsideration or feedback from adjudicators or the committee, nor contact adjudicators directly.
Your personal data
How we collect, use and share personal information — and how to have it corrected or deleted — is set out in our privacy policy. The terms of entry cover payment, refunds and the agreement you make when entering.
Anything unclear: info@theworldharmonies.org.