FESTIVAL INFORMATION
CLASSES 2008
TIME LIMITS
ENTRY FORMS
TROPHIES
GALA CONCERT 2008
WINNERS
RULES
CHILD POLICY

WHO MAY ENTER

The Festival is open to any young performers who are aged 18 years
or under in any Festival year, except for the Song Recital Class
where the maximum age is 25.
The age of the entrant on the first day of the Festival will be deemed
as his or her age for the purpose of the entry.

Professional Musicians and early entrants to Music Colleges,
e.g. Guildhall, Academy or Universities etc. and studying solely music
are NOT permitted to enter.
The committee reserves the right to refuse any entry without giving a reason.
Age Groups are divided according to Education Authority School Years, i.e. Infant –
Year 2 and under,
Junior - Year 6 and under,
Intermediate – Year 9 and under,
Senior – 18th Birthday before 31st August on that particular Festival year.

Entrants may perform only once in each class unless they are playing on different instruments.
In the ensemble classes entrants may perform more than once but it must be with different
groups of children.
Please note that each performance will be adjudicated on its own merits i.e
adjudicators will not give extra credit for performing more than once.
Ensembles must not exceed eight (8) people.
Concert Class (non-competitive ensembles) may include up to two (2) adults in the eight entrants.
They are also allowed an adult conductor. Children may also play a duet with an adult in this category.
Competitive Ensembles are not allowed an adult conductor or accompanist. However, vocal ensembles may use an adult Accompanist. All ensemble members, including non-adult accompanists, must be named on the Entry Form.

HOW TO ENTER
Entries must be made on the official Entry Form which must reach the address specified on the information leaflet and website, no later than the closing date which is available from the information leaflet or website. A photocopy of the entry form is acceptable.
Please include £1 on top on any entry fees due to cover postage and administration.

Entry fees may be returned at the discretion of the Committee, but only in exceptional circumstances.

BEFORE THE EVENT
The committee reserves the right to limit, cancel or subdivide any class.

The committee reserves the right to close classes before the closing date for entries, if sufficient entries have been received.

The title and composer of the piece(s) to be played should be detailed on the entry form.
PLEASE NOTE We cannot accept 'TO BE ANNOUNCED' on your Ertry form.
If 'TO BE ANNOUNCED' is on the Entry Form, the committee reserves the right to return the entry.

If for whatever reason the piece is changed, the entrant must inform the secretary when the music is handed to the adjudicator and then announce the change to the class before starting.
Where there is only one entrant in a class, the entrant will be informed and given the opportunity to withdraw or if appropriate, to combine with another class.
The committee reserves the right to engage additional adjudicators, or substitute without notice any adjudicator who is unable to appear.

BEFORE THE PERFORMANCE : 'Warm-Up' Area

There are a limited number of rooms for the purpose of 'warming up' prior to performances. Entrants are welcome to use these facilities, if they are available, in the half-hour leading up to their class, for a maximum time of up to 10 minutes. The committe reserves the right to ask an entrant to vacate a room if other entrants are waiting.

Under NO circumstances is any food or drink allowed in any part of the 'warm-up' area. Entrants who do not comply will be refused admission to these rooms.

THE PERFORMANCE
Entrants may play one (1) piece up to the time limit specified for their age group on the Festival Information Sheet and website.

Except for Recital and Concerto type classes, entrants should not play repeats but should play da capos. HOWEVER ALL PERFORMANCES MUST COMPLY WITH TIME LIMITS FOR THAT CLASS.

During the Class, friends, family and teachers are welcome to listen.
Whilst it is wholly appropriate for eye contact, or a nod of the head to occur between performer and their accompanist, it is strictly forbidden however, for others present to communicate with the performer(s).
It is not permissible for a parent, music teacher or other individual to conduct, mark time, mime dynamics or use any other form of non-verbal or verbal communication.
In such instances, friends, family or teachers will be asked to leave the auditorium and it may lead to disqualification.
This rule has been put in place to provide equal opportunities for all our competitors and to avoid circumstances where individuals might be disadvantaged by the actions of others.

20th Century Song of Theatre & Film can only be sung in the 20th Century Modern, popular song class (classes 16, 28 and 35.)

Entrants must check any specifications for an individual class that may be on the Information Sheet or web site, especially for the Specialist Classes.

The Festival is bound by copyright law and cannot allow flash photography, tape or video recording, ALL OF WHICH ARE ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN DURING PERFORMANCES OR ADJUDICATION.

In order to comply with copyright law, the original music must be in evidence during the performance. If the original is given to the adjudicator it will be returned at the end of the class, if a photocopy is given this will not be returned and will be destroyed by the Festival.

The use of electronic equipment for sound amplification is not allowed except for the Jazz Classes where a taped accompaniment is permitted.

The Festival is affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance &
Speech and participates in its Group Licence to cover payment of fees for the use of recorded music at its events. Teachers using tapes created from commercial recordings are advised that they must seek permission to re-record from record companies when making tapes.

The Festival committee cannot accept any responsibility for property left at the venue during the Festival.

ADJUDICATION
Adjudicator’s decision will be regarded as final.
Awards may be withheld if, in the opinion of the adjudicator, sufficient merit is not shown.
No entrant, teacher or interested party may discuss any aspect of the Festival with an adjudicator before, during or after classes, except at the invitation of the adjudicator.

Adjudications will be available at the end of each class from the adjudicator’s desk or the Festival office after the session has ended.
The committee selects performers for the Gala Concert from recommendations made by the adjudicators.

MARKING SYSTEM
When adjudicators are assessing entries it is the performance on the day that matters, potential is not taken into account. The adjudicators use a marking scheme recommended by the committee. Marks are used to indicate the quality of performance and take into account all aspects of performance including difficulty of piece, posture, platform manners, technical ability and artistic merit. This is done to assist with recommendations for special trophies,
Festival concert or any bursaries that may be available in a particular year.
Please note. These marks and recommendations are available for committee use only.

TIME LIMITS
Classes are timetabled precisely; this enables the committee to keep costs to a minimum. The time limit for each class is shown on the information sheet and website and must be strictly adhered to. If a performer runs over the time allotted he/she may be stopped. If this happens he/she will not be penalized but judged on what has already been played.

ACCOMPANISTS
An official accompanist will be available for those classes as specified in the Information Sheet and Website. This availability is subject to entrants stating on the entry form that they require this service. Please send the correct fee and a photocopy of the accompaniment. Copyright law still applies for the performance. Late applications for the accompanist may be accepted at the discretion of the committee and the accompanist with any exceptional circumstances being taken into account.

PLEASE NOTE THE OFFICIAL ACCOMPANIST IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR SPECIALIST CLASSES UNLESS BY PRIVATE ARRANGEMENT.

ADJUDICATION SHEETS, CERTIFICATES AND MEDALS
Adjudication sheets are completed by the adjudicator in all classes and are available from the class secretary at the end of the class.
Certificates of performance are given to all entrants in the Non Competitive Concert Classes. ‘Special’ Green Medals are also given to Infant i.e. School Year 2 or under, entrants.
First, second and third place medals may be awarded in all competitive classes at the discretion of the adjudicator. ‘Special’ green medals may also be awarded at the discretion of the adjudicator for any aspect of performance that he/she feels may merit this e.g. potential, musicality.

TROPHIES
The trophy is awarded to the first place medal winner if the adjudicator considers this to be appropriate. All trophies and their boxes remain the property of the South Glamorgan Festival for Young Musicians. They must be returned to the address specified on the trophy receipt form on the date specified by the SGFYM committee. Failure to return the trophy by the required date will result in the winner forfeiting the right to remove any future trophies that he/she is awarded at this Festival.
In the event of a trophy not being returned, the parent/guardian of the holder will be invoiced accordingly. This will include an administration fee.

In the event of a tie for first place, both entrants must sign for the receipt of the trophy and its safekeeping and it should be held for an equal amount of time during the ten months it is kept by the winners. They will be held jointly responsible for its safe return.

Winners wishing to have their names engraved on the trophies must apply to the Festival engravers, who are Porters, Monthermer Road, Cathays, Cardiff.

The winners of the ‘Best of’ category trophies are decided solely by the adjudicators, not by the committee.
Any entrant nominated for a ‘Best of’ category or ‘Best of Festival’ trophy must be present at the Gala Concert in order to receive this trophy and hold it for the year. If an entrant cannot attend the Gala Concert the persons name will be announced and at the discretion of the committee the trophy may be collected at a later date

GENERAL
Adjudicators requiring overnight accommodation are housed independently of the SGFYM.
The decision of the committee in all matters arising out of, or not specifically covered in these rules and regulations is final.
Any protests about the infringement of these rules or action taken following an infringement should be made in writing to the Festival address within one week of the Festival and should be accompanied by an SAE.
Changes to these rules and regulations are at the discretion of the committee. Any suggestions relating to these rules and regulation should be made in writing to the Festival address at least three weeks before the date of the AGM.