Music International Grand Prix
2024 Policies
REGISTRATION DEADLINES:
Registration opens August 1, 2023
Early Registration/Video Submission Deadline: October 31, 2023
If you simply register before Oct 31, but do not complete and submit your application with video until Nov 1 or later, there is a late fee.
Late Registrations accepted (with late fee): November 1 - February 1, 2024
Final Deadline: February 1, 2024
COMPETITION DATES:
Semifinal rounds begin in February and run through March, exact dates TBA.
Finals: Friday April 26, 2024, 10 am - 3 pm, Piano Piano Studios, NYC
Winners Concert: Saturday April 27, 2024, 12:00 pm, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, NYC
AGE CATEGORIES:
Enter in the category for your age as of the date of your proposed Semifinal. For example, at the time of registration you are 12, however you turn 13 years old on February 10, and you have a Semifinal on February 11, you must enter in the Teen Category.
Youth: 6-12
Teen: 13-19
Adult: 20 +
INSTRUMENT CATEGORIES:
Classical Voice (Opera, Art Song, Oratorio)
Popular Voice (Musical Theatre, Pop, Rock, Jazz, etc.)
Piano
Strings (violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, harp, other)
Winds & Brass (any orchestral woodwind and brass instruments)
Ensembles (small ensembles, bands, choirs)
Composition (new, original composition, any style)
PRIZES:
Grand Prix: $5000
1st Place in each category (Classical Voice, Popular Voice, Piano, Strings, Winds/Brass, Ensemble, Composition)
Adult: $1000
Teen: $500
Youth: $250
Audience Fav.: $100 (no separate age categories)
SCHOLARSHIPS:
Interlochen Arts Academy
Partial Scholarships to all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Prize winners in the Youth and Teen Categories to an online or Summer Program in 2024 or 2025.
AIMS Graz
A partial scholarship to the 2024 Summer Program
ENTRANCE FEES: (All Fees are non-refundable)
Registration Fee: $50
Semifinal Fee: $125 (If you are invited to the Semifinals)
Late Fee: $50 (Registering after Nov.1, 2022 up to Feb. 1, 2024)
FINALS: No Fees
REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS:
Classical Voice:
An art song, opera aria, concert aria, or oratorio aria.
Popular Voice:
Musical Theatre, Pop, Rock, Country, Jazz, etc., or an Original Song in non-Classical style (no profanity in lyrics allowed).
Piano, Strings, Woodwinds & Brass, Percussion:
Any selection of repertoire (classical, contemporary, or original repertoire) showing your highest level of technique and artistry.
Ensembles:
Any selection of repertoire (classical, contemporary, or original repertoire.)
Composition:
Composers must submit original work that they composed themselves. Please submit a PDF of your score, and either a video or an audio file of the music.
QUARTERFINAL VIDEO SUBMISSIONS:
SEMIFINAL AUDITIONS:
Those who are selected as Semifinalists will perform live in front of a panel of judges at their selected location (either in-person or on Zoom.)
Semifinal auditions are usually limited to 10 minute time slots for instrumentalists and 5 minute time slots for singers.
You may perform the same piece in the Semifinal as your original video submission, or you can choose a different selection.
All participating Semifinalists will receive scores and judges’ comments. All Semifinalists must perform live and may not submit another video in lieu of the live audition.
FINAL AUDITIONS:
Contestants who advance to the Finals must perform a different selection than their Quarterfinal or Semifinal selections. 1st place winners will be announced at the completion of the Finals, and they will perform the next day at the Winners Concert to compete for the Grand Prix. Finalists will attend the Winners Concert where 2nd and 3rd place winners will be announced and medals awarded. There will be no judges’ comments at the Final round, they will simply be choosing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.
WINNERS CONCERT:
1st place winners who are selected to perform at the Winners Concert must perform the same repertoire they performed at the Finals.
All Finalists and 1st Place Winners must perform in-person in NYC. There is no Zooming or sending videos for the Finals or the Winners Concert.
ACCOMPANIMENT:
JUDGING PROCESS:
OTHER POLICIES:
Registration opens August 1, 2023
Early Registration/Video Submission Deadline: October 31, 2023
If you simply register before Oct 31, but do not complete and submit your application with video until Nov 1 or later, there is a late fee.
Late Registrations accepted (with late fee): November 1 - February 1, 2024
Final Deadline: February 1, 2024
COMPETITION DATES:
Semifinal rounds begin in February and run through March, exact dates TBA.
Finals: Friday April 26, 2024, 10 am - 3 pm, Piano Piano Studios, NYC
Winners Concert: Saturday April 27, 2024, 12:00 pm, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, NYC
AGE CATEGORIES:
Enter in the category for your age as of the date of your proposed Semifinal. For example, at the time of registration you are 12, however you turn 13 years old on February 10, and you have a Semifinal on February 11, you must enter in the Teen Category.
Youth: 6-12
Teen: 13-19
Adult: 20 +
INSTRUMENT CATEGORIES:
Classical Voice (Opera, Art Song, Oratorio)
Popular Voice (Musical Theatre, Pop, Rock, Jazz, etc.)
Piano
Strings (violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, harp, other)
Winds & Brass (any orchestral woodwind and brass instruments)
Ensembles (small ensembles, bands, choirs)
Composition (new, original composition, any style)
PRIZES:
Grand Prix: $5000
1st Place in each category (Classical Voice, Popular Voice, Piano, Strings, Winds/Brass, Ensemble, Composition)
Adult: $1000
Teen: $500
Youth: $250
Audience Fav.: $100 (no separate age categories)
SCHOLARSHIPS:
Interlochen Arts Academy
Partial Scholarships to all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Prize winners in the Youth and Teen Categories to an online or Summer Program in 2024 or 2025.
AIMS Graz
A partial scholarship to the 2024 Summer Program
ENTRANCE FEES: (All Fees are non-refundable)
Registration Fee: $50
Semifinal Fee: $125 (If you are invited to the Semifinals)
Late Fee: $50 (Registering after Nov.1, 2022 up to Feb. 1, 2024)
FINALS: No Fees
REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS:
Classical Voice:
An art song, opera aria, concert aria, or oratorio aria.
Popular Voice:
Musical Theatre, Pop, Rock, Country, Jazz, etc., or an Original Song in non-Classical style (no profanity in lyrics allowed).
Piano, Strings, Woodwinds & Brass, Percussion:
Any selection of repertoire (classical, contemporary, or original repertoire) showing your highest level of technique and artistry.
Ensembles:
Any selection of repertoire (classical, contemporary, or original repertoire.)
Composition:
Composers must submit original work that they composed themselves. Please submit a PDF of your score, and either a video or an audio file of the music.
QUARTERFINAL VIDEO SUBMISSIONS:
- Please submit ONLY ONE video with ONE selection up to 10 minutes. It’s unnecessary to submit multiple videos as only one video will be watched.
- Videos must be current. Do not submit a video that is more than one year old.
- Clearly add titles or a slate to the beginning of your video with your name, instrument, and the repertoire you are performing.
- Videos should provide a clear view of the applicant(s) playing their instrument(s) or singing.
- Please submit a Youtube URL to see your video which is NOT private or password protected.
- If you are entering in two separate categories, please submit two separate videos.
SEMIFINAL AUDITIONS:
Those who are selected as Semifinalists will perform live in front of a panel of judges at their selected location (either in-person or on Zoom.)
Semifinal auditions are usually limited to 10 minute time slots for instrumentalists and 5 minute time slots for singers.
You may perform the same piece in the Semifinal as your original video submission, or you can choose a different selection.
All participating Semifinalists will receive scores and judges’ comments. All Semifinalists must perform live and may not submit another video in lieu of the live audition.
FINAL AUDITIONS:
Contestants who advance to the Finals must perform a different selection than their Quarterfinal or Semifinal selections. 1st place winners will be announced at the completion of the Finals, and they will perform the next day at the Winners Concert to compete for the Grand Prix. Finalists will attend the Winners Concert where 2nd and 3rd place winners will be announced and medals awarded. There will be no judges’ comments at the Final round, they will simply be choosing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.
WINNERS CONCERT:
1st place winners who are selected to perform at the Winners Concert must perform the same repertoire they performed at the Finals.
All Finalists and 1st Place Winners must perform in-person in NYC. There is no Zooming or sending videos for the Finals or the Winners Concert.
ACCOMPANIMENT:
- Performing without an accompanist is allowed.
- Performing to a recorded track on a Zoom audition is allowed.
- No recorded accompaniment is allowed at in-person venues (sound systems are not always available and it’s time consuming to set up your own speakers.)
- You may bring your own accompanist, or reserve a staff accompanist for a fee.
- Composers may play an audio track if submitting a large orchestral piece, or perform their work live if it is for a solo or small ensemble.
JUDGING PROCESS:
- Submit a video to determine if you can advance to the Semifinal auditions.
- After all the Semifinals are completed, scores from each location will be tabulated. Top scoring Semifinalists will be invited to the Finals.
- Judges will be judging on both technique and artistry.
- Semifinal top scorers at each location will be announced on the website. We will no longer be calling these top scorers “winners” to avoid any confusion.
- Being a Semifinal top scorer does not guarantee invitation to the Finals, it simply means you were in the top rank at your particular Semifinal location. The scores from ALL locations will be evaluated after the completion of all Semifinal locations, and the highest scorers will advance to the Finals. For example, you scored 85 which was the highest score at your location, so you would be a top scorer at that location. However, there may be 20 people who score 90 or higher at other locations, which means you would not be advancing to the Finals. In general, you must score a minimum of 90 to have a chance at passing through to the Finals. A score in the low 90s is not a guarantee, as there may be a large number of people who score 95 or above, in which case you would not advance to the Finals.
- The Finalists will compete at Piano Piano Studios on West 65th street near Lincoln Center in NYC on Friday, April 26, 2024.
- The Winners Concert and presentation of awards is at Merkin Hall in NYC on Saturday, April 27, 2024. The 1st place winners from each category will perform at the concert to compete for the Grand Prix Award.
OTHER POLICIES:
- There will be Top Scorers for each Semifinal Location (no cash prizes or medals at the Semifinal level).
- Certificates will be awarded for the highest level that a contestant reaches in the competition. If you do not pass to the Finals, you will receive a Semifinal Certificate. If you are a Finalist but not a winner, you will receive a Finalist Certificate. If you are a winner, you will receive a Winners Certificate.
- Feedback and scores will be provided at the Semifinal level. At the Finals, judges will simply be choosing the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.
- Details about the Winners Concert will be provided to all participating Finalists after notification of acceptance to the Finals.
- All Finalists will have their names printed in the Merkin Concert Hall Program.
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place winners receive Medals.
- Contestants must be present at the Winners Concert to collect their medals.
- The Judges reserve the right not to award a prize in any particular category.
- The 1st place winner who wins the Grand Prix will receive the $5000 Grand Prize instead of the 1st place prize money.
- 1st Place winners are required to perform in the winners concert in order to receive their cash prize.
- Cash awards will be paid the week after the concert, either via check (if you live in the USA), or via PayPal or a Bank Transfer if you do not have an account in the USA.
- All contestants are responsible for their own travel expenses.