Classical Music Stars is an international competition open to classical musicians of all ages from all over the world.
Entry to the Preliminary Round is free of charge.
Those contestants who advanced to the finals will have to pay an administrative fee of 87 euros.
There are no travel or accommodation costs – the competition is based on the online video submission.
The competition consists of two rounds: The Preliminary Round and the Final Round, which will select the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Prize winners as well as Awardees of the Absolute Prize, the Honorable Mentions and the Special Prize Laureates.
The competition takes place in accordance with the following timetable:
- Acceptance of applications until 10 January
- Preliminaries 11-13 January
- Notification of Preliminary Round results 14 January
- Acceptance of entries for the final round 14-19 January
- Final round 20 – 24 January
- Announcement of results 25 January
Entries in the following categories are accepted for The Classical Music Stars:
All types of instruments:
Piano and other keyboard instruments
Stringed instruments
Woodwinds
Brass instruments
Percussion instruments
Traditional Instruments
Opera voice of any kind
All types of chamber ensembles
Composers
Conductors
The following age groups are represented:
A: 7 years old and younger
B: 8-9 y.o.
C: 10-11 y.o.
D: 12-13 y.o.
E: 14-15 y.o.
F: 16-17 y.o.
G: 18-20 y.o.
H: 21-25 y.o.
I: 26 y.o. and above
- Chamber ensembles, composers and conductors compete without age limit
Video requirements
A. Entrants are requested to submit a video recording of their performance (YouTube or similar platform link) on our “Apply” page.
B. The video needs to clearly show the musician(s) performing the repertoire they wish to present at the competition.
C. There is no minimum requirement for the length of the video. It is normal for a submission to include one piece of a couple of minutes. Younger soloists often play several very short pieces. The maximum length of the recording should not exceed 30 minutes, with the jury having the right to listen to only the first 15 minutes if they consider this sufficient.
D. The Final Round will be based on the same recording as the first round.
E. A single movement or a selection of movements from a cyclical form such as a sonata, suite, etc. may be submitted.
F. The video recordings cannot be edited, but an introduction with the name of the musician, title of the piece and composer would be appreciated.
G. Composers can apply by submitting recordings played by someone else. They may also submit audio recordings played by computer software.
H. It is permitted to play solo, with accompaniment or a mixture of accompanied and unaccompanied pieces.
I. The description of the video should include the name of the musician, the composer and the title of the piece.
J. The settings for the YouTube video(s) should be as follows:
YouTube videos should be set to “Public” or “Unlisted”. The same applies to other sites such as Vimeo, BiliBili, etc.
Please do NOT select “Private”. If your video is private, Jury will not be able to review your submission.
K. Please ensure that the recording is of good quality to give a fair representation of the entrant’s performance.
Awards:
Prizes will be awarded from 1st, 2nd, 3rd prize as well as honorable mentions and special mentions in each category and age group.
All winners:
- receive their diploma
- After the preliminary round you can receive a certificate of participation (for those who made it to the Final Round but did not want to participate).
- will receive certificates for teachers and accompanists upon request
- will have their names and achievements placed on the list of winners
- can be promoted on our Social Media
Selected winners:
- will be interviewed in Maestro Magazine (Absolute Winners)
- will have their winning video published on the website (Absolute Winners)
- will have their portrait photo published on the website (1st Prize with Special Mention Awardees)
- will have created their own Winners web page on www.classicalmusicstars.com (Absolute Winners)
- will have the opportunity for a subscription to medici.tv – the world’s largest classical music platform with over 4000 videos of concerts, operas, masterclasses and documentaries. A great inspiration for any classical musician
- will be given the opportunity to perform (online concert series for Absolute Winners and 1st Prizewinners with Special Mention)
- will receive cash prize (Absolute Winners)
Jury
A. Competitors will be judged by a panel of world-class musicians. For the purpose of maintaining impartiality, the names of the members of the Jury will not be made public.
B. A juror will not judge a contestant who turns out to be their student.
C. The minimum number of jurors to evaluate a category is 3.
D. Verdicts of the Jury are final and irrevocable.
Final Round
There is an administrative fee of 85 euros for participation in the final round of the Classical Music Stars International Competition.
Those who qualify for the final will receive an email with payment instructions.
The Final Round is judged based on the recordings used in the Preliminary Round. However, finalists have the option to present an alternative recording if desired.
Disclaimer
By entering the competition, I consent to the publication of my image and video online, on www.classicalmusicstars.com and on the competition’s social media and partner websites and will not claim any ownership rights.