Online Festival Competition

The Second Round Has Begun

CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR TALENTED CONTESTANTS

OVER $9,000 IN PRIZES

Pianists

Vocalists - Classical & Musical Theatre

Strings - Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass & Guitar

Woodwinds - Flutist, Clarinet, Saxophone & Oboe

Opportunities to improve your musicianship skills and artistry

Receive Evaluations from our esteemed judges

Opportunities to attend and participate in Online Masterclasses taught by professional musicians

Compete with musicians from all over the world, from the comfort and safety of your own home or studio

Open to musicians of all ages and nationalities

All Winners will perform in our LIVE Online Winner’s Recital

produced by Virtual Concert Halls

*DUE TO COVID-19, WE WILL BE ACCEPTING UNACCOMPANIED AUDITION SUBMISSIONS FOR STRING, WIND PLAYERS & VIRTUAL ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS FOR BOTH COMPETITION ROUNDS. VOCALISTS ARE ASKED TO SING WITH EITHER LIVE OR TRACK ACCOMPANIMENTS

• Open to Pianists, Guitarists, Strings, & Woodwinds Musicians of all ages and nationalities.

  • Open to Vocalists (Classical & Musical Theatre) ages 10 and up.

• Soloists and chamber ensembles may compete.

• The first round is a non-elimination round. Every contestant will receive an evaluation from one of our esteemed judges
.

• After receiving the judges evaluation, contestants will have two weeks to practice and then submit an updated video recording for the second round.

• Demonstrated growth and achievement between these two rounds will be factored into the competition scoring.

• Semi-Finalst’s, will have the opportunity to participate in an online masterclass. Click HERE to see a list of our masterclass instructors. All Semi-Finalist’s will compete with their instrumental categories (Strings, Woodwinds, etc…). The Semi-Final rounds will be featured in a recital on our YouTube channel.

• Contestants selected for the Final round will win their application fee back.

• All Finalist’s will be featured on a recital on our YouTube channel on Sunday April 25th @ 12:00pm EST. The winners will be announced at the end of this recital.

• THE WINNERS will win prize money and the opportunity to perform on a LIVE recital afforded by Progressive Musicians and produced by Virtual Concert Halls.

  • Virtual Concert Halls is currently rated the #1 Virtual Recital producer in the world!

• applications are due by February 9th, 2021 at 9:00pm (21:00) Eastern Standard Time.

Competition Divisions

Ages as of February 9th, 2021

*Musicians competing in the Adult Amateur division must be at least 19 years of age, not currently enrolled in a collegiate music program, and not pursuing a professional career in music.  There is no age limit for this division.

**Musicians competing in the Collegiate division must be currently enrolled in a two or four year undergraduate collegiate degree program.  Musicians with undergraduate degrees in music who are awaiting the enrollment in a masters or advanced certificate program may still compete in this division. There is no age limit for this division.

***Musicians competing in the Professional division must already have a professional career in music or be enrolled in masters or terminal degree program.  There is no age limit for this division.

Prizes

Semi-Finalists will win the opportunity to participate in an online masterclass with one of our clinicians

FINALISTS will win back their application fees

Winner’s of the Final round will receive a cash prize and an opportunity to perform on LIVE on Virtual Concert Halls

Ages 5-9: $200

Ages 10-13: $300

Ages 14-18: $300

Adult Amateur: $300

Collegiate: $400

Professional: $500

All Winner’s, Finalist’s, Honorable Mentions, & Instructors will receive an official certificate of award and recognition

CLICK HERE TO MEET OUR MASTERCLASS CLINICIANS

CLICK HERE TO MEET OUR COMPETITION JURY

Repertoire & Performance Requirements

*DUE TO COVID-19, WE WILL BE ACCEPTING UNACCOMPANIED AUDITION SUBMISSIONS FOR STRING PLAYERS & VIRTUAL ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS FOR BOTH COMPETITION ROUNDS. VOCALISTS ARE ASKED TO SING WITH EITHER LIVE OR TRACK ACCOMPANIMENTS

•  Contestants may choose from the standard repertoire (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Contemporary periods, or Musical Theatre) without exceeding time limits.

• We encourage all soloists to memorize their music for the first round.

• All solo repertoire and concerto movements must be memorized for the second, semi-final, and final rounds (with exception to Strings, Woodwinds, any late contemporary or atonal work, and any adult amateur contestants).

• Memorization is not required for duo sonatas, chamber works, or piano ensembles.

• Individual movements taken from larger works are acceptable (movements of Sonatas, Suites, Variations, etc…).

• Incomplete movements will not be accepted (with exception to orchestral cuts and reductions in concertos).

Recording Your Video

*DUE TO COVID-19, WE WILL BE ACCEPTING UNACCOMPANIED AUDITION SUBMISSIONS FOR STRING PLAYERS & VIRTUAL ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS FOR BOTH COMPETITION ROUNDS. VOCALISTS ARE ASKED TO SING WITH EITHER LIVE OR TRACK ACCOMPANIMENTS

• Videos do not need to be of professional quality as long as the image and audio are clear to the viewer.

• If you are shooting your video with a mobile device or tablet, do not use the selfie cam, and try to record in landscape mode (horizontal).


• Instrumentalist’s videos must show the musician’s face (profile is acceptable) and hands at all times, and may not be edited.

• Vocalist’s videos must be shot from the waist up. Displaying the full body is encouraged but not required.


• Audio recordings will not be accepted.

Application Instructions

• Complete the application and pay the registration fee by February 9th 2021 @ 9pm EST.

• All registration fees must be paid for applications to be completed.  ALL DISCOUNTS & PROMOS HAVE BEEN EXTENDED! The soloist application fee is $175. The ensemble application fee is $200 for duos, and an additional $15 per each additional musician. Transaction fees will apply.

• Each submission should include a head shot image and brief biography of each musician, and an unlocked internet link for each video link/file. Be sure to turn off all privacy settings for each link.  Applications containing unviewable links will not be accepted.


ALL VIDEOS AND APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED BY FEBRUARY 9TH, 2020 at 9:00pm (21:00) Eastern Standard Time.

Progressive Musicians reserves the right to make any changes regarding rules, dates, schedules and other information related to the competition.

FESTIVAL COMPETITION 2021

RULES AND REGULATIONS

First Round

• Select your choice of repertoire. Either one or more selections. The total performance time may not exceed 7 minutes.

• Contestants will submit a video of their performance to be evaluated by our competition jury.

• Video links from YouTube and websites alike will be accepted for this round only.

• This round is a Non-Elimination round.

Second round — video submission, after 2 weeks of practice time

• Once the first round evaluations have been distributed, all contestants will have two weeks to practice before submitting an improved video of their performance.

• All repertoire submitted for this round must be the same as the first round. We want to hear your fabulous improvements.

• Submissions for this round MUST be sent as files through the use of Google Drive, iCloud, DropBox, We Transfer, etc… Progressive Musicians must be able to download all video files for this round.

• Every performance from this round will be made available for public viewing on our website.

• Demonstrated growth and achievement will be factored into the competition scoring.

• After reviewing these performances, our judges will select the Semi-Finalists.

MASTERCLASSES

• All Semi-Finalists automatically WIN an opportunity to perform in an online masterclass with one of our clinicians. ($75 value).

• All repertoire performed in the masterclass may be of the contestant’s choosing with exception to their first round submission. The total performance time may not exceed 10 minutes.

• All participants will be required to report their repertoire selections, and may be asked to provide a score for the clinicians, prior to the masterclass.

• The clinicians will work with each contestant and provide live instruction.

• All masterclasses will be taught in English.

• All masterclasses will take place via Zoom, and will be open to the public.

SEMI-FINALS ROUND

• After participating in the masterclasses, all Semi Finalist’s will have two weeks to record and submit a new performance video and an interview video for the Semi-Finals Recital.

• All repertoire performed for the Semi-Finals may be of the contestant’s choosing with exception to their first round submission. The repertoire performed in the masterclass may be repeated for this round. The total performance time may not exceed 10 minutes.

• Submissions for this round MUST be sent as files through the use of Google Drive, iCloud, DropBox, We Transfer, etc… Progressive Musicians must be able to download all video files for this round.

• The Semi-Finals Recitals will be categorized by each instrumental family…

  • Piano

  • Voice (Classical)

  • Voice (Musical Theatre)

  • Strings/Guitar

  • Woodwinds

• All of the Semi-Final recitals will be aired on our YouTube channel. Contestants will have their performances and interviews presented.

• Finalist’s will be announced at the end of the last Semi-Finals recital.

• Each Finalist will be awarded their application fees back.

Final Round

• Contestants will have five days to submit a performance video and an interview video for the Final Round.

• All repertoire performed for the Finals may be of the contestant’s choosing. Contestants may choose up to three selections, and are allowed to repeat repertoire performed in previous rounds. The total performance time may not exceed 15 minutes.

• Submissions for this round MUST be sent as files through the use of Google Drive, iCloud, DropBox, We Transfer, etc… Progressive Musicians must be able to download all video files for this round.

• The Finalist’s recital will be aired live on our YouTube channel. Contestants will have their performances and interviews presented.

• 1st & 2nd Place Winner’s will be awarded an opportunity to perform on a LIVE online winner’s recital produced by Virtual Concert Halls.

• 1st Place Winner’s will receive a cash prize…

  • Ages 5-9: $200

  • Ages 10-13: $300

  • Ages 14-18: $300

  • Adult Amateur: $300

  • Collegiate: $400

  • Professional: $500

WINNER’S RECITAL

• The 1st & 2nd Place winners will have the opportunity to perform on a LIVE recital afforded by Progressive Musicians and produced by Virtual Concert Halls. ($150 dollar value).

  • Virtual Concert Halls is currently rated the #1 Virtual Recital producer in the world!

Competition Dates & Deadlines

February 9th - All applications, fees, and first round videos are due @ 9pm EST.

February 18th - All evaluations are distributed to the contestants.

March 4th - Round 2 Videos are due @ 9pm EST.

March 10th - Semi Finalist’s are selected and notified.

March 13th

• Piano Workshop: 9:00am-11:00am; 12:00pm-2:00pm EST via Zoom

March 14th

• Classical Voice Workshop: 10:00am-12:00pm; 1:00pm-3:00pm EST via Zoom

• Musical Theatre Voice Workshop: 4:00-6:00pm; 7:00pm-9:00pm EST via Zoom

March 20th

• String/Guitar Workshops: 4:00pm-6:00pm; 7:00pm-9:00pm EST via Zoom

March 21st

• Woodwind Workshops: 10:00am-12:00pm; 1:00pm-3:00pm EST via Zoom

March 27th - Piano & Voice Semi-Final round videos due

April 3rd - Strings/Guitar, Woodwinds & Semi-Final round videos due

April 10th - ONLINE SEMI-FINALS RECITALS

• Piano @ 12:00pm EST

• Voice (Classical & Musical Theatre) @ 6:00pm EST

April 11th - ONLINE SEMI-FINALS RECITALS

• Strings/Guitar @ 11:00am EST

• Woodwinds @ 2:00pm EST

• FINALIST’S ANNOUNCEMENT @ 5:00pm EST

April 17th @ 9pm EST - Finalist’s videos are due

April 25th - ONLINE FINALIST’S RECITAL @ 12:00pm EST

• WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT @ 6:00pm EST

May 8th - LIVE ONLINE WINNER’S RECITAL @ 12:00pm EST