Festival Competitions 2023
Closing date for all applications: 23:59, January 2nd 2023
N.B. COMPETITIONS – This may be subject to minor changes
CHIEF MUSICIAN
Open to harpists born on or after September 1st, 1987
Stage 1: Recital (20’)
A balanced programme to include one of the following:
John Metcalf Any two pieces from Harp Scrapbook (Curiad)
Albert Roussel Impromptu (Durand)
Alun Hoddinott Fantasy for Harp (Oxford University Press)
Domenico Scarlatti Sonata in A Major, K113 A Collection of 17 Sonatas arr. McDonald / Wood (Music Works – Harp Editions)
Elias Parish-Alvars Serenade (Adlais)
Stage 2: Recital (25’)
A balanced programme to include one of the following. No pieces from Stage 1 can be repeated.
J. S. Bach Suite BWV 1006a ed. Sioned WIlliams (Oxford University Press)
Paul Hindemith Sonata (1939) (Schott)
Louis Spohr Fantaisie in C minor Op.35 (Barenreiter)
Felix Godefroid Carnival de Venice (any edition)
Stage 3: Recital (30’) to include:
Camille Saint-Saëns Fantasie Op.124 – Harp & Violin (Durand)
PRIZES: 1st £5000 / 2nd £2000 / 3rd £1000
PLEASE ENSURE YOU’VE READ THE COMPETITION RULES BEFORE ENTERING
YOUTH
Open to harpists born on or after September 1st, 2003
Stage 1: Recital (15’)
A balanced programme to include one of the following:
John Thomas Any one of the 24 Welsh Melodies (Adlais)
J. L. Dussek One of the 6 Sonatinas (complete) Musica Antiqua Bohemia (Edition Suprafon)
J. S. Bach Bourée ed. H. Renié – Les Classiques de la Harpe vol. 3 (Leduc)
Stage 2: Recital (20’)
A balanced programme to include one of the following:
Gareth Glyn Erddigan – Living Harp 1 (Curiad)
Ann Griffiths Beth yw’r Haf i mi? / What is summer to me? (Adlais)
Meinir Heulyn Pedair Waltz o Gymru / Four Welsh Waltzes – A Celtic Feast Vol.1
Alun Hoddinott Sonata
William Mathias Three Improvisations
John Parry Sonata No. 2 – complete (any edition)
Grace Williams Hiraeth
PRIZES: Three equal scholarships of £1500 each (for further harp study)
PLEASE ENSURE YOU’VE READ THE COMPETITION RULES BEFORE ENTERING
JUNIOR COMPETITION (One Stage Only)
Open to harpists born on or after September 1st, 2009
Free choice programme up to 7 minutes duration
PRIZES: Three equal scholarships of £300 each (for further harp study)
PLEASE ENSURE YOU’VE READ THE COMPETITION RULES BEFORE ENTERING
WORLD MUSIC (no age restriction)
Solo or group of up to 5 members. Can include any instrument or voice(s) including Penillion, but must include at least one harp of any kind (for example celtic, guzheng, kora, koto pedal, triple…)
Stage 1: Programme of own choice music; no longer than 15 minutes
Stage 2: Performance of a 20-minute programme
PRIZES: 1st £2000 / 2nd £1000 / 3rd £500
PLEASE ENSURE YOU’VE READ THE COMPETITION RULES BEFORE ENTERING
Closing date for all applications: 23:59, January 2nd 2023
N.B. COMPETITIONS – This may be subject to minor changes
2023 Rules
(a) All competitions are open to harpists of any nationality.
(b) There is no lower “cut off” age for any of the competitions i.e., a competitor is free to enter several classes, provided he / she is not over the upper age limit stated.
(c) Harpists may compete in more than one category.
(d) The decisions of the jury are final and binding, and cannot be challenged. The competition organisers reserve the right not to award prizes if the standard is not sufficiently high in the opinion of a majority of the members of the jury.
(e) Before the Festival commences, competitors’ names will be drawn by an independent panel to decide on the order of performance. This order will then be followed at every stage.
(f) Competitors are encouraged to bring their own harps wherever possible. Competitors from abroad may apply for the loan of an instrument. The organisers will make every attempt to satisfy the request specified on the application form, but cannot guarantee that it will be possible to provide the exact make and style of the harp requested. An early application is highly desirable.
(g) Chief Musician Competition only: a recent recording (5 – 10 minutes duration) of the competitor’s own choice of music must be sent with the application. You may send your recording to us via email – either as an attachment (15mb limit) or as a link to your files, such as Dropbox, GoogleDrive, SoundCloud, etc. The requested recording is part of a detailed application that is accepted as normal for competitions of this level. A formal invitation to participate will be sent no later than the 16th January 2023.
(h) 75% of the registration fee will be refunded to competitors not admitted to the Chief Musician competition.
(i) If a competitor pulls out of the competition for any reason, registration fees will not be refunded.
(j) The deadline for receiving entries and recordings is the 2nd January 2023.
Entry fees: –
Chief Musician: £80. This includes entry to all festival events and evening concerts.
Youth: £60. This includes entry to all festival events and evening concerts
Junior: £30. This includes a ticket for competitor and an accompanying adult to one evening concert of their choice and entry to all Festival daytime activities for the competitor.
World Music: £60 for one performer and £10 per additional performer. This includes entry to all festival events and evening concerts.
