General guidance and regulations

1 Performers

The Festival is open in general to amateurs, but professionals (teachers or performers) may take part in ‘open’ classes, as conductors or accompanists and in classes B46, C61 and D65. ‘Open’ classes are for any performer, amateur or professional, with no age or status restrictions. However, the committee reserves the right to refuse entry to an ‘open class’ where the performer’s experience may be insufficient. Professionals may also sing as individual members of a choir or play in an ensemble so long as no fee is received for so doing. An amateur is someone who does not derive his/her livelihood from the branch of performance defined by the class title, in which he/she seeks to enter the Festival. In any ensemble all members must adhere to this principle. If in doubt, please consult the section secretary.

2 Age

The age of all performers is reckoned as on 1st September of the year of the festival. Infringement of this regulation will result in disqualification.

3 Entries

A performer may not enter any class more than once. Exceptions will be made for the composition classes and classes involving more than one performer per entry (e.g. duo classes, where the performer has a different partner for each entry).
Entries are not accepted on a provisional basis. Performers are welcome to give information about availability at the time of entry and the committee will take this into account when scheduling classes. However, as conflicting requests are sometimes received, it is not always possible to accommodate them all.
The committee regrets that no entry fees will be refunded except where a class has been entered in error, and the entry is to be cancelled. In this situation only, the fee will be refunded, less the administrative fee charged to the Festival by the service provider in the case of on-line entries, if the funds have not been cleared. Where the entry is to be moved to another class, no refund will be given where the cost is less, and arrangements must be made with the section secretary for the difference to be paid before the class is held where it is greater.

On-line entries

The on-line entry form should be completed in full. The committee reserves the right not to accept entries which are incomplete without refund. On-line entrants will receive an e-mail confirming receipt of their entry shortly after submitting it.

Entries on paper

The official entry form must be used. Entry forms should be completed in block capitals. Title and exact timing of ‘own choice’ items must be shown.
Entries without this information, particularly a valid e-mail address, may be rejected and no late entries will be accepted under any circumstances.

Completed entry forms, together with a cheque, made payable to Woking Music Festival, should be sent to the appropriate section secretary. No receipt will be issued and no entry fees will be refunded.
Please feel free to photocopy entry forms if you wish.
Further forms can be downloaded from this site.

4 Notice

Notice of the date and time of all classes for every performer will be emailed not later than one week before the Festival. If, by then, no notice has been received, enquiry should be made of the section secretary concerned.

5 Awards

Performances will be awarded grades as recommended by the British & International Federation of Festivals — full details will be published in the programme. Certificates, mark sheets and trophies will be presented at the end of each class. Trophies and awards will not normally be presented unless a sufficiently high standard of performance is achieved.

6 Perfomance items

A full score/script of the selected piece must be provided for the adjudicator at the time of performing. Performers failing to do this may be disqualified. Music and scripts should not be sent to the section secretary except for entries in the composition classes.

Items chosen for ‘own choice’ classes are subject to the approval of the committee and suitability will be taken into account by the adjudicator in awarding grades. No piece may be performed in more than one class.

N.B. It is illegal to make copies of copyright material without the written authority of the composer author, publisher and printer. Performers using such material must have this authority with them. The committee will not accept responsibility for any infringement.

However, a photocopy of the item to be performed will be allowed for the adjudicator’s use only providing the competitor brings his/her own original copy to the Festival. The photocopy will be destroyed by the Festival committee after the performance. More information about this policy can be found at https://www.mpaonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/The_Code_of_Fair_Practice_Revised_Apr_2016.pdf

7 Changes

Any programme changes must be notified to the section secretary at least one week before the date of the performance at the Festival. Failure to do so may incur disqualification.

8 Time limits

These are shown beside each class. Please check the timing of your performance very carefully. Performers exceeding their allotted time may be stopped. Please note that this rule will be enforced in fairness to all performers and to allow time for good adjudication.

Pieces may be cut or edited (e.g. a repeat or a long introduction omitted) to comply with time limits, but the result must make artistic sense.

9 Performing “out of class”

If an entrant cannot perform at the time scheduled for his/her/their class, the section secretary may arrange for him/her/them to perform at a different time, where the schedule allows. This is entirely at the discretion of the section secretary and committee. Under such circumstances, the performance will be adjudicated and a grade awarded. However, the entrant will forfeit the right to win the class and any trophy associated with it, even if the grade awarded is higher than that awarded to the winning performance in the scheduled class. It will not affect his/her eligibility to win Festival-wide awards, such as the Dame Ethel Smyth, and he/she may still be invited to enter the Woking Young Musician competition.

10 Cups and trophies

These are held for one year only and must be returned, carriage paid, and in clean condition by 1st October. Trophies presented at The Young Musician Competition must be returned by 1st December. Winners may have the trophies engraved with their name at their own expense. N.B. The Festival cannot cover the cost of insuring trophies. Winners are therefore asked to check that such items are covered by their household policies as they will be held responsible for any loss or damage. Trophies and awards may be withdrawn or moved to a class other than the one listed in the syllabus and/or programme.

11 Photography

No photography or recordings of any kind will be allowed during performance or adjudication. This is for copyright and child protection reasons and for the benefit of all performers and audience.

12 Data/safeguarding policies

The Woking Music Festival holds data solely for the purpose of running the Festival. Its Safeguarding Policy is available upon request and from the Festival website.

13 Safety

It is necessary for teachers and parents to be aware of their responsibilities in entering any performer with limited physical capabilities or special needs, bearing in mind the limitations imposed by stage and surrounding environment. It is also necessary for the teacher or parent to pass on to the adjudicator, via the organiser, any such information that would affect the adjudicator’s work.

14 Complaints

Anyone wishing to lodge a complaint can do so by phoning any committee member whose number is in the programme or syllabus or by e-mailing the chairman at chair@wokingmusicfestival.org.uk or by talking to any committee member or volunteer steward at any of our events or activities.

15 Other

The Festival committee reserves the right to:

a) move any entry to a more suitable class if considered necessary
b) cancel any class for appropriate reasons
c) sub-divide any class if considered necessary
d) extend or add sessions if the number of entries cannot be accommodated in the published provisional timetable
e) disqualify or take other appropriate action if any regulation is contravened
f) refuse entry to the Festival if it so decides
g) change from a physical festival to a virtual festival if deemed advisable according to current guidelines.