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RULES & REGULATIONS

February 11th, 2024: Registration Open
April 8th, 2024 : Registration Deadline
April 15th, 2024: Notification of the approved contestants
April 15th – 21th, 2024: Application for Final Round
June 7th, 2024: Winners Announcement Final Round 
June 15th, 2024: Nominees Announcement
June 28th, 2024: Announcement of Special Awards

The VIMA are open to instrumentalists (keyboard, string, wind and percussion instruments), vocalists and interpreters of chamber music of all nationalities. Candidates must send a link to a videoclip of their musical interpretation. This contest accepts links to the main video websites worldwide: YouTube, Vimeo, BiliBili o Youku.

Instruments accepted:

KEYBOARDS:

Piano, Accordion, Organ, Harpsichord

STRINGS:

Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Guitar, Harp

WOODWINDS:

Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Saxophone

BRASS:

Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba

PERCUSSIONS

FOUR HANDS PIANO

CLASSICAL VOICE:

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass

CHAMBER MUSIC:

(Including instrument ensemble and singing groups)

Duo, Trio, Quartet, Quintet, String ensemble, Wind ensemble, Brass ensemble, Chamber Choir Group

Repertory:

Contestants are free to choose their repertory from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic or Contemporary periods.

Age Groups & Program Duration

The age of contestants is determined by the age that they are on the closing date (April 5, 2024).

PRODIGY 

(Age 5 and younger) / up to 5 min

KIDS STAR 

(Age 6-7) / up to 5 min

KIDS TALENT 

(Age 8-9) / up to 7 min                                 

INTERMEDIATE STAR 

(Age 10-11) / up to 7 min

INTERMEDIATE TALENT 

(Age 12-13) / up to 9 min

ADVANCE STAR 

(Age 14-15) / up to 9 min

ADVANCED TALENT 

(Age 16-17) / up to 12 min

SENIOR STAR 

(Age 18-19) / up to 12 min

SENIOR TALENT 

(Age 20-21) / up to 15 min

MASTER STAR 

(Age 22-23) / up to 15 min

MASTER TALENT 

(Age 24-25) / up to 20 min

PROFESSIONAL 

(26 to No age limit) / up to 20 min

Multiple winners may be chosen in each of the age groups.

The VIMA 2023 awards consist of a Preliminary Round, a Final Round and a Nomination Round. Once the competition round results have been published the contestants will receive their diplomas. Participation in the nomination round does not require an additional payment.

1. Preliminary Round

(FREE REGISTRATION)

Candidates must send a videoclip (audio is not acceptable) of their performances using the link on our website. Contestants can send a single video link that may contain different pieces, or movements recorded on different days in different places. The video must contain recordings made during the 12 months before the deadline. Each age category has a maximum duration for the video.

More than one camera may be used for the video recording, but sound effects must not be added to the recording (it is acceptable to have opening credits with the name of the musician, the title of the piece and the composer). Each piece must be a continuous recording. Recordings may be paused between each piece.

The competition will accept video recordings with piano, orchestra, chamber ensemble, wind, percussion or any other accompaniment required by the composer in the published work.

COVID-19 exception. The awards will accept recordings with pre-recorded accompaniment for any entries that cannot record live with accompanying musicians due to social distancing.

Contestants must be dressed appropriately and professionally with their best performance outfit.

Contestants may be disqualified from the competition for breaking any of the rules or regulations. VIMA reserves the right to make changes. All contestants will be notified as soon as possible if any changes are made.

The deadline for registration to the VIMA is April 8th, 2024.

2. Final Round 

(INVITATION & APPLICATION)

Contestants who pass the preliminary round will receive an invitation by email with instructions on how to apply. Only contestants that pass the preliminary round will be able to advance to the competition round. Candidates can either participate in the competition round with the same video link as the previous round or provide a new video link, if they wish, when they register for this round.

The application fee for the competition round is £ 75. For chamber music and four hand piano it is £ 140 per group. We will provide a secure link for the payment. Once the entrance fee has been paid, it cannot be refunded under any circumstances.

All contestants will receive a diploma in high resolution digital format once the results of the competition round have been published.

3. Nomination Round 

(INVITATION & FREE APPLICATION)

Once the competition round has concluded, the VIMA organization will announce the candidates nominated for the special awards. The nominees will be chosen from the candidates that have obtained a platinum or gold prize in the competition round.

For the nomination round, VIMA will carry out the selection and evaluation from the video material presented by each contestant in the competition round. Participation in the nomination round does not require an additional payment.

A selection of nominees will be invited to appear in the Gala Concert that will take place in London during the first half of 2025.

The VIMA awards jury will be made up of world-renowned concert musicians and musical educators from word-renowned musical education institutions. The identity of the judges will be concealed for privacy and impartiality reasons.

The jury will carry out the evaluation exclusively from video materials presented by each contestant. A panel of judges evaluates and qualifies the submitted video material and the final selection of winners is based exclusively on the videoclips that are sent. The judges carry out the evaluation work independently.

The jury has exclusive jurisdiction to resolve any disagreement. Its decisions are final and cannot be appealed. Occasionally it may be decided not to award a prize in one or another category.

Each member of the jury awards points (0-100), evaluating the performances according to the following criteria: intonation (0-20), articulation/diction (0-20), rhythmic precision (0-20), interpretation and musicality (0-20), level and selection of program (0-20). The final points awarded will be the average of the points given by the various members of the jury.

Marking System

Platinum Prize 100 points

Gold Prize 94-99 points

Silver Prize 87-93 points

Bronze Prize 78-86 points

Special Prize 71-77 points

Honour Prize 65-70 points

Finalist’s Certificate 55-64 points

The number of awards is limited, but they can be shared if more than one contestant reaches the same mark.

The deadline for registration to the VIMA is April 8th, 2024.