GENERAL INFORMATION  

 

DATES

June 24 - July 1, 2019

 

AGE LIMIT

There is no age limit.

 

LANGUAGE

The official language of the competition will be English.

 

 

APPLICATION

You can submit the Application Form here.

 

 

FEES

The APPLICATION FEE is 250 EUR (or its US Dollar equivalent of 290 USD), and it can be paid by PayPal or credit card, as well as bank transfer. The fee must be submitted at the time of application and arrive by the deadline (in case of the bank transfer, the application will be accepted if it was paid by the deadline, even if it takes several days to arrive into our account, but please send us a proof of it). The application fee is non-refundable except in the event of the Competition cancellation. If paying by bank transfer, please be sure to:

• include your name in the transfer reference

• exactly 250 EUR or 290 USD should arrive at our account, so any bank transfer charges should be paid by the applicant.

Note: If an applicant decides not to compete, the fee cannot be refunded.

To pay electronically, the application fee can be submitted with the Application Form. To pay by bank transfer (in either € or US$), our bank account details are as follows:

 

Account holder: NBO
Bank: Erste Bank
​IBAN: RS35 3400 0000 1101 1121 14
SWIFT: GIBARS22

 

 

STAGES

• pre-selection stage (video submission) - submission deadline is APRIL 15, 2019 (EST) *

• preliminary stage (live) - 36 candidates - June 24-26

• semi-final stage (live) - 12 candidates - June 27-28

• finals (live public concert) - up to 4 candidates - June 29-July 1
  
  * if the deadline has passed, note that still there might be a few places available - please contact us immediately to request an extension.

 

 

ORCHESTRA

Orchestra in residence is the Makris Symphony Orchestra, and you will conduct this orchestra in one of its settings (strings, brass, symphonic). We are looking for a "complete conductor," so the candidates will need to show their talents in a variety of settings, such as:

• chamber/string orchestra

• symphony orchestra

• brass ensemble

• working with a vocal/instrumental soloist

 

 

REPERTOIRE

Each stage progresses with more challenging repertoire, as well as more opportunities for each competing conductor to show off their skills. There will be a mandatory piece composed by Andreas Makris at each stage. The finals include the repertoire chosen by the conductor, as well as a mandatory composition by Andreas Makris.

• pre-selection stage (video submission):

  • FREE CHOICE of repertoire (see video submission guidelines below)

• preliminary stage (live with a string orchestra):
  up to 36 candidates; Each candidate will have 15 minutes with the orchestra, and will conduct 2 selections from the following:

  • 1st SELECTION - Makris: 5 Miniatures for Strings (one movement, chosen by lottery)
    [download score of 5 Miniatures for Strings]

  • 2nd SELECTION - Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings AND Grieg: Holberg Suite (one movement from either composition, chosen by lottery)

• semi-finals (live with a chamber orchestra and a soloist):
  up to 12 candidates; Each candidate will have up to 45 minutes with the orchestra, divided into 2 sections - a rehearsal and performance. They will rehearse and conduct 3 selections from the following:

  • 1st SELECTION - Makris: Viola Concerto (one movement, chosen by lottery, with a soloist)
    [download score of the Viola Concerto]
    Soloist: Anna Kolobova, viola (Russia)

  • 2nd SELECTION - Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 AND Mozart: Overture to Die Zauberflöte (one movement from either composition, chosen by lottery)

  • 3rd SELECTION - Puccini: Aria from an opera by Puccini: Un bel di vedremo from Madama Butterfly AND Sì, mi chiamano Mimì from La Bohème (one aria, chosen by lottery)
    Soloist: Marija Jelic, soprano (RS)

• finals (live public concert with a symphony orchestra and a soloist):
  4 candidates: Each candidate will have up to 2 hours with the orchestra, i.e. 1.5 hours to work with the orchestra in rehearsal, and approx. 30 minutes to conduct at the concert. They will rehearse and conduct 3 selections from the following:

  • 1st SELECTION - Makris: Antithesis AND Hellenic Oddysey - mandatory (one of these compositions, chosen by lottery) 
    [download score of "Antithesis"] or [download score of "Hellenic Oddysey"]

  • 2nd SELECTION - Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor (one movement, chosen by lottery, with a soloist)
    Soloist: Marcus Andrews, piano (UK)

  • 3rd SELECTION - A COMPOSITION OF FREE CHOICE (chosen by the conductor) FROM THE FOLLOWING:

    • Beethoven: Overture Egmont

    • Beethoven: Overture Coriolan

    • Strauss: Overture to Die Fledermaus

    • Mendelssohn: Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream

    • Brahms: Academic Festival Overture

    • OR ANY OTHER COMPOSITION chosen by the conductor of a similar length (approx. 10 min.), but please note that the composition must be: 1) written for a symphony orchestra not bigger than "a due" and consisting maximum of 1 harp, 1 piano, 1 harpsichord, 1 saxophone, or up to 4 percussionists; 2) readily available; 3) public domain (free of royalty payments). If in doubt, please contact us.

 

 

VIDEO SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Send 2 contrasting pieces of your choice (contrasting in tempo, character or style). Compositions from the standard orchestral or choral repertoire are recommended at this stage (e.g. Beethoven's 5th Symphony).

• Recording can be from a rehearsal or a performance or recorded at a class. It can be with an orchestra of any kind (symphony, chamber, brass or string) or a choir. If pianos are used, only compositions where you conduct at least 2 pianos or 2 players are allowed.  

• Video must show at least 5 minutes of uninterrupted conducting from the beginning of the composition or a movement.  No stops, restarts, recording pauses, excerpts from the middle of the piece or editing of any kind are allowed.

• The camera must face the conductor, should be sufficiently close (zoom in) but it must show all movements of the conductor AND the musicians playing in it (at the minimum those at first stands). It should be placed somewhere where the best sound can be heard.

• The conductor must be clearly identifiable as the one shown in the photo ID sent with the application.

• Videos should be uploaded and streamed onto the Internet (on YouTube, Vimeo, Dropbox or another kind of streaming server). The link (or links) must be provided with the application, and they should be accessible for viewing without any passwords.

 

 

EVALUATION

The candidates will be judged on their:

• conducting technique

• musicality and passion

• rehearsal skills

• rapport with the orchestra, soloist and the audience

• communication

• leadership / charisma

• overall presentation

 

 

ADJUDICATION PROCESS

To ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation process, a new system has been considered, quite different than on other similar competitions:

 

• Adjudication is based on a 1.0-10.0 grading scale (e.g. 9.5... 8.9 points, etc.)

• Except in the preliminary stage where the grades and those candidates advancing to the next stage will be announced by the end of each day, the grades will be announced immediately following each conductor's appearance (like in a skating competition). To obtain a point average, the highest and the lowest score will first be rejected, then the other scores will be summed up, and divided by the number of qualifying judges. However, to preserve the transparency, the grade from every judge will be shown.

• Competitors advancing to the next stage will be those rated the highest on the grading board (e.g. from 12 candidates that compete on a specific day, 4 highest-scored candidates will advance). When there is more than one component in a particular stage, the highest scores will be determined at the end of ALL components by adding up all scores and dividing them up accordingly.

• At the end of each stage, the jury will publicly welcome those that will be advancing further, as well as give any comments to those that did not go through. At that time certificates as well as any special prizes will be given to those conductors that did not advance (e.g. "The Best Conductor under the Age of 26", etc.).

• If any of the judges know the candidate personally, they will be excused from voting.

 

 

PRIZES

• All candidates will receive a Certificate.

• The finalists will receive one of the following prizes: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as an Honorable Mention (4th place). Only top 3 prizes receive cash awards, which are as follows:

  • 1st place (Gran Prix): 5,000 US Dollars + at least 3 engagements* (Makris Symphony Orchestra and at least two more other orchestras/opera houses)

  • 2nd place: 3,000 US Dollars + possible engagements

  • 3rd place: 1,000 US Dollars + possible engagements

• Note: *There will be a number of special prizes and engagement contracts by external institutions. Special prizes or engagement offers can be awarded to any conductor at the competition, at any stage. Some engagement offers may be given by the criteria set by the external institution. A full list of awards and engagements will be published on this web site before the first live round of the competition commences.

 

 

NOTE: THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE IS DEEMED TO BE CORRECT AT THE TIME OF PUBLISHING. EVERY EFFORT WAS MADE THAT THE INFORMATION IS COMPLETE AND ACCURATE. ANY CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO THE APPLICANTS ACCORDINGLY AND IN TIMELY MANNER.