L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

OSM STANDARD LIFE COMPETITION

73nd Edition
 

November 21 to 24, 2012
PIANO AND PERCUSSION

RULES

The OSM Standard Life Competition reserves the right to change the text of the rules as it deems fit and without warning.

A. GENERAL CONDITIONS

1. The contestant must be a Canadian citizen or permanent Canadian resident.
2. The OSM Standard Life Competition is not open to former winners of an OSM Standard Life Grand Prize.
3. By signing the application form, the contestant accepts all the conditions of the Competition as well as the decisions of the jury, which are final and without appeal.
4. Failure to comply with the rules or conditions of participation may result in the candidate's disqualification, without right of appeal.

B. APPLICATION

1. Application documents sent to the OSM must be postmarked no later than September 30, 2012. An incomplete registration will not be considered.
2. The following must be included with the application form:

• A non-refundable registration fee of one hundred and fifty dollars ($150 CA) paid by credit card, bank or postal money order only (personal checks are not accepted);
• Proof of age and of Canadian citizenship or Canadian permanent residency (for example, a clear photocopy of passport, birth certificate, Canadian citizenship card - front and back - or a permanent resident card);
• Complete typescript list of works (including the titles of movements) to be performed for all three rounds of the competition with timings;
• Two copies (CDs) of the preliminary round recording clearly identified. CDs must be readable on a audio system as well as on computer. Please note that the quality of the recording may influence the jury. The recording must be done without splicing. The number of tracks on the CD must meet the number of movements and pieces performed;
• A résumé (studies, teachers, diplomas, awards, professional experience);
• A high resolution (300 DPI) headshot, approximately 15 cm X 20 cm, JPG version.

3. Documents and recordings submitted by contestant will not be returned after the Competition.

C. ROUNDS

1. The Competition is divided in three rounds: preliminaries, semifinals and finals. The candidate must present a different program for each round.
2. All the rounds, except the preliminaries, are open to the public.
3. Determined by drawing lots, the candidate for the semifinal will be given an order of appearance also valid for the final round.
4. Repeats are left to the judgment of the candidate, but he must take these into account in working out the timing of his program.
5. The candidate must consider his performance for the semifinal as a recital or a concert and build his program to that effect. It should highlight his artistic and technical merits and propose works from different periods or esthetics. In making its decision, the jury will take into account the balanced construction of the programs.
6. Two works must be performed from memory in the semifinal. The work or works of the final round must be performed from memory.
7. The candidate may leave the stage only once during the semifinal, while strictly respecting the maximum duration allotted to that round.
8. The candidate may be interrupted at the discretion of the jury.
9. The candidate must provide four bound copies of his program for the jury before the semifinal and final auditions. The copies must be submitted in the order of performance of the works.

D. CESSION OF RIGHTS

1. The candidate must forfeit all recording, broadcasting and distribution rights of any kind to the OSM Standard Life Competition, together with all artists' rights for a period of fifty years from the date of the performance. By completing the official application form, the candidate agrees to release all rights regarding the future use of recordings of his performances. 

E. OFFICIAL PIANISTS

1. The OSM Standard Life Competition will provide the services of an official accompanist to each semifinalist who so desires. Each pianist assigned by the Competition will provide 2 hours of rehearsal to each semifinalist as well as his services for the performance in front of the jury.
2. The choice and assignation of the official pianist is done by the Competition. An official pianist may not accompany a semifinalist on a private basis.
3. Any extra rehearsal time is at the semifinalist's expense.
4. Any modification made at the request of the semifinalist to the agreement between the official pianist and the Competition will automatically entail a financial reimbursement by the semifinalist equal to the amount negotiated between the Competition and the official accompanist.
5. Any semifinalist wishing to come with his own accompanist may do so at his own expense.

F. BILLETING

1. The OSM Volunteer Committee offers to the candidate who lives outside of Montreal the possibility of being billeted, if the request is made at the time of registration.
2. Upon request, a candidate can obtain from the Competition a list of hotels located downtown. A semifinalist may stay in a hotel at his own expense.
3. The Competition will not cover costs related to travel and accommodation, or other expenses, for anyone accompanying a semifinalist.

G. UNDERTAKING OF THE CANDIDATE

1. The candidate agrees to be free from all professional and academic activities other than those related to the competition during said Competition - from November 21 until November 24 inclusively. In addition, the candidate must be present for the launch of the Competition, on November 20, as well as for the announcement of the finalists of his category and the Prize Awarding Ceremony, on November 24, 2012. A brunch between the candidates, the mentors, the jury members and the competition staff is also set on Sunday, November 25.
2. Semi-formal dress is required for all official events of the Competition as well as for all performances in front of an audience.
3. For the whole duration of the Competition, the candidate will refrain from having direct or indirect contact with the members of the jury, except for the semifinalist not moving on to the finals.
4. The winner of the OSM Standard Life Grand Prize or a first prize agrees to mention the said prize in all his promotional material (biography, website, etc.), and agrees to ensure that the said prize is mentioned in all promotional materials (programs, website, footnotes of recording, etc.) of eventual producers, distributors and broadcasters, for a period of five years from the awarding of the prize.

COMPETITION AUTHORITIES

1. The Competition Committee reserves the right to cancel a class or category should there be an insufficient number of contestants.
2. The jury reserves the right to withhold any or all of the prizes.
3. The choice of the OSM Standard Life Grand Prize Winner will be made by the jury, whose decision is final and without appeal.
    
    

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