I INTERNATIONAL CONDUCTING COMPETITION

Sept. 10, 2024

COMPETITION REGULATIONS
The First International Conducting Competition

COMPETITION FOUNDER
The Capital Symphony Orchestra Ltd.
(Столичный Симфонический Оркестр)

PARTNERS
Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory
International Union of Musical Figures
Russian Engineering Bureau
Tour Bureau
Expressstrade
Startavto

MEDIA PARTNERS
Radio "Orpheus"
КУЛЬТУРА.РФ web portal
Musical Seasons website
“Nostalgia” Radio

JURY CHAIRMAN
Alexey Maximovich Rudnevsky - Dean of the Faculty of Symphonic and Choral Conducting of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory.

JURY MEMBERS
1. Gayrat Shavkatovich Abrarov (Uzbekistan) - Head of the Orchestral Conducting Department of the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan.

2. Scott Woodard (USA) - Artistic Director and Principal Conductor: West Virginia State Philharmonic Orchestra, Butler Philharmonic Orchestra. Member of the Board of Directors of the International Conductors Guild.

3. Raul Munguia (USA) - Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the symphony orchestra at Nazareth University in Rochester New York, the Genesis International Symphony, and the New Jersey Lyric Opera.

4. Filipe Cunha (Portugal) - Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Braga Philharmonic Orchestra.

5. Dusan Urosevic (Bosnia) - Art Director and Principal conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the National Theater of Republika Srpska (Serbian National Theatre)


GENERAL PROVISIONS
CONTEST PERIOD
The competition will run from 10 November, 2024 to 12 January, 2025.
The competition will be held once a year.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
To preserve and develop the traditions of the art of symphonic conducting and orchestral performance, to help young talents to achieve high professional skills in conducting and working with the orchestra, and to improve creative approaches for practicing conductors.

FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
The Competition itself is free of charge. The organizer of the Competition does not assume travel expenses of the participants, nor does the organizer assume accommodation and catering expenses.

PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION
The Competition is open to conductors from different countries between the ages of 19 and 35: students and graduates of higher music education institutions, practicing conductors with a diploma in opera and symphony conducting, as well as practicing conductors without opera and symphony education.
Applications for the Competition are accepted in the form of a brief message in WhatsApp or Telegram to the Capital Symphony Orchestra phone number +7 926 558 92 66. Please specify your full name. Representatives of the Organizing Committee will contact you.
It is necessary to send a link to a video recording to the Orchestra's e-mail csorchestra@mail.ru, which should be placed on YouTube, RuTube, Yandex or Google Drive.
A full or partial performance of a symphonic work recorded on a single camera during a rehearsal or concert lasting no more than 10 minutes is required. If no video recording is available, the participant may leave a request with the Orchestra Practices for Conductors Department of the Capital Symphony Orchestra, LLC at the same phone number to produce a video recording with the Orchestra as part of a rehearsal. The film crew will make the recording and give the video file free of charge to the contestant, who may use it at this and other competitions.
Entries are being accepted until November 1, 2024.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PARTICIPANT
Evaluation criteria: knowledge of the score by heart, conducting not by heart, ability to maintain visual contact with the orchestra, musicality, mastery of conducting technique, artistry, and ability to work with the orchestra.

COMPETITION PROCEDURE
Round I
On November 10, 2024 people who have been selected by video recordings or who have participated in rehearsals for a wide range of conductors on the special program of the Capital Symphony Orchestra “Practice of Working with the Orchestra” developed by the management of the organization are allowed to participate on November 10, 2024. To participate in the first round, each of the contestants chooses one of the four movements of Schubert's Fifth Symphony in advance and informs the Organizing Committee about his or her choice. The contestant rehearses with the orchestra for 15 minutes, working in detail on nuances, tempos, and conducting movements without having to perform from beginning to end.

Round II.
10 people are allowed to participate on December 8, 2024. Each contestant rehearses for 20 minutes and performs with the orchestra from beginning to end the other two movements of Schubert's Fifth Symphony of his/her choice, which he/she did not work on in the first round.

Round III
Five people are allowed to participate on January 12, 2025. Each competitor rehearses for 25 minutes and performs with the orchestra from beginning to end three movements of Schubert's Fifth Symphony, including that movement on which he or she had not yet worked in the first two rounds.
The order of performance of the participants in the First Round is determined by the drawing of lots immediately after the conclusion of the opening procedure and is maintained until the end of the Third Round.
All rounds shall be held in public.
Not later than November 1, 2024, the Organizing Committee informs all participants that they have qualified for Round One.
After registration of participants and drawing of lots, changes in the competition program are possible as an exception and in agreement with the Jury.

WORK OF THE JURY
The Organizing Committee selects the composition of the International Jury. The decision of the Jury is final, not subject to revision or discussion.
The Jury has the right to decide to shorten the program or to stop the performance of the program by the contestant. In case of violation of the Competition conditions, the Jury and the Organizer have the right to suspend the contestants from participation in the Competition.
The Organizing Committee provides broadcasting of the Competition on the Internet and sends links of the contestants' videos published on YouTube to the Chairman and all members of the Jury from different countries by e-mail or WhatsApp. They send their evaluations of each contestant's orchestral performance online also via WhatsApp or in a reply e-mail to the Orchestra's e-mail.
Jury members put their signatures in the PDF editor program for the Diplomas of the First, Second and Third prizes sent by the Organizing Committee by e-mail and send them back to the Organizing Committee.
The Jury reserves the right to:
- to not award all prizes,
- to divide the prizes among the participants of the Round Three (except for First Prize),
- In case any of the prizes is not awarded, the performance time for the Winners of other prizes may be extended within the time available for the Concert of the Competition Winners (non-material award).
Upon agreement with the Organizing Committee, it is possible to establish special and additional prizes (non-material awards) by other state, commercial, public or creative organizations of the Russian Federation. Prizes must be agreed with the Organizing Committee no later than the date of the Competition’s start.

AWARDS
Participants are awarded Diplomas of the First, Second and Third Prizes with the title of Laureate, Diploma winner and, by the decision of the jury, Grand Prix. Teachers of the participants receive a Teacher’s Diploma.
Participants of the competition are awarded Diplomas signed by the Chairman and members of the Jury.

PREMISES
The Organizing Committee of the First International Competition announces the following non-material prizes: First Prize and the title of Laureate - performance of Schubert's Fifth Symphony in the 2nd movement of the Concerto of the winners of the Competition;
Second Prize and the title of Laureate - a performance of the 3rd and 4th movements of Mozart's Fortieth Symphony in the second half of the 1st section of the Concerto of the Competition winners; Third Prize and the title of Laureate - performance of the 1st and 2nd movements of Mozart's Fortieth Symphony at the beginning of the Competition Winners' Concert.

Participants of the Second Round who did not pass to the Third Round will be awarded with certificates “For Participation in the Second Round” of the First International Conducting Competition and will receive a video file of their work with the orchestra.
All participants who have passed the selection by video recordings and performed in the First Round are awarded with Certificates of Honor “For Participation in the First International Conducting Competition” and receive a video recording of their work with the orchestra.

COMPETITION WINNERS' CONCERT
The concert of the Winners of the First, Second and Third Prizes of the Competition will be held in the Atrium of the Pushkin Literary Museum in spring, 2025.
On the program:
Mozart, Symphony No. 40
Schubert, Symphony No. 5

SPECIAL CONDITIONS
Competition participants do not receive a fee for their performance at the Competition and for any further use of recordings and broadcasts of these performances.
The Competition Organizer reserves all rights to broadcast the auditions and the final Concert of the Competition winners on radio, television and the Internet, as well as the exclusive right to audio and video recordings of the Competition performances and their distribution without additional fees.
The Competition laureates are obliged to perform at the final concert of the Competition free of charge.
Information about the Competition and other materials on the official website of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra www.csorchestra.ru are correct at the time of publication.
For the duration of the Competition, participants shall not have any professional or other obligations that prevent or hinder their participation in the Competition according to the approved Schedule and order of the draw. All participants who have received an official invitation to participate in Round One must attend the registration and draw in accordance with the approved Competition schedule. Failure to attend the registration and drawing of lots may be considered a refusal to participate in the Competition.
Refusal to participate after receiving an official invitation is accepted only in writing to the official mail of the Capital Symphony Orchestra csorchestra@mail.ru. It is not possible to reverse the refusal to participate in the competition.
If a participant has been selected and has received an official invitation to participate in the first round of the competition and subsequently sends an official refusal of participation to the Orchestra's e-mail, then, by decision of the Chairman of the Jury, a vote may be initiated on the admission to participation in the first round of the competition of the participant who was the first “under the line” among the unsuccessful participants in the first round. This decision shall be taken by the Jury members by a simple majority of votes.
Substitution by draw is allowed only for valid reasons with the permission of the Competition Organizer and on the basis of written applications from the Competition participants.

CONTACTS
Phone (only for messages in WhatsApp and Telegram, not for calls):
+7 926 558 92 66
Website: www.csorchestra.ru
VK: https://vk.com/csorchestra
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@vladimirgorbikorchestra?si=05jod_7BLVeUUpOs
E-Mail: csorchestra@mail.ru

SAMPLE DIPLOMA
See in the photo gallery