The 2nd CAE Skylark Music Award · String Competition Rules (2027 · Guangzhou)

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I. Instruments and Format

Instruments: Violin (VN), Viola (VA), Cello (VC)

Double Bass has no separate group this edition. Should six or more entries be received, the Organizing Committee will open a group and announce it separately.

Format: Online Qualifying Round (video screening) → On-site Grand Final (Guangzhou Institute of Technology, Xidian University, 28–30 January 2027)

II. Key Dates

III. About the Whitelist Certificate

Primary and secondary school students competing in the Amateur Age Groups (业余年龄组) and in the Pre-College Professional Division (少年专业组) are eligible under the CAE Whitelist certificate rules (awarded to a set proportion of On-site Grand Final competitors only). The Whitelist certificate is issued in line with the Ministry of Education's requirements for national competitions for primary and secondary school students and only to eligible primary and secondary school students; its scope (e.g. solo groups only) and form (e.g. an Outstanding Organization Award) are determined by the Organizing Committee. Detailed selection rules will be announced separately.

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IV. Groups and Repertoire Requirements

Eligibility, age limits, time limits, repertoire requirements and entry fees for every group are gathered in this section; before entering, a competitor need only read the paragraph for their own group.

Age calculation: ages are reckoned as of 1 January 2027, i.e. age = 2027 − year of birth (not calculated to the exact birthday). The year of birth is verified against the competitor's identity document at registration.

Time limits: all times given are maxima. Judges may stop a performance that runs over, and any material beyond the limit will not be scored.

Advancement: the two rounds are scored independently of each other — a score of 20 points (on the 25-point scale) in the Online Qualifying Round qualifies a competitor for the On-site Grand Final. The Grand Final is scored afresh and ranked on its own; Qualifying Round scores are not carried forward. The Organizing Committee reserves the right of final interpretation.

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1. Amateur Age Groups (业余年龄组)

For competitors of all ages who are not enrolled in a music major. The age bands are identical for Violin, Viola and Cello; each instrument forms its own groups and is ranked and awarded separately.

At registration the full group name is "instrument + letter group + age", for example Violin Group D, age 8 (小提琴D组（8岁）).

Competitors in the amateur groups are encouraged to include one Chinese work. Grand Final repertoire is free choice, with the same time limits as above.

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2. Pre-College Professional Division (少年专业组), affiliated secondary schools

For students enrolled in music performance programmes at secondary schools affiliated with professional music conservatories (including those who have advanced from an affiliated primary school) and at arts secondary schools. Qualifying Round entry fee: 599 RMB.

Middle School Group (初中组)Register:小提琴中提琴大提琴 Students of the middle-school section of a conservatory-affiliated school or an arts secondary school · time limit 10 minutes

One work from each of the following two categories must be performed:

1. One movement from Bach's works for unaccompanied strings (violin/viola: Sonatas and Partitas; cello: Cello Suites), or one technical étude (violin: Kreutzer, Rode or Dont; viola: Campagnoli, or viola editions of Kreutzer; cello: Duport or Popper)
2. The first movement of a concerto (with cadenza), or one piece from the Romantic period or later

High School Group (高中组)Register:小提琴中提琴大提琴 Students of the high-school section of a conservatory-affiliated school or an arts secondary school · time limit 12 minutes

All three of the following must be performed:

1. Two movements from Bach's works for unaccompanied strings, one of which must be a slow movement
2. One complete movement of a concerto (piano accompaniment required)
3. One virtuoso showpiece, or one work composed after 1950

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3. University Division (高校组), teacher-training institutions

Register:小提琴中提琴大提琴

Qualifying Round entry fee: 599 RMB · recommended 12 minutes

Eligibility: undergraduate and postgraduate students currently enrolled, as well as graduates, in music programmes (music performance, music education, instrumental performance) at teacher-training universities and comprehensive universities. This division is reserved for competitors on teacher-training and education tracks and is judged separately from conservatory competitors. Graduates who do not work as performers or as professional teachers may enter this division; those already employed as teachers should enter the Teachers' Group.

Repertoire: two or more works of the competitor's choice from different periods, any style or genre. Competitors are encouraged to include one Chinese work.

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4. Teachers' Group (教师组)

Register:小提琴中提琴大提琴

Qualifying Round entry fee: 599 RMB · recommended 12 minutes

Eligibility: music teachers currently employed at primary and secondary schools, music shops, private training institutions and schools of all kinds (excluding serving members of professional orchestras and serving faculty of professional conservatories, who should enter the Concert Artist Group). There is no age limit. Competitors in the Teachers' Group may choose to move up to the Concert Artist Group, but may not enter the Amateur Age Groups.

Repertoire: two or more works of the competitor's choice from different periods, any style or genre. Competitors are encouraged to include one Chinese work.

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5. Concert Artist Group (演奏家组)

Register:小提琴中提琴大提琴

Qualifying Round entry fee: 599 RMB

Eligibility: open regardless of background, qualification or occupation — conservatory undergraduates and postgraduates, professional orchestral players, professional soloists, professional teachers, students and graduates of overseas institutions, and any competitor of comparable standard. Minimum age 16 (born 2011 or earlier); no upper age limit. There is no amateur-status restriction, but once entered in this group a competitor may not enter any other group in the same edition.

Time limit 20 minutes. The requirements are the same for the Online Qualifying Round and the On-site Grand Final. All three of the following must be performed:

1. Two movements from Bach's works for unaccompanied strings (violin: the slow movement and fugue of a sonata, or two dance movements from a partita; viola likewise; cello: the prelude and one dance movement of a suite)
2. One complete movement of a concerto (piano accompaniment required; orchestral recordings are not accepted)
3. One virtuoso showpiece or one work composed after 1950

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6. String Ensemble Division (弦乐重奏组), supplementary

Instrumentation: one player per part (string ensembles and chamber combinations with piano are both accepted); no conductor. Groups with two or more players per part should enter the Massed Ensemble Division. Qualifying Round entry fee: 299 RMB per person, charged per participating performer (piano accompanists are not charged).

The average age of members is verified by the Organizing Committee at registration.

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7. String Massed Ensemble Division (弦乐齐奏组), supplementary

Instrumentation: more than 8 players. Several players may share a part, and a conductor is permitted. Single-instrument groups and mixed groups of all three string instruments are both accepted. Qualifying Round entry fee: 199 RMB per person, charged per participating performer (piano accompanists are not charged).

The average age of members is verified by the Organizing Committee at registration.

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V. Eligibility and Assignment to Groups

1. Mandatory assignment (no free choice)

• Students enrolled in music performance programmes at conservatory-affiliated primary and secondary schools and at arts secondary schools must enter the Pre-College Professional Division and may not enter the Amateur Age Groups.
• Students and graduates of music programmes at teacher-training universities and comprehensive universities must enter the University Division and may not enter the Amateur Age Groups.
• Music teachers currently employed at primary and secondary schools, music shops and private training institutions must enter the Teachers' Group and may not enter the Amateur Age Groups.
• Conservatory students at undergraduate level or above, serving members of professional orchestras, professional soloists and serving conservatory faculty must enter the Concert Artist Group.

2. Moving between groups

• Amateur competitors may choose to move up to the Pre-College Professional Division or the Concert Artist Group; competitors with professional status may not move down to the amateur groups.
• A competitor may move up to the next age group; competitors may not move down to a lower age group.
• A competitor may enter several groups, but may not repeat repertoire between them.

3. Previous first-prize winners

Register:小提琴中提琴大提琴

• A competitor who has won first prize in a given group of this competition may not enter that same group again.

4. Verification of eligibility

Register:小提琴中提琴大提琴

A student card, proof of enrolment or proof of employment must be uploaded at registration. Competitors found to have misrepresented their eligibility will forfeit their entry and any award, and entry fees will not be refunded.

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VI. Accompaniment

• Backing tracks, MIDI accompaniment and orchestral recordings are not accepted under any circumstances.
• Competitors in the amateur groups may choose to perform unaccompanied, without penalty.
• In the Pre-College Professional Division, University Division, Teachers' Group and Concert Artist Group, concerto and sonata movements require piano accompaniment; works originally written for unaccompanied strings are exempt.
• For the on-site rounds, competitors arrange their own piano accompanist. The Organizing Committee can provide a list of collaborative pianists; their fees are borne by the competitor.

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VII. Registration and Video Requirements

1. Registration, payment and video-link submission are all completed through cae.feuxfollets.top.
2. The performance video must be recorded in a single continuous take. Editing and splicing are not permitted, and no post-production pitch correction or noise reduction may be applied.
3. The video must be recorded in landscape orientation, showing the performer's upper body, both hands and the instrument in full, with good lighting and sound recorded in the room.
4. No spoken announcement is required; repertoire details are entered on the registration form and in the video description.
5. Upload the video to Bilibili: title "Group + Name + 2027CAE线上比赛", category "Music — Performance" (音乐 — 演奏), tag "2027CAE云雀音乐线上比赛弦乐组", description "Composer + Repertoire + Duration". Set the visibility to "Public" or "Unlisted but shareable" and submit the link. A video set to "Private (visible only to me)" cannot be judged and will be treated as a withdrawal.
6. Full repertoire details must be entered at registration: composer, title of the work, opus number and movement. Repertoire may not be changed after the registration deadline.
7. Entry fees:

• Ensemble and massed-ensemble entries are charged per participating performer (piano accompanists are not counted as chargeable participants).
• Fees paid are neither refundable nor transferable.

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VIII. Judging Procedure

• 25-point scale (15–25 points, to two decimal places). Each judge awards a single overall score; there are no weighted sub-criteria and no difficulty coefficient.
• Judges score independently and blind to one another.
• Scoring: the highest and lowest scores are automatically discarded and the remainder averaged, to two decimal places (the number of judges is set per group by the Organizing Committee; where there are too few judges, the discarding of extremes is switched off for that group).
• The three instruments may be judged in the same session, but rankings and awards are determined within a single instrument and a single group; no comparison is made across instruments. Within a session the instruments are heard in separate blocks, never interleaved.
• If more than 25 competitors enter a single group, the group is split into A and B sections, each judged and awarded separately.

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IX. Awards and Publication of Results

Awards are set for each instrument and each group separately and determined by the Organizing Committee on a proportional basis. Results and awards are published together.

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X. Other Provisions

1. Entry constitutes consent for the Organizing Committee to use the competitor's name, group, results and performance footage in competition publicity, results announcements and related publications.
2. Competitors warrant that the video submitted is of their own performance. Entries performed by a substitute or appropriated from another person's video will be disqualified and announced publicly.
3. The Organizing Committee accepts no liability for compensation where the competition is altered or cancelled due to force majeure; entry fees will be handled according to the circumstances.
4. The CAE Skylark Music Award Organizing Committee reserves the right of final interpretation of these rules.

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Registration platform: cae.feuxfollets.top