Rules and Regulations

GENERAL RULES

1. ELIGIBILITY Classes are open to amateurs from any area. An amateur is considered to be one who does not derive the main part of his income from performing or teaching that section of the art in which he enters the Festival. The Committee wishes to respect the conditions of any music, drama, or educational establishment regarding the freedom of its pupils to enter festivals.
2. AGE All ages must be calculated as on the closing date of the competition. Entrants may only enter the class appropriate to their age. For group entries, all members of the group must be within the age range of that class.
3. ENTRIES We would prefer entries are made through Run My Festival by the following link: https://basingstokemusicandartsfestival.runmyfestival.net . Paper forms may be downloaded from our website. If the entry form is from a school, please state the name of the school.
4. An entrant may not enter more than once on each instrument in any single solo classes, although this is permitted in duet and ensemble classes. An entrant can however perform in multiple classes on the same instrument.
5. Small classes may be combined at the discretion of the Section Secretary.
6. ENTRY FEES Entries should be made via Run MY Festival wherever possible and payment made via bank transfer. Paper entry forms will still be available and completed entry forms together with the correct entry fee must be received by the Section Secretary by the closing date. Any cheques should be made payable to BASINGSTOKE MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL. Entrants will later receive a timesheet by email which will admit them to the room where their class is to be held. Entry fees cannot be refunded.

Cheques must be made payable to BASINGSTOKE MUSIC FESTIVAL.

7. ENQUIRIES Please email the Section Secretary, otherwise for a written enquiry and reply, please enclose a S.A.E.

8. OWN CHOICE PIECES Details of pieces should be clearly stated on entry forms, and one copy of each piece provided for the Adjudicator. Entrants should not perform pieces they played at this Festival in 2022. A piece cannot be performed in more than one class in the same year.

9. GRADED PIECES These must be taken from the past or present syllabus of one of the approved examination boards, e.g. ABRSM, Trinity College, London and must be from the appropriate Grade for that class. Winners of Graded classes cannot enter the same Graded class in the following year.

10. ACCOMPANIST Entrants are welcome to provide their own accompanist. The festival has official accompanists which can be booked via RMF or by ticking the box on the entry form and paying the additional fee. Accompanists are allocated and cannot be changed. The Accompanist fee only covers the performance on the day. Rehearsals can be arranged independently with the accompanist but will be chargeable. An accompaniment-only CD is permitted but entrants must provide their own equipment and an operator.

11. PHOTOCOPIES AND COPYRIGHT Entrants are reminded that it is illegal to reproduce copyright music without permission from the copyright owner. No responsibility for the breaking of this rule will be accepted by the Festival. Entrants must have an original copy of their music with them when they perform at the Festival.

12. SPEECH AND DRAMA To comply with the AUTHOR’S LICENCING AGREEMENT with the British and International Federation of Music Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech, own choice pieces must state TITLE, AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER on the entry form. This means the entrant does not have to obtain permission of the copyright owner to perform prose, verse, or dramatic solos. Acted scenes from plays and dramatic duologues still require the permission of the copyright owner. Copyright is now in place for 70 years after the death of the author.

Group Dramatic Activity Copyright permission for these items should be sought by entrants at the time of entry.

13. TIME LIMITS Entrants must observe the set time limits for their classes. Over-running may result in either disqualification, the performance being stopped and / or loss of marks.

14. A performance may be stopped at any time by the Adjudicator and their decision is final.

15. No entrant or member of the public may approach the Adjudicator’s table or attempt to enter in to discussion. Certificates and remark sheets are available at the end of each session.

16. The Committee reserves the right to appoint additional or alternative Adjudicators, to transfer classes to other dates or to other sections, and to cancel classes which receive insufficient entries. Entry fees will be refunded if a class is cancelled due to lack of sufficient entries.

17. The Committee reserves the right to make any final decisions other than those decided by the Adjudicator. Any complaints must be made to the Section Secretary by email or in writing.

18. Trophies are awarded to class winners receiving at least 85 marks and at the discretion of the Adjudicator. Names may optionally be engraved on to awards at the winners expense. All Trophies and Awards must be returned to the section secretary by 1st February in the following year.

19. No unauthorised photography, audio or video recording of children and young people is allowed at our Festivals. Where parents/guardians/carers do not wish photos of their child to be taken, then the responsible adult attending should inform the relevant Section Secretary and ensure that the child is not included in official photographs.

20. Entrants are advised to consider their appearance as part of their performance and to dress appropriately i.e. smart but casual.

21. The Festival’s Child Protection Policy and approach to Creating Safer Festivals for Everyone is published explicitly in our Syllabus, Programme and on our Website. By completing and signing the entry form all parents/guardians/carers and teachers of competitors under 18 (or vulnerable adults of any age) confirm that they give (or have obtained) the necessary consents for the entrant to take part in the Festival. Without this consent the Festival entry cannot be accepted.