January 15, 2023 – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until January 18th – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.
• Oakville Vocal Arts Festival

February 1, 2023 – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until February 4th – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.
• Unionville Music Competition

March 15, 2023 – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until March 18th – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.
• Pickering GTA Music Festival
• Take the Stage Music Festival

April 1, 2023 – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until April 4th – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.Kingston Kiwanis Music Festival
• Kingston Kiwanis Music Festival
• Newmarket Voice Festival
• Norfolk Musical Arts Celebration
• St. Thomas Music Festival

April 10, 2023 – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until April 1thh – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.
• Toronto Kiwanis Festival
• Pickering Rotary Music Festival

May 1, 2023 – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until May 4th – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.
• Kiwanis Club of Pembroke Music Festival
• Niagara Festival of Performing Arts
• Peterborough Kiwanis Music Festival
• Sault Ste. Marie Music Festival

May 7, 2023 – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until May 10th – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.Orillia Kiwanis Music Festival
• Orillia Kiwanis Music Festival
• Sudbury Kiwanis Music Festival

EXTENDED TO May 20th – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until May 22nd – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.
• Chatham Kiwanis Music Festival
• Cornwall Kinsmen Music Festival
• Stratford Kiwanis Festival of the Performing Arts
• Woodstock Rotary Music Festival

May 20, 2023 – 9:00 pm
Late entries will be accepted until May 22nd – but a $25 per day late fee penalty must be paid by e-transfer to mail@omfa.ca.
• Barrie Music Festival
• Brockville Lions Club Music Festival
• Guelph Kiwanis Music Festival
• The Grey County Kiwanis Festival of Music (Owen Sound)
• Hamilton Music Festival
• International Music Competition
• Kitchener-Waterloo Kiwanis Music Festival
• Kiwanis Music Festival, National Capital Region (Ottawa)
• Kiwanis Music Festival of London
• Kiwanis Music Festival Windsor-Essex County
• Lakehead Festival of Music and the Arts
• Lambton County Music Festival (Sarnia)
• Midwestern Ontario Rotary Music Festival (Walkerton)
• North York Music & Performing Arts Festival (Live)
• North York Music Festival (Virtual)
• Oshawa-Whitby Kiwanis Music Festival
• Ottawa Piano Festival
• Peel Music Festival
• South Simcoe Arts Council Music Festival
• Stirling Festival of Praise
• Yip’s Music Festival

Coming to Provincials can be very exciting, but if you aren’t sure what to expect it could be stressful.  Here is an example of what a “typical” day at Provincials would look like.  Please note though, that these times are only for example purposes

9:00 am           Competition Starts

12:00 pm         Lunch

1:00 pm           Competition Resumes

3:00 pm           Competition ends

3:15 pm           Workshop commences
• Attendance at the workshop is mandatory
• This is a group learning environment where the Adjudicator will work with all of the competitors in your class or group.
• Depending on the number of people in the competition group, the workshop can last anywhere from 1 to 2 hours.

4:30 pm           Announcement of winners at the conclusion of the Workshop
• If your discipline has been split into several groups (i.e. Open Piano A, Open Piano B, Open Piano C, Open Piano D), the adjudicator will announce competitors who have received Honourable Mentions. Then they will announce the top two competitors who will go on to perform in the Playoffs.
• If your discipline has not been split into several groups, the adjudicator will announce Honourable Mentions and 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd

5:00 pm           Playoffs
The top two competitors from each group will be asked to go to the Playoff location.
The Adjudicator from your group will tell you which piece they would like you to perform. You would only be performing one selection with a time limit of 10 minutes.
The Adjudicators from each of the groups will be there and they will decide as a group who will come in 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd.

6:00 pm                End of day

In some cases it might not be possible for your accompanist to stay for the entire day and play at the Playoffs.

If this is the case, we will have an accompanist available at the Playoffs who can accompany you for Musical Theatre, Classical Voice and Classical Upper Strings.

Please note:
• You will not be given an opportunity to rehearse with them as there simply is no time available to facilitate this.
• The accompanists who will be at these locations are experts in their fields and will be able to sightread just about anything.
• If you choose to use this accompanist at the playoffs there will be a $20 fee which must be paid in cash, to the accompanist, at the time of the performance.

Amateur musicians who reside or study in the Province of Ontario and Gatineau area are able to enter the Festival.
Amateur Adult musicians aged 29 and over who reside or study in the Province of Ontario are able to enter the Festival.
All competitors must be recommended by an adjudicator at one of our Member Local Festivals to attend the 2023 Provincials.

YES!

You will only be given the opportunity to go to Provincials once.  

If you turn down the first recommendation you receive, then you will have forfeited your chance to attend Provincials.

The OMFA office will have a master list of all recommendations from each festival and the date they were issued.

LIVE FESTIVAL CLASSES:

•  Graded Levels 6-10, Diploma, Open:
Classical Brass
Classical Guitar
Classical Piano
Classical Voice
Lower Strings
Upper Strings
Woodwinds

• Elementary to Open Levels:
Musical Theatre
Popular Piano
Popular Voice

• All Levels:
Adult Classes
Chamber Groups
Speech Arts
Self-Accompanied Classes

VIRTUAL FESTIVAL CLASSES:
•  Graded Levels 1-5
Classical Brass
Classical Guitar
Classical Piano
Classical Lower Strings
Classical Upper Strings
Classical Voice
Classical Woodwinds

• Beginner and Primary Levels:
Musical Theatre
Popular Piano
Popular Voice

• All Levels:
Harp
Percussion
Non-Western Strings
Songs from the Screen & More
Duets/Trios (not Chamber)
Piano Concertos
Popular Brass
Popular Guitar
Popular Strings
Popular Woodwinds
Bands
Choirs
Orchestras
Small Ensembles

In order to have a teacher ID – your teacher must also register for a profile within the registration system.  Once they have done that they will be issued an ID that can be shared with you.

If you don’t have a teacher, and if your Local Festival has has created a profile within the registration system, you can contact your Local Festival and ask them for theirs.

Your parent ID may also be used as the Teacher ID and requires your parent to sign up as a parent and a teacher.

There is also an option to select “self-taught” for adults.

if you want to put both your teacher ID and the Festival ID (which is recommended) – please enter it as follows (these numbers are examples only), separated by a comma with no spaces:

ENT00945,ENT00432

We ask that you be VERY careful when filling in your entry forms.

Things to make sure of:
• The competitor’s name, age, address info are correct.  Please do not use all capital letters.  For example: John Smith is acceptable while JOHN SMITH is not.
• The contact emails are correct.  To make sure that emails don’t go missing – please make sure to add mail@omfa.ca to your address book.
• The Piece names are complete. Please copy them directly from the appropriate Royal Conservatory of Music Syllabus or Conservatory Canada Syllabus.

Incorrect example for Grade 6 Piano:
Sonata in g
In many cases there is more than one “Sonata in g” – we need to know exactly which one you are playing and which movements.

Correct example for Grade 6 Piano:
Sonata in G Major, op. 36, no. 2 – 1st mvt.
Please note that the key signature is there, the opus number is there and the movement number is there.

• The Composer names – please include the full name – i.e. Ludwig van Beethoven
• For Musical Theatre entries – ensure that the Musical Name is included – i.e. Astonishing from Little Women, Popular from Wicked, etc.  Please include the FULL title of the musical.

Registration and Payment must be made on your Festival’s Entry Deadline.

You may make changes to your repertoire at any point up until May 20th at 9:00 pm.

The answer is yes.

Competitors must provide original full scores or text for the Adjudicator. Full original scores or texts should be presented to the front desk at check-in.

Please provide receipts for digitally purchased music.  Cover pages are NOT receipts – please print the legal receipt.

IMDB copies are permitted, but please indicate that you have downloaded from this site by attaching a cover sheet explaining this.

The only exception to this is if you have entered Popular Piano or Popular Voice and are performing your own composition.  In this case – please email the music to: mail@omfa.ca

All measures must be marked for the adjudicator on the original score.

If a competitor cannot secure the original music, eg. in popular voice, then they should submit printed lyrics and show a receipt for purchase of the song from either Apple Music, Spotify or Amazon.

All copyright laws must be observed. 

Competitors should email their accompaniment backtrack as an mp3 link to: mail@omfa.ca no later than May 15th.

A full sound system will be provided and there will be a sound person at the venue for Popular Voice and Self-Accompanied voice.  A digital piano, two speakers, a monitor, a microphone stand and microphone and a DI for electric guitars.

The sound person on-site will mange the backtracks for the competitors.

The answer is yes.

If a piece has written accompaniment then it must be played.  However, if a piece is written specifically without accompaniment then an accompanist is not needed for that piece.

Competitors requiring an accompaniment for their pieces must provide and pay for their own accompanist.

A list of accompanists who are available to collaborate at the Provincial Competition is provided on the OMFA website.  https://omfa.ca/accompanists/

Workshops are instructional sessions run by the Adjudicators for the benefit of competitors and will focus on the performances heard that day.

Attendance at the entire Workshop is mandatory for all competitors.OMFA may authorize exceptions if a competitor is performing in two disciplines on the same day. Competitors should contact the Provincial Administrator for instructions if they are affected.

Failure to attend the workshop will result in disqualification.Competitors not in attendance will be ineligible to be chosen as winners or receive awards.

The OMFA Executive Committee reserves the right to re-assign award money if the First Place Winner does not attend the workshop and Announcement of Winners Session

At the end of each workshop, the Adjudicators will announce the winners and placements (for disciplines with under 25 entries) or competitors advancing to a playoff (for disciplines with over 25 entries). Please note that in Diploma and Open Classes the length of repertoire will determine whether the classes will have a play-off and will not adhere to the numbers listed above.The Adjudicator will also comment on the results and distribute written adjudications. 

All competitors must show their original music/score before they begin their video submission.

If a competitor cannot secure the original music, eg. popular voice, then they should submit printed lyrics and show a receipt for purchase of the song from either Apple Music, Spotify or Amazon.

In order to be able to put in your YouTube video link – the competitor, parent and teacher must accept the photo release waiver.  If this has not been accepted then the video field will not be visible.

If the recording was made to enter a virtual festival in the fall of 2022 or in January to May, 2023 then the answer is YES.

No. You can record one piece, take a break, and then record the next piece. However – if the piece is a multi-movement work (ie Sonata in G, 1st & 2nd mvts.) then this counts as one piece and must be recorded as one piece with no breaks in between.

Videos for each selection must be combined together in your YouTube link as there is only one field in the registration form to submit the link.

Videos for each selection must be combined together in your YouTube link as there is only one field in the registration form to submit the link.

It is important to note that the competitor, parent AND teacher must agree to the Photo Release Waiver.  90% of the time it is because the teacher has not completed this waiver.  Please contact your teacher to ensure that they have agreed to the waiver.  Once they have – the video field will be visible in your profile.

There are three options:
1. Announce your name, level of competition and what pieces you will be performing verbally.
2. Digitally insert this information at the beginning of your video submission either graphically or by holding up a typed sheet of paper.
3. Both – verbally and written.

The choice is yours and whatever works best for you. It should be noted that these introductions do not count towards the actual performance time.

No. As per our OMFA rules, competitors may only enter into one grade level and all pieces must be at that grade level. If you have already taken a Royal Conservatory or Conservatory Canada exam in one grade level (prior to Dec. 31, 2020) – you must compete at the next level up.

No. A multi-movement piece is still one piece. If you were performing it in front of an audience you wouldn’t play one movement and then walk off the stage until you were ready to play the second movement.

No. This is not required. If you would like to acknowledge them when you are introducing yourself and your pieces, it would be a nice and professional gesture.

For example:
My name is Jane Doe and I will be performing…names of pieces
I would also like to thank my accompanist…name of accompanist

Yes.  However, it should be noted that if you decide to do this, you will be put in a separate class from the main competitive class and will not be eligible to receive a placement or scholarship. You will still receive a full adjudication.

It is HIGHLY recommended that you have accompaniment unless the piece is written specifically without it.

The answer is no.  Due to copyright laws we are not permitted to ask for electronic copies of music.

Exceptions to this rule include:
• If you have entered Popular Piano or Popular Voice and are performing your own composition.  In this case – please email the music to: mail@omfa.ca
• All Bands, Choirs, Orchestras and Small Ensembles should submit PDF’s of their scores to: mail@omfa.ca

1. Hire a collaborative pianist to record the accompaniment to send to you. There is a list of accompanists on our website who are willing and able to help you do this (www.omfa.ca/accompanists/)

2. In many cases, for instruments other than Piano, RCM includes a CD of accompaniments for practice purposes. These are permitted.

3. Download an accompaniment track from the internet.  Please ensure though that there are no orchestral or vocal backtracks.

4. All accompaniment must be by piano or keyboard only.

5. The only exception to this rule is for Popular Voice.  Accompaniment can be by piano, keyboard, guitar and ukulele.  Self-accompaniment is permitted for this class only.

Yes. Pianos may be either acoustic or digital for both performance and accompaniment purposes.

No. All submissions must be submitted using a YouTube video at the time of registration.  

While we do prefer that the links are “Public” (because it makes it far easier for us to share the links with our adjudicators), you can also use an “Unlisted” link.

• Please note!  Only YouTube videos are permitted.  We will not accept google drive, dropbox, vimeo, mp3, etc.
• It is highly recommended that you disable comments.
• If you send us a YouTube video that has been set to “private”, the entry will not be accepted until the setting has been changed.  There will be a $25 charge to make this change on your entry.
• Please ensure that the “kids for youtube” function is turned off as it makes the videos unshareable and the entry will not be accepted until the setting has been changed.  There will be a $25 charge to make this change on your entry.