Syllabus

Deadline and Registration Procedures

    1. Online registration and payment must be submitted by 9:00 pm on the date of your local Festival’s Provincial Entry date. Please be advised that if you miss your entry deadline there will be a $25 per day late fee imposed that must be submitted by e-transfer separately from your registration form.  Please check with your Local Festival Administrator for the deadline for your entries.
    2. Results will be announced to entrants via email, as well as being posted you our website (www.omfa.ca) and on our facebook page (www.facebook.com/ONTMUSFEST/) before the end of June.
    3. You must follow the repertoire requirements as listed in the specific OMFA syllabus for your instrument/voice/speech arts. (www.omfa.ca/syllabus)
    4. For Virtual Entries: No mixing or sound enhancement is allowed through any kind of soundboard, including a recording studio or computer. No reverb can be added to the recording. The recording must be honest and acoustic – as if the adjudicators were in the room listening to you perform live. You must perform live on the video. No audio dubbing over your video is allowed.
    5. Accompaniment may be live or by pre-recorded piano back-track (no vocal or orchestral backgrounds).
    6. Accompaniment for Popular Voice may be: live, pre-recorded piano back-track or by self- accompaniment on piano, keyboard, guitar or ukulele.
    7. For entries in any level, your video must be titled as follows: Discipline 2022 – Grade Level – your name

For instance:
Brass 2022 – Grade 4 – Mary Smith

Musical Theatre 2022 – senior level – Peter Smith

Incorrectly labelled entries may not be adjudicated.

  • In the official entry form, you will be asked to provide the YouTube link for your video posting. You can register at any time but please be advised that your video must also be uploaded before the official entry deadline.  Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
  • We will also be copying your posting into OMFA YouTube channels so make sure to double check the link provided. All videos must be recorded in standard definition because of bandwidth limitations. It is not necessary to send your scores.
  • The video must clearly show your face and your instrument. Piano videos should clearly show your hands. For singers and speech arts competitors, a full body view is preferred. A stationary camera position must be used throughout.  All videos must have “YouTube kid” settings turned off.  You may choose to have your video “unlisted” but “private” videos are not permitted.  Please also ensure that the video is allowed to be embedded in other programs.
  • The video should be in the spirit of a recital or an audition and therefore you should dress appropriately.
  • You are required to introduce yourself and your selections in the video, either verbally or with a title card before each piece and must be limited to the following:
    Your Name
    The Grade/Level you have entered
    The Composer and Complete Title of your selection (prior to each piece)For example:

    My name is John Smith. I have entered Grade 4 Piano and I will be playing Sonatina in F Major, op. 168, no. 1, 1st movement by Anton Diabelli.

    My name is Mary Smith. I have entered Junior Musical Theatre and I will be singing “My Favourite Things” from The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.

  • Video editing during a piece is not allowed under any circumstances. This will be automatic grounds for disqualification. Each piece should be filmed in one continuous take. The only editing allowed is the insertion of an introductiont. All pieces for your competition category must be joined together in one Youtube Link for submission purposes.
  • Scores are not required to be submitted at the Provincial Competition.
  • No marks are awarded at Provincial Competitions. Adjudicators will award First, Second and Third places as well as Honourable Mentions to other deserving candidates.
  • YOUTUBE SETTINGS
    Your video must be made viewable by Public or Unlisted YouTube setting. Private YouTube entries will not be accepted. YouTube “for kids” settings must be turned off.  Only YouTube videos will be permitted (i.e. no google drives, no vimeo, no dropbox files). You will need to supply us with the link to your performance provided on the entry form. For information on posting videos we recommend exploring the Help section found on the YouTube homepage. Please note that you must select “Public” or “Unlisted” in the Privacy settings found under the broadcasting and Sharing Options section when uploading your video file to YouTube. If you select “Private” your submission will be invalid. If we have to contact you to have the settings changed there will be a $25 fee levied. Please only enter the OMFA Provincial Competition if you are comfortable posting a public or unlisted video on YouTube. It is highly recommended that all YouTube videos have the comments section turned off.
  • VIDEO AND AUDIO QUALITY
    While we do not expect professional quality video and audio, we urge you to do the best you can. Take acoustics and the placement of microphones or camera into account. Please test the recording set up before recording your video. When using a smartphone to make a recording, a better result can be achieved by holding the phone horizontally rather than vertically. Pianos used for accompaniment may be either acoustic or digital.
  • JUDGING/ADJUDICATING
    Judging/Adjudicating will be by a qualified adjudicator in each discipline and all decisions made will be final. Criteria for judging/adjudicating will be for overall artistry but other things that will be considered are musicianship, musicality and expression, choice of repertoire, communication, presentation and proper attire. In Voice, Musical Theatre and Speech Arts voice quality, diction, characterization and acting will also be taken into consideration.

 

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