The Fourth Alexander Kastalsky International Competition of Choral Writing

1. General Provisions

1.1. The full official name of the competition is The Fourth Alexander Kastalsky International Competition of Choral Writing (hereinafter to be referred to as either “the 4th Competition of Choral Writing” or “the 4th CCW”).

1.2. The Founder of the 4th CCW is Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory (hereinafter to be referred to as either “the Founder” or “the MSC”).
1.2.1. The co-founders of the 4th CCW (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Co-Founders”) are:

• (1) Viktor Popov Academy of Choral Art (hereinafter to be referred to as “the ACA”);
• (2) Glinka Nizhny Novgorod State Conservatory (hereinafter to be referred to as “the NNSC”);
• (3) Russia’s Gnessins Academy of Music (hereinafter to be referred to as “the RAM”);
• (4) Rimsky-Korsakov Saint-Petersburg State Conservatory (hereinafter to be referred to as “the SPSC”);
• (5) Sobinov Saratov State Conservatory (hereinafter to be referred to as “the SSC”).

1.3. The Department for Festivals, Competitions and Special Events of the MSC’s Center for Coordinating Artistic Projects undertakes general control over the holding of the 4th CCW and the coordinating of all matters with regard to the event (see clause 8.1).

1.4. The working group on the organizing and holding the 4th CCW consists of the employees of the MSC’s Faculty of Symphony and Choral Conducting appointed by the Organizing Committee of the 4th CCW specifically for this purpose (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Working Group”; see clause 8.2).

1.5. The 4th CCW is held from 17 April to 30 May 2021 inclusive.

2. Organizing Committee of the 4th Competition of Choral Writing (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Organizing Committee”):

• (1) Prof. Alexander Sokolov, D.A.: Acting Rector of the MSC, Chairman of the Organizing Committee;
• (2) Prof. Konstantin Zenkin, D.A.: Vice-Rector of the MSC;
• (3) Assc. Prof. Margarita Karatygina, Ph.D. in Art Studies: Head of the MSC’s Department of International Affairs;
• (4) Mr. Vitaly Katkov: Vice-Rector of the MSC;
• (5) Mrs. Natalia Kobets: Head of the MSC’s Department of Finances;
• (6) Mr. Oleg Liang, Ph.D. in Engineering: Vice-Rector of the MSC;
• (7) Prof. Larisa Slutskaya, D.Ed.: Acting Vice-Rector of the MSC;
• (8) Prof. Nikolai Tarasevich, D.A.: Vice-Rector of the MSC;
• (9) Mrs. Xenia Bonduryanskaya: Head of the MSC’s Department for Festivals, Competitions and Special Events;
• (10) Mrs. Irina Gor'kova: Head of the MSC’s Department for Information Policy and Advertising;
• (11) Mrs. Tatiana Zadorozhnaya: Head of the MSC’s Multifunctional Center for Sound Recording and Sound Engineering;
• (12) Prof. Alexei Vasiliev: Rector of the SPSC, Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee;
• (13) Prof. Yuri Gurevich: Rector of the NNSC, Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee;
• (14) Assc. Prof. Alexander Zanorin: Rector of the SSC, Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee;
• (15) Prof. Alexander Ryzhinsky, D.A.: Rector of the RAM, Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee;
• (16) Prof. Alexander Solovyev: Acting Rector of the ACA, Dean of the MSC’s Office for Foreign Students’ Affairs, Artistic Director of the MSC’s Chamber Chorus, Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee;
• (17) Prof. Eduard Fertelmeister: President of the NNSC;
• (18) Prof. Bettina Gray (USA): the University of California, Berkeley;
• (19) Prof. Lev Pankratov: teacher at the NNSC.

3. The Jury

3.1. The Organizing Committee appoints the Jury of the 4th CCW (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Jury”).

3.2. All members of the Jury, including the chairman and his deputies, perform their duties exclusively on a pro bono basis only.

3.3. The Jury evaluates the competitors’ scores remotely by way of forwarding the evaluation sheets to the Working Group’s official e-mail address.

3.4. None of the Jury members, including the chairman and his deputies, may undertake any direct or indirect actions aiming to disclose an authorship of the applicants’ pieces (see sub-clause 6.1.6 and clause 6.3).

3.5. All decisions of the Jury are final and irrevocable.

3.6. In the event a competitor officially has been or was a student of any Jury member, including the chairman or any of his deputies, during the three years immediately preceding the 4th CCW, the respective member, chairman or deputy chairman must notify the Working Group about every such case in writing not later than 17 April 2021.

3.7. The Jury may, at their own discretion:

• 3.7.1. award not all of the prize-winning positions;
• 3.7.2. award one prize-winning position to several competitors;
• 3.7.3. award one grand prix to the best competitor.

3.8. Members of the Jury:

• (1) Prof. Lev Kontorovich: Acting Head of the MSC’s Department of Choral Conducting, Chairman of the Jury;
• (2) Prof. Sergei Ekimov: Dean of the SPSC’s Faculty of Composition and Conducting, Deputy Chairman of the Jury;
• (3) Prof. Nikolai Pokrovsky: Head of the NNSC’s Department of Choral Conducting, Deputy Chairman of the Jury;
• (4) Prof. Yuri Yevgrafov: teacher at the MSC’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (5) Prof. Valeri Kiktá: Acting Head of the MSC’s Department of Orchestration;
• (6) Mr. Sergei Movchan, music editor & composer: teacher at the MSC’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (7) Prof. Alexei Rudnevsky: Acting Head of the MSC’s Faculty of Opera, Symphony and Choral Conducting, Artistic Director of the MSC’s Student Chorus;
• (8) Prof. Alexander Solovyev: Acting Rector of the ACA, Artistic Director of the MSC’s Chamber Chorus;
• (9) Assc. Prof. Yulia Tikhonova, Ph.D. in Art Studies: teacher at the MSC’s Department of Choral Conducting, Artistic Director of the Children’s Chorus of the MSC’s Center for Training Studies;
• (10) Assc. Prof. Alexander Zanorin: Rector of the SSC;
• (11) Prof. Alexander Ryzhinsky, D.A.: Rector of the RAM;
• (12) Prof. Eduard Fertelmeister: President of the NNSC;
• (13) Prof. Bettina Gray (USA): the University of California, Berkeley;
• (14) Prof. Pavel Karpov, Ph.D. in Art Studies: teacher at the RAM’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (15) Senior Deacon Alexander Kedrov (France): Arch-Chanter of the St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris;
• (16) Assc. Prof. Egor Losev: teacher at the SPSC’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (17) Mr. Danil Lukin: teacher at the ACA;
• (18) Prof. Boris Markus: Dean of the NNSC, Artistic Director of the NNSC’s Chorus;
• (19) Prof. Igor Matyukhov: Head of the Department of Choral Conducting of the Institute of Music, Theater and Choreography of Russia’s Alexander Herzen State University of Pedagogy; teacher at the SPSC’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (20) Prof. Lev Pankratov: teacher at the NNSC;
• (21) Dr. John Pendergast (USA): Department of Foreign Languages of the West Point Military Academy (New York State);
• (22) Assc. Prof. Alexei Petrov, Ph.D. in Art Studies: Artistic Director of the ACA’s Chorus;
• (23) Assc. Prof. Sergey Pleshak: teacher at the SPSC’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (24) Prof. Sergei Smirnov: teacher at the NNSC’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (25) Assc. Prof. Ivan Stol'nikov: teacher at the SPSC and NNSC;
• (26) Assc. Prof. Anton Tanonov: Head of the SPSC’s Department of Special Composition and Improvisation;
• (27) Assc. Prof. Nadezhda Filatova, Ph.D. in Art Studies: teacher at the RAM’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (28) Prof. Denis Khramov, Ph.D. in Art Studies: Head of the ACA’s Department of Choral Conducting;
• (29) Ms. Sara Cincarević (Serbia): choral conductor (City of Niš);
• (30) Ms. Irina Shachneva (USA): choral conductor (City of San Francisco);
• (31) Assc. Prof. Dorina Iușcă (Romania): teacher at the George Enescu National University of Arts (City of Iași).

4. Prize-winning Positions

4.1. The Working Group announces 31 (thirty-one) prize-winning positions without monetary remuneration: three ones in each nomination for both categories (see clauses 5.3 and 5.4), as well as one grand prix.

• 4.1.1. The competitor who wins the grand prix gets the title of the grand-prix winner of the 4th CCW (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Grand-Prix Winner”).

The competitor who wins:

• 4.1.2. any prize-winning position other than grand prix gets the title of the laureate of the 4th CCW (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Laureate(s)”);
• 4.1.3. the first prize-winning position gets the title of the winner of the 4th CCW (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Winner(s)”);
• 4.1.4. either second or third prize-winning position gets the title of the awardee of the 4th CCW (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Awardee(s)”).

4.2. The pieces composed by the Grand-Prix Winner and/or the Laureate(s) will be performed by the combined choir of the educational institutions of both the Founder and one of the Co-Founders (see clause 1.2 and sub-clause 1.2.1(1); hereinafter to be referred to as “the Combined Choir”) at the final concert of the 4th CCW on 26 September 2021 at 19:00 in the MSC’s Great Hall (hereinafter to be referred to as “the Final Concert”). The Grand-Prix Winner and/or the Laureate(s) will conduct their pieces at the Final Concert.

4.3. The Combined Choir is formed from the choral groups of the Founder and one of the Co-Founders in the following proportion:

• (1) 36 singers from the MSC;
• (2) 12 singers from the ACA.

4.4. The program of, and the order of performing the pieces at, the Final Concert will be approved with consideration of the Jury members’ opinion.

4.5. In the event the Grand-Prix and/or any other Winner cannot, or refuses to, participate in the Final Concert, his/her/their piece(s) is/are to be excluded from its program. Should such a case occur, the Jury members have the right to make a decision that any piece(s) excluded from the concert performance by such a reason may be substituted with any piece(s) composed by any other Laureate(s). Such a decision is to be made by the Jury members’ additional anonymous vote.

4.6. Upon the Working Group’s consent, public organizations, foundations, mass media and/or individuals may establish any additional prizes, awards and/or gifts for the competitors. Decisions to award any special prizes and/or gifts to the competitors are made by the Jury.

5. Procedure for Holding the 4th Competition of Choral Writing

5.1. Students of musical educational institutions, as well as professional musicians, not younger than 16 and younger than 31 years as of 17 April 2021 may take part in the 4th CCW.

5.2. Neither the Winners nor the Grand-Prix Winner of The Third Alexander Kastalsky International Competition may participate in the 4th CCW, regardless of the nomination.

5.3. The 4th CCW is held in five nominations for two categories of the competitors.

• 5.3.1. The categories are as follows:

(A) students of musical educational institutions;
(B) professional musicians.

• 5.3.2. The nominations are as follows:

(1) a secular piece for a cappella choir;
(2) an arrangement of any folksong for choir;
(3) an arrangement of any music material for mixed choir;
(4) an arrangement of any music material for vocal ensemble (11 singers maximum);
(5) a sacred piece for choir.

5.4. The scores of the pieces in Nominations 2, 3, 4, and 5 may include a piano and/or an instrumental ensemble of any kind consisting of four performers maximum. The sacred text of the piece in Nomination 5 may be both canonical and original.

5.5. Pieces in Nominations 1, 2, 4 and 5 may be composed both for one-gender or mixed choir (of any kind) and for children’s choir.

5.6. Every applicant may submit no more than five pieces for the 4th CCW: one per each nomination.

5.7. Only pieces earlier unpublished, not performed publicly and not awarded at any other competitions may participate in the 4th CCW.

5.8. The duration of any piece to be submitted for the 4th CCW has to be not shorter than one minute and not longer than seven minutes.

5.9. The names of the Laureates and the Grand-Prix Winner of the 4th CCW will be published on the MSC’s official website not earlier than 30 May but not later than 14 June 2021.

6. Submission of the Documents, the Audio Recording(s) and the Score(s)

6.1. In order to participate in the 4th CCW, the following documents have to be scanned and forwarded to the Working Group’s official e-mail address (see clause 8.2):

• 6.1.1. the filled-out application with the applicant’s signature; Download *.doc
• 6.1.2. the applicant’s consent for the processing of his/her personal data with his/her personal signature; Download *.doc
• 6.1.3. the front page of the applicant’s passport or other identifying document (with his/her photo and the holder’s signature);
• 6.1.4. one artistic photo of the applicant taken against a neutral background with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi;
• 6.1.5. the applicant’s certificate in his/her music education or a certificate from his/her educational institution, either in Russian or in English.
• 6.1.6. In addition, every applicant must submit:

(a) the score of his/her piece, with no author’s name on it, in *.pdf format (no more than one score for each nomination);
(b) the audio file of his/her piece, with no author’s name mentioned but necessarily with the piece title as the filename to coincide with the title on its score, in *.midi format (no more than one audio file for each nomination).

6.2. The deadline for submitting the documents, the score(s) and the audio file(s) of the piece(s) participating in the 4th CCW is 3 May 2021.

6.3. No music material containing any personal information about the applicant may be allowed to participate in the 4th CCW.

6.4. The fact of forwarding the documents, the score(s) and the audio file(s) to the Working Group’s e-mail address (see clause 8.2) means the applicant’s unconditional consent with all the terms of these Regulations.

7. Special Provisions

7.1. All the Co-Founders unconditionally transfer to the Founder the exclusive copyright for audio- and/or video-recording, as well as for any radio, TV and/or online broadcasts of the public performances of the Laureates’ pieces at the Final Concert.

7.2. Neither the Laureates no the Grand-Prix Winner receive any copyright for any usage by the Founder of audio- and/or video-recording, as well as of any radio, TV and/or online broadcasts, of any public performances of their pieces.

7.3. The educational institution on whose behalf the Laureate or the Grand-Prix Winner will conduct at the Final Concert will be obligated:

• 7.3.1. to reimburse his/her respective transportation and travel expenses;
• 7.3.2. to provide the Organizing Committee with the score and parts of the respective choral piece in printed form and in an amount necessary and sufficient for all the singers.

7.4. The transportation and travel expenses of the Jury members who are going to arrive to the Final Concert will be paid out by the Co-Founder with which they are affiliated.

7.5. In the event the Laureate or the Grand-Prix Winner whose piece will be performed at the Final Concert needs a visa to enter the Russian Federation, he/she must forward a respective request to the Working Group’s official e-mail address not later than 18 June 2021.

7.6. These Regulations are published on the webpage of the Fourth Alexander Kastalsky International Competition of Choral Writing located on the MSC’s official website, both in Russian and English and are the only true Regulations on the named Competition. Should any dispute or disagreement arise in the interpretation of any of the terms of these Regulations, the version published in Russian shall prevail.

8. Contact Information

8.1. The Department for Festivals, Competitions and Special Events of the MSC’s Center for Coordinating Artistic Projects: +7 (495) 055 5519.

8.2. The Working Group: • hormeister@mosconsv.ru • +7 (495) 629 9736 • +7 (929) 561 5771.