The High School & University Competition begins with the Live First Round, held from October 30, 2011 - April, 2011.
The Undergraduate and Graduate Division Second Round will be held on Friday, May 25.
The High School Division Second Round will be held on Saturday, May 26.
There are more than 40 different live First Round locations at various universities and conservatories around the nation. View exact locations, dates, and addresses of all First Round locations on the Competition home page.
The competition registration fee covers all rounds of the Competition, plus the College Expo Recruiting Fair, the High School Masterclasses, and the finale concert at the Classical Singer Convention 2012. It also includes a free 3-month Web Subscription to Classical Singer magazine and Auditions Plus for non-subscribers.
Students may participate at more than one First Round location and the Online Preliminary Round, but they will need to pay the registration fee at each location.
The competition time for each student will be posted online, approximately one-two weeks before the Competition date. Contact Becky Stoddard with any questions.
Semiformal dress is appropriate for the competition. Students should not wear formal gowns or tuxedos.
Singers are expected to come prepared with three contrasting selections (art songs or arias) of their choice, preferably one in a language other than English, at a level appropriate to their vocal development. At least one song must be in English; one of the selections may be a musical theatre selection.
Singers must bring at least one word-processed copy of their repertoire list with the singer's name, plus the song titles and composers of the three selections. View SAMPLE list.
Singers should have their music (originals are not required) prepared in a three-hole punch binder for the accompanist.
An accompanist will be provided at all locations; however, participants may bring their own if they wish.
Singers should have all repertoire memorized. They may still participate in the competition if they don’t, but they will be judged accordingly.
Singers must check in at the registration desk at least one hour prior to their scheduled competition time.
The on-site representative—either from the host school or from Classical Singer — will direct students to the warm-up rooms. Warm-up rooms may or may not have an available piano, depending upon the host scho
There will NOT be an opportunity to rehearse with the provided accompanist before you perform. However, all accompanists are experienced and very capable of sight-reading your repertoire.
Singers should be ready to perform at least 20 minutes before their scheduled competition time. It is the singer’s responsibility to report back to the registration desk.
The singer should stand outside the performance room until the on-site representative directs him or her to enter.
After the on-site representative directs the singer to enter the performance room, the singer should hand the judges their repertoire list and proceed to the designated performing area.
The singer will have a brief moment to go over the selection with the provided accompanist.
When the singer is ready to perform, he or she should introduce themselves by giving their full name and the title of the first selection.
The singer will present the first selection of his or her choice in its entirety.
Judges will then ask to hear a second selection of their choice. They may listen to a portion of the selection or to the entire piece.
Unless the host school otherwise specifies, the Preliminary Round is an open competition. However, space might be limited depending upon the size of each performance room.
No personal video or audio recordings are allowed during the Preliminary, Second and Semifinal rounds.
The judges will select the top half of participants at each First Round location to advance to the Second Round of the Competition in Chicago May 25-26.
The Undergraduate and Graduate Division Second Round will be held on Friday, May 25.
The High School Division Second Round will be held on Saturday, May 26.
Most schools will host a brief awards ceremony to announce the names of the singers who advanced to the Second Round.
Students are encouraged but not required to stay until the end of the Competition. The names of the winners will be posted ONLINE within a week of the Competition.
Comment sheets will either be given back to the students at the end of the day of the Competition or they will be mailed to the students in two to three months.
All winners must confirm their participation in the Second Round by calling the Classical Singer office at 1-877-515-9800 and speaking with Aubrey Werner. Winners may also confirm their participation by emailing Becky Stoddard.
Second Round times will be assigned in early April.
The Undergraduate and Graduate Division Second Round will be held on Friday, May 25.
The High School Division Second Round will be held on Saturday, May 26.
Approximately 30-40 singers will advance from the Second Round to the Semifinal Round, and then five to ten singers from each Division will advance to the Final Round Concert.
The Semifinal Round and Final Round Concert are both held on Sunday, May 27, 2012.
Students who advance to the next round are responsible for all their travel and accommodation expenses.
Scholarships and cash prizes will be awarded after the judges’ deliberation of the Final Round. Some scholarships might be awared after the First Round.
More than $2,100,000 of university and summer program scholarships will be offered to Competition participants. All singers who advance from the Preliminary Round are eligible to win a scholarship offer.
Scholarships are given completely at the discretion of the school offering it. The majority of the scholarships will go to juniors or sophomores as most seniors have already committed to a specifc school.
Click HERE to view a list of schools offering scholarships.
Cash prizes will also be given to the national winners at the Final Round Concert to the top three national winners of each division.
The final rounds of the High School Competition will be held at the Classical Singer Convention in Chicago. The annual College Expo recruiting fair and masterclasseses, will also be held at the Convention on May 24-27.
The College Expo recruiting fair is free for all Competition participants, teachers, and parents. More than 60 of the nation’s top universities, colleges, and conservatories will have exhibits and representatives available to talk about undergraduate and graduate programs.
The College Expo also includes a series of High School Masterclasses presented by vocal faculty from top programs from across the country. These are also free for all High School Vocal Competition participants. Parents and teachers are welcome to attend the classes as well, space permitting.
No pre-registration is necessary for the classes; attend as many as you want.
Classes are free to attend for High School participants and their parents.
Singers interested in singing in a masterclass should sign up with a specific school in the exhibiting area on Friday or Saturday at the Recruiting Fair. Volunteers will aslo be selected in classes as time permits.
