Only university or high school youth choirs can participate in the competition (it is not a condition that the ensemble works at a specific school)
- University (age up to 26 years, max. 25% of singers can be older.
- High school (age up to 21 years, max. 25% of singers can be older, but max. 23 years.
Categories:
- A University choirs
o A1 Mixed choirs (25-40 singers)
o A2 Women's choirs (12-40 singers)
o A3 Male choirs (12-40 singers)
o A4 Chamber mixed choirs (10-24 singers)
- B High school choirs
o B1 Mixed choirs (15-40 singers)
o B2 Girls' choirs (12-40 singers)
o B3 Male choirs (12-40 singers)
- C Vocal groupings
o C1 University (4-10 singers)
o C2 High school (4-10 singers) - D Sacred music (12-40 singers)
- E Folklore (12-40 singers)
Competition repertoire
Category A, B
The competition program must not have more than 5 compositions with a duration of 10-17 minutes of music. It must include:
- one composition by a composer born before 1900
- one piece by a Slovak composer born after 1975
- other songs are at the choice of the choir
Category C
The competition program must not have more than 5 compositions with a duration of 10-17 minutes of music and must be completed without a conductor and without the use of audio equipment, microphones, etc.
Category D
A monothematic competition program may not have more than 4 pieces lasting 8-14 minutes of music and it must include:
- one composition by a composer born before 1700
Category E
A monothematic competition program focused on choral work inspired by a folk song may not have more than 4 pieces lasting 8-14 minutes of music and it must include:
- one composition by a composer born after 1975
For all categories, the instrument accompaniment (piano, violin, percussion, etc.) can be used max. for two pieces from the competition repertoire, the others must be a cappella.
The registered choir will send the scores of all the competition pieces electronically to akademickabb@gmail.com
Evaluation and prizes
Individualperformances are evaluated by a 3-5 memberinternational jury.
Theperformances of thechoirswillbeevaluatedusing a point system (0-100 points), takingintoaccountthefollowingcriteria:
- singingtechnique, voiceculture
- intonation and rhythm
- expression and style
- selection and dramaturgy of thecompetitionrepertoire
Based on thejury'sevaluation, thefollowingprizeswillbeawarded:
- gold band 90 – 100 b
- silver band 80 – 89.9 b
- bronze band 70 – 79.9 b
- honorablemention 55 – 69.9 b
Theabsolutewinner of ABB 2025 willbeawarded by thePrize of theMinistry of Education of the Slovak Republic (1000 EUR)
Prize "Forimpressive and demandingdramaturgy"(EUR 500)
Prize"Forthebest Slovak choir" (EUR 300)
Prize"Forthedevelopment of performance art in thearea of choralsinging" (EUR 300)
Prize "Forthebestinterpretation of a compositionwith a sacredtheme" (300 EUR)
ThePreparatoryCommittee and theArtisticCouncil of theFestival reservetheright to rejectthechoirdue to theexcessivenumber of applicants and alsodue to theartistic level.
Afterdeciding on theresults of thecompetition and awardingtheprizes, theJury willwritethe memorandum. TheJury'sdecisionisfinal and cannotbeappealed. TheJury proposesanawardforthechoirs and determinesthe program of thewinners' concert.
Eachchoirwillparticipate in theeveningconcertsaccording to theinstructions of theorganizers. As part of thefinalconcert, thewinningchoirswillalsoperformwithcompositionsselected by the expert Jury.
The deadline for applications is March, 31th, 2025
The following must be sent with the application:
- Brief description and history of the choir in English (max. 200 words)
- 2 high-quality photos of the choir and one photo of the conductor in electronic form
- the choir's competition program (indicating the full names of the composers, as well as the years of birth and death), minutiae of the compositions and one copy of the scores in electronic form - in PDF format).
- 2-3 audio recordings of the choir recorded after 2021 in the form of a YouTube link
- Declaration of honor
- It is necessary to bring to the festival a printed and signed Consent of the affected person or the Consent of the legal representative of the affected person (in the case of minor participants) on the processing of personal data for the purpose of presenting the festival and artistic performances on social networks, for each member of the expedition separately.
All materials are available on the festival's website.
Participation fee
The registration fee must be paid after the application has been received and the choir's participation has been confirmed by the festival's organizing committee (by April 10, 2025). The participation fee is paid for each member, regardless of the choir's participation in several categories (until 17.4.2025)
The participation fee of EUR 50 for each tour participant must be paid to no. u. Civic association UNIVERSITAS MATTHIAE BELII: SK53 0900 0000 0000 5019 6064 after a call from the organizing committee.
The participation fee is a contribution to accommodation and food from 13.5. until 16.5.2025
From the sources of the festival, the participants are provided with accommodation for three nights, meals from 13.5. (dinner), 14.5. (breakfast, lunch, dinner), 15.5 (breakfast, lunch, dinner), 16.5. breakfast.
Each ensemble provides its own transportation to the festival.