36th INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR FESTIVAL
36th INTERNATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR FESTIVAL
Celje, Slovenia, April 3 – 6, 2025
Competition of Children’s, Mixed youth, Girls’ and Boys’ Choirs * Concerts * Open Singing * Workshops * Round Tables * Exhibiton * Closing concert of joined choirs
Organiser of the Festival
Zavod Celeia Celje
Music Committee: Sebastjan Vrhovnik, David Preložnik, Nenad Firšt
The Celje International Youth Choir Festival is a biennial meeting of selected youth choirs from Slovenia and abroad. Throughout its history it has become a manifestation of the European character that regularly follows, appreciates and stimulates the achievements of youth choirs, thus influencing the quality level of young people’s singing culture.
The Choirs taking part at the 36th International Youth Choir Festival will present themselves at the competition concert and with an independent performance with a programme of their choice, as well as joining other singers at open singing and presenting a typical piece from their cultural environment.
Competition Terms
Competition Categories
The competitions at the 36th International Youth Choir Festival are open to children’s, mixed youth, girls’ and boys’ choirs and are divided into four categories:
A – Children’s choirs (choristers born in 2010 or younger);
B – Mixed Youth choirs – SATB or SAB (choristers born in 2005 or younger);
C – Girls’ choirs (choristers born in 2005 or younger);
D – Boys’ choirs (choristers born in 2005 or younger).
Competition Programme
Category A (Children’s choirs)
Choir must perform four compositions:
– A composition written after 2010;
– Three compositions of free choice, maximum one of them can be a folk song;
– Maximum two compositions in a competition programme may be the work of composers from the choir’s country of origin.
– At least two compositions must be performed a cappella. Other compositions may used original instrumental accompaniment, but with a maximum of 3 instruments.
Category B, C and D (Mixed youth Choirs, Girls’ Choirs and Boys’ Choirs)
Choir must perform four compositions:
– A composition written after 2010;
– Three compositions of free choice, maximum one of them can be a folk song;
– Maximum two compositions in a competition programme may be the work of composers from the choir’s country of origin.
– At least three compositions must be performed a cappella. Only in one composition original instrumental accompaniment of maximum 3 instruments may be used.
Competition procedure
A choir may consist of minimum 16 to maximum 50 singers. 10% of the choir singers can exceed the age limit for one year. The organizer will check the age of the singers before the competition concert.
The total music time of compositions selected by a choir must not exceed 15 minutes. The order of compositions is defined by the relevant choir on the entry form and cannot be changed at a later time.
Judging
The international jury will assess a choir’s technical (intonation, rhythm, diction, phrasing, fidelity to the score) and artistic performance (tempo, agogics, dynamics, sound, style, narration, stage presence), besides the artistic quality and the demands of the programme, grading the choirs within a system of points with 100 as a maximum. The jury decisions will be announced no later than one hour after the conclusion of a particular competition category. Possible special awards will be decided upon by the jury after the competition conclusion. The jury decisions are final.
Awards and prizes
A festival gold plaque will be awarded to choirs achieving at least 90 points.
A festival silver plaque will be awarded to choirs achieving at least 80 points.
A festival bronze plaque will be awarded to choirs achieving at least 70 points.
A participation recognition will be received by all the other choirs.
Optionally, the jury may choose to award the following special prizes:
– for the best performance of a composition written after 2010;
– for the best performance of a composition written within one year prior to the competition;
– for the best performance of a composition from different stylistic periods;
– for the best performance of a Slovene composition;
– for the best program concept;
– for the artistically most convincing entire performance;
– for the best accompanist;
– for the best Slovenian choir;
– additional awards according to the jury’s decision.
Monetary prizes will be received by:
– four gold plaque winning choirs that will have achieved the highest total of points in their category;
– the artistically most convincing conductor.
An award by the public will be granted to a choir at every competition concert.
Competition Entry
Choirs wishing to participate in the competition must submit a completed online application form no later than 15 November 2024. Application form will be published on the Festival’s website www.mpf.si
The application form includes:
-scores of the entering compositions;
-a brief history and a recent photograph of the choir;
-a list of names and birth dates of the choristers;
– a minimum 15-minute, up to one year old, live recording of the choir’s performance (a live performance recording posted on YouTube is also valid)
– the programme of a 20-minute repertoire to be performed by the choir at the noncompetitive festival concert.
Only applications with all attachments submitted in the electronic application form by 15 November 2024 will be considered by the organiser in the selection of entrants for the competition.
For further information:
artistic director of the festival – Nenad Firšt: nenad.first@celje.si
or mpfcelje@gmail.com
General Provisions
The festival music committee will select a maximum of 16 choirs for entry in the competition. The selected choirs will be notified in writing by December 16, 2024. The order of the choirs performing at the competition is defined by the musical committee of the festival. Their decisions are final. The selected choirs waive all rights pertaining to any sound or video recordings of the performances. Their sole owner shall be the organiser (The Festival).
The registration fee for the competition is 15 euros per person and must be paid in cash on arrival. The organizer provides choirs with a suitable space for rehearsal, dressing room and one meal a day (lunch).
The registration fee for the competition is 15 € per person. Foreign choirs pay in cash on arrival, Slovenian choirs pay by invoice after the competition according to the actual number of singers who will perform. The organiser will provide the choirs with a suitable rehearsal room, a dressing room and one meal a day (lunch).
Other information
All other information related to the competition (accommodation, meal options, tours, concerts or performances during the festival) will be announced later or will be sent to the selected choirs by e-mail as soon as the selection process has been completed.


Information about the 36th MMF can also be viewed in the .pdf document at the link here.
The application form for the 36th MMF is available in PDF format [here] and in Word format [here]. Please send the completed application to the email address nenad.first@celje.si.