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Festival Schedule

Dates Morning Afternoon Evening

6th November Registration Opening

(Wednesday) Ceremony

7th November Competition

(Thursday)
Masterclass & Workshop

8th November Competition

(Friday)
Masterclass & Workshop

9th November Competition Friendship Concert

(Saturday)
Masterclass & Workshop Meet the Jury

10th November Masterclass & Grand Prix Award Closing

(Sunday) Workshop Ceremony

*Subject to changes

Festival Timeline
1. Early Bird Registration: 26th December 2023 – 8th April 2024

2. Normal Rate Registration: 9th April 2024 – 5th August 2024

3. Registration Deadline: 5th August 2024

4. Last day of confirmation of competition details (repertoire, performance

order, number of participants etc.): 16th September 2024

5. Individual Schedule: Receive before 2nd October 2024

6. Festival: 6th to 10th November 2024

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Activities
1. Friendship Concert

- Participating choirs may choose to perform in this series of fun and relaxed
concerts that allows choirs from different countries and cultures to sing for one
another in the spirit of friendship.

2. Choral Masterclass

Participating choirs may sign up for this individual choral masterclass, where
the festival guest clinician will work with individual choirs on selected
competition repertoire. The clinician will be sharing them artistic ideas,
interpretive guidance, and give suggestions on areas for improvement and
development.
o The duration of the masterclass is 1 hour.
o If choir are performing songs not in English, a translation or description
of the song is required.

3. Choral Workshops
- A series of educational activities that will be open to participants of the
festival and public to learn from a panel International choral expert.
Details of festival workshops will be release later. (before 30th September)

4. Meet the Jury Session

- A consultation session between representatives of choir and a selected

member of the MCE ICF adjudication panel will be arranged as a platform for
conductors and choirs to learn and receive direct evaluation on choir’s
performance.

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 Competition Categories

A. Categories by age

Code Category Age Singers Duration

A1 Young Children 7 - 12

[S(S)A(A), boys & girls]

Children
A2 10 - 16 Minimum 20 singers 2 free choice
[S(S)A(A), boys & girls] songs,
(Excluding conductor
A3 Teenage 13-19 & accompanist) 8 minutes pure
singing
A4 Mixed Youth Up to 26

A5 Mixed Voices No limit

A6 Senior 50 and above

B. Categories by numbers, voice type, and genre

Code Category Age Singers Duration

B1 Equal Voices (SA)

Minimum 20 singers
B2 Equal Voices (TB) 2 free choice
(Excluding conductor songs,
B3 Folklore & accompanist)
8 minutes pure
No limit singing
B4 Vocal Ensemble
4 to 19 singers
2 songs from
Popular, Jazz or
(Excluding conductor
B5 Pop Vocal Ensemble Musical Theatre
& accompanist)
genres

*Choirs in category B3 (Folklore) are encouraged to perform works from the choir’s home region.

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Competition Rules
1. 22nd Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod – International Choral Festival 2024 welcomes
participation of choirs from Malaysia, as well as choirs from around the world.

2. Choirs can participate in more than one category, but can only choose ONE
(1) category from Group A and can choose more than one category from
Group B.

3. Organizers will allow participation of up to 10% of the singers, under/above the

age limit.

4. The minimum number of singers allowed (not inclusive of conductor and

accompanist) in each Category is 20 singers, there is NO maximum number of
singers allowed for each Category. (Except Vocal Ensemble & Pop Vocal
Ensemble category)

5. The conductor of a choir may be allowed to conduct a different choir or choirs

in either category of the competition.

6. The Organizers reserve the right to record performances of choirs during the
Competition, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for archive
purposes.

Score & Song Programs

1. Song program should be submitted to the organizer together with the online
registration form.

2. Song program MUST be approved by the MCE ICF committee. Unapproved

program will be informed and needs to be replaced immediately.

3. Song program cannot be changed once confirmed by the committee.

Performance order MUST be finalized before 16th September 2024, and
changes during the on-site registration phase are NOT allowed.

4. Choirs are NOT allowed to repeat their repertoire across the categories. Each
song can only be performed once. (Applicable for choirs competing in
multiple categories)

5. Choirs who are performing songs not in English are required to submit a
description or translation of the song in English.

6. Each choir must submit FIVE (5) sets of original scores for the Jury. This may
be in the form of hard copies of scores or licensed electronic copies
obtained from the publisher or composer.

7. All scores must be received by the committee via post before 25th October
2024. Failing to do so might affect the evaluation of the performance.
Postage address: 114A, Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
60000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
8. The use of unauthorized copies or handwritten copies is not permitted.

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 9. Artistic committee must be informed if a choir wished to change the key from
what is written on the score.

10. All submitted scores must be in conventional stave notation.

Instruments
1. Acoustic Upright or Grand Piano will be provided for all categories.

2. A maximum of 3 indefinite pitch instruments are allowed in each category.

3. Organizers will not provide any percussive instruments.

4. Recorded playbacks or backing tracks are NOT allowed.

5. No amplifications will be provided for the singers and instrumentalists.

6. Keyboard rental outside of the competition and provided rehearsal session is

not available. However, you may contact the committee for external
contacts.

Stage Performance Time

1. Each choir is allowed a maximum pure singing time of 8 minutes. This is NOT
inclusive of walking on and off the stage.

2. The timer will begin after the first note of the 1st song and stop after the last
note of the 1st song. The timer will then resume at the first note of the 2nd song
and stop at the last note of the 2nd song.

3. Choirs exceeding the maximum pure singing time will be penalized 1 point
for every minute, from their total score.

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 Evaluation & Judging Criteria
1. The Competition Jury will consist of a panel of international choral
experts.

2. The evaluation of the competition will be based according to the

following criteria:

a. Intonation
b. Sound Quality
c. Fidelity to the score (Authenticity for Folklore)
d. Overall Artistic Impression

3. Sample of scoring:

Song Intonation Sound Fidelity to the Overall Artistic

Quality score Impression

1 80 81 82 80

2 84 83

Total Mark 80 + 84 + 81 + 82 + 83 + 80
× 100% = 81.67
600

4. All choirs will receive copies of their adjudicated scores.

5. Choirs which do not receive a Diploma will receive a Certificate of

Participation for their performances.

6. The Jury may give out Special Awards at their discretion.

7. All results of the Jury will be considered final and cannot be

contested.

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Grand Prix
1. Each Category Winner and those who received recommendation from
the jury and the Artistic Director will be participating in Grand Prix on
10th November 2024 (Sunday).

2. The competing choirs will be performing TWO (2) songs, both freely
chosen. Only ONE (1) song can be reused from the earlier competition
rounds.

3. Grand Prix winner of the 22nd Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod - International

Choral Festival 2024 is qualified to participate in the 4th Asian Choral
Grand Prix that will be held in Singapore in the year 2025.

4. Grand Prix competition will be live-streamed on our YouTube page.

5. The Grand Prix champions of each of the following festivals will vie for
the highest accolade in the Asian Choral Festival Circuit:

a. Andrea O.Veneracion International Choral Festival (The

Philippines)

b. Bali International Choir Festival (Indonesia)

c. Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod - International Choral Festival

(Malaysia)

d. Singapore International Choral Festival (Singapore)

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Prizes & Award

1. According to the result from the juries, choirs/participants will be graded

as such:

Diploma Grade Score

Grade A 90.00 – 100.00

Gold
Grade B 85.00 – 89.99

Grade C 80.00 – 84.99

Grade A 75.00 – 79.99

Silver
Grade B 70.00 – 74.99

Grade C 65.00 – 69.99

Grade A 60.00 – 64.99

Bronze
Grade B 55.00 – 59.99

Grade C 50.00 – 54.99

Certificate of Participation Below 50.00

2. The choir which is awarded a GOLD Diploma with the highest marks will
be named Category Winner of the respective category.

3. Each choir will receive a trophy, an award certificate for the choir,
and individual certificates of participation for every participant
(singers, conductor, chaperones, according to the registered total
number of participants).

4. All trophies and certificates should be collected during the award

ceremony or from the registration desk after the ceremony. Organizer
will not be responsible of mailing the trophies and certificates to you
after the festival.

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Registration
1. Registration is considered complete when the following documents
are received:

a. Registration form that has been filled in completely and correctly.

b. Photograph of choir and conductor in high resolution (Minimum
of 1MB file size)
c. Receipt of registration fee & selected activities’ payment

2. Choir may refer to the following dates for eligibility of different rates.
I. Early Bird (26th December 2023 – 8th April 2024)
II. Normal Rate (9th April 2024 – 5th August 2024)
III. Registration deadline (5th August 2024)

3. All participants (singers, conductor(s), accompanist(s), chaperones

etc.) are required to pay the individual registration fee (pg 11) to take
part in the festival.

4. All Malaysian choirs MUST complete FULL payment upon registration

and attached payment receipt in the registration form.

5. Registration Form can be accessed at the following link:

https://form.jotform.com/240212936859058

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 Fee Structure

Timeline Early Bird Normal Premium

Registration Fee RM 30 per pax RM 40 per pax RM 90 per pax

(1 Category)
(RM 80 during early bird phase)

20 singers 20 singers 20 singers

Minimum numbers

(Except category B4 & B5) (Except category B4 & B5) (Except category B4 & B5)

Maximum numbers Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited

(Except category B4 & B5) (Except category B4 & B5) (Except category B4 & B5)

Subsequent Category RM 250 per category RM 250 per category RM 250 per category

Watching competition & Subject to availability of Subject to availability of Subject to availability of

MCE ICF Grand Prix seats seats seats

Friendship Concert May choose to perform / May choose to perform / May choose to perform /
Watch Watch Watch

Meet the Jury 5 representatives 5 representatives 5 representatives

Opening & Award Closing 5 representatives 5 representatives 5 representatives

Ceremony

Individual Certificates Included in the fee Included in the fee Included in the fee

Official Competition Video RM 120 per video RM 120 per video Included in the fee

Meal Not applicable Not applicable 1 meal (Lunch OR Dinner)

during the competition
day

Choral Masterclass RM 400 per group RM 400 per group Included in the fee

*Choirs are allowed to purchase their own performance video(s) ONLY.

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Information
1. Bank Details
• Bank Name: Malayan Banking Berhad,(Maybank)

• Beneficiary: YCA Ventures Sdn Bhd

• Account Number: 5142 7144 0101

2. Contact
• Mobile/WhatsApp: +6019 – 236 2066

• Email: mce.malaysia@youngchoral.com

• Facebook: Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod – MCE

• Instagram: @mce_malaysia

3. There will be NO REFUNDS for any reason, including force majeure. (Wars, Riots,
Revolutions, Natural Disasters, Strikes, Fires and other Disasters declared by the
Government).

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