Tuesday 16 April 2024, from 10:00 am

Singers should enter competition 200 – entry fee £35

Accompanists should enter competition 201 – entry fee £25

Hampstead Garden Suburb Free Church, Central Square, NW11 7AG

Singers Adjudicator — Elaine McKrill

Accompanists Adjudicator — Alisdair Hogarth

The singing competition is open to singers who are studying as undergraduates or post-graduates, including those studying on an opera course, as well as those who have graduated from a conservatoire within the last three years.

The accompanists’ competition is open to pianists who are studying as undergraduates or post-graduates, as well as those who have graduated from a conservatoire within the last three years.

Singers and accompanists should enter separately, noting on their entry if performing jointly.

If an entrant has been a pupil of the Adjudicator in the year prior to the Festival or is well-known to the Adjudicator, they should contact the Section Administrator before entering.

Singers of a high standard unable to fulfil the above criteria should instead enter competition one of the other Festival singing competitions.

The recital can last up to 20 minutes with a maximum of five pieces. Entrants must sing one choice from each of four out of the five categories listed below, plus a fifth piece of their own choice, if desired.

1. Early English or Italian song from the 16^th or 17^th century
2. A song from the 19^th or 20^th century sung in the original European language.
3. An aria from an opera, sung in the original language, with or without recitative.
4. An aria from an oratorio, sung in the original language, with or without recitative.
5. A 20^th or 21^st century English or American art-song or folk song.

A £500 cash prize will be awarded to the highest placed singer. This will be given in memory of Edith Poulsen, who was born in Vienna on 10 April 1918, arrived in London on 6 April 1939 as a refugee and passed away on 4 April 2020. Her grandfather first took her as a 7-year-old to see the opera Hansel and Gretel, and she became hooked, enjoying opera for the rest of her life. She was an annual visitor to Welsh National Opera, where her last visit was to see Hansel and Gretel, aged 97.

A cash prize of £300 will be awarded to the highest-placed accompanist.

Competitors will be adjudicated on the selection of a balanced and well-designed programme, on the depth of their musicianship and on how they present themselves and connect with an audience. A verbal introduction to the musical programme is an integral part of the performance.

We are very grateful to The Herbert Howells Society which is sponsoring the Herbert Howells Prize for the best performance of a song by Herbert Howells over the course of the Festival. Each adjudicator of singing competitions will nominate one singer and the winner will be chosen by agreement from among those nominees.

For full details, download the Choirs and Singing Syllabus via the link to the right or below.

The closing date is Friday 22 March 2024.

Enter the Competition

Entries to the North London Festival are accepted only from performers living or studying in the UK or the Republic of Ireland.

Click on the link below to enter. The first time you use the entry system, you will need to register.

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