Risa Carlson, Artistic Director

**Competition Registration Forms will be available here December, 2010

 PRIZES 

Senior Division - Ages 15 - 18
1st Prize: $1000*
2nd Prize: $500*
3rd Prize: $250*
4th Prize: $125*

Junior Division - Ages 14 & Under
1st Prize: $600*
2nd Prize: $300*
3rd Prize: $150*
4th Prize: $100*

Other prizes awarded to all Finalists will include:

• Strings generously donated by D'Addario and Savarez
• Gift Certificates from GSP Inc. & Strings By Mail 
• KLING-ON products

*All prizes subject to mandatory 30% federal tax withholding for foreign prize winners; US prize-winners will be issued an IRS-1099 Form.

JURY

Senior Division: TBA

Junior Division: TBA

COMPETITION RULES AND ELIGIBILITY

Open to competitors, regardless of nationality, who are not older than 14 years of age (Junior Division) or 18 years of age (Senior Division) through the date of the competition Finals and who are not represented by professional management. Each division is limited to the first forty-five (45) applicants to have all required materials submitted to the GFA by the stipulated deadline. First Prize-winners from any previous IYC are not eligible for the same age group.

All registrants under the age of 18 at the time of the convention must be accompanied by a paid adult registrant for the duration of their stay. Minors are not allowed on convention premises unless accompanied by an adult. The GFA does not take responsibility for any minor during their stay.

All decisions regarding eligibility made by the IYC Artistic Director and Competition Committee are final and no protests or appeals will be considered.

DEADLINE: May 1, 2011. Entries with all fees and application materials must be received by the GFA no later thanthe above deadline. No late entries will be considered

REQUIRED PIECE - One solo from the Heitor Villa-Lobos Complete Works for Solo Guitar, Editions Max Eschig.

FREE CHOICE - One free choice piece not to exceed 6 minutes. This may include multiple movements from the same composition. For example, multiple movements from a Bach Suite or several etudes from Leo Brouwer's Etudes Simples.

Competitors' Orientation Meeting, Friday, July 1 at 12:30 pm is required of all competitors and you must bring photocopies of proof of age to the meeting.

Please note that without the appropriate I.D., the competitor will only be permitted to perform for evaluation and will be ineligible to compete for competition prizes. Procedures will be reviewed and afterwards, there will be a brief tour of the Preliminary Round venue.

If you encounter a travel delay, which prevents you from attending the meeting, you will need to provide proof upon arrival of earlier travel plans. Should you have another event in conflict with the competitors' orientation meeting, which is not a sponsored GFA event, the competitor will only be permitted to perform for evaluation and will be ineligible to compete for competition prizes.

Any changes to your submitted program may be made at this meeting, after which programs may not be altered.

PRELIMINARY ROUND REQUIREMENTS FOR BOTH DIVISIONS

• July 1-2: performance before a panel of three (3) judges for each division. This round will be closed to the public and no observers are allowed.
• Each candidate must perform the following pieces and they may be performed in any order: 
• Required piece 
• Free Choice not to exceed six (6) minutes. 
• All pieces must be performed from memory. 
• Each competitor is allotted a 12-minute performance slot in this round and a performance may be stopped by the judges if the player is not near completion of the music after 12 minutes of playing. 
• Tuning or pausing between the selections is not included in the timing. 
• All competitors must perform on a nylon string, classical guitar. 
• Four (4) competitors from this round will advance to the Final Round. Announcement of the four (4) competitors to advance will be made Friday evening at the beginning of the featured concert.

FINAL ROUND REQUIREMENTS FOR SENIOR DIVISION

• July 3: 1:30 - 3:30 pm: Performance order for this round will be determined by a Lottery-numerical order draw. The four (4) candidates will perform before the same panel of three (3) judges. This round will be open to the public.
• All finalists are required to perform a minimum of two (2) works of contrasting styles (by different composers) not to exceed a total of fifteen (15) minutes. They may be performed in any order. No works byVilla-Lobos (whether or not they were played in the Preliminary Round) may be included in the Final Round, but other works from the Preliminary Round may be repeated. 
• All pieces must be memorized. 
• All performers will be stopped at a total of 15 minutes playing time. 
• Tuning or pausing between the selections is not included in the timing.

Announcement of the winners will be made at 4:00 pm.

FINAL ROUND REQUIREMENTS FOR JUNIOR DIVISION

• July 3: 9:30 - 10:30 am: Performance order for this round will be determined by a Lottery-numerical order draw. The four (4) candidates will perform before the same panel of three (3) judges and will be open to the public.
• All finalists are required to perform a minimum of two (2) works of contrasting styles (by different composers) not to exceed a total of twelve (12) minutes. They may be performed in any order. No works by Villa-Lobos (whether or not they were played in the Preliminary Round) may be included in the Final Round, but other works from the Preliminary Round may be repeated.
• All pieces must be memorized. 
• All performers will be stopped at a total of 12 minutes playing time. 
• Tuning or pausing between the selections is not included in the timing.

Announcement of the winners will be made at 4:00 pm.

COMPETITION PROCEDURES

• A list of times will be e-mailed to each competitor four weeks before the start of the convention.
• Check in for the IYC Competitors' will be at the registration desk.

PRELIMINARY ROUND

• Competitors should be near the judging venue, ready to perform, at least 15 minutes before their scheduled time. This is necessary in the event judging runs ahead of schedule.
• Competitors should bring only their guitar (without the case) and guitar elevation device or footstool into the judging venue. Footstools will not be provided. 
• Be certain to tune the instrument before entering the judging venue. Performers are allowed to check tuning once inside the venue. 
• Judges do not require copies of the score.

JUDGING

Judges will evaluate each competitor in several categories. Based upon this, they will vote their choice of the four (4) competitors from the Preliminary Round to advance to the Final Round. All votes are tallied and the four (4) competitors with the highest votes shall advance to the Final Round. Should a tie result, judges will discuss and revote on the tied competitors.

In the Final Round, judges will evaluate each competitor in several categories. The judges shall vote First, Second, Third and Fourth Prizes. To determine this, judges will be asked to vote ordinals for each competitor. No ties will be allowed in the Final Round and in the case of a tie, judges will discuss and revote on the tied competitors to determine who will advance to the higher prize.

All decisions by the judges are final.

APPLICATION

Application and Fees must be submitted and paid ON-LINE no later than May 1, 2011. No late entries will be considered.

Proposed Preliminary and Final Program submitted. Changes to the program can be made at the Competitors' Orientation Meeting, after which no further changes are acceptable.

Payment of all Entry Fees in full at time of registration.

IYC REGISTRATION AND ENTRY FEES

· Must be a member of the GFA.

• $145.00 - GFA members to include all convention activities and concerts.
• $175.00 - Non GFA members, which includes Entry Fee, membership and all convention activities and concerts. 
• $100.00 - Special Individual Family Member Three-Day Pass - Fee per person, limited to 2 individual family members. 
• $65.00 per each additional day - includes convention activities and concerts. 
• $120.00 - Private Lesson Package to include three lessons. (only available for Full registration) 
• $250.00 - Competitor Full Registration June 28 - July 3, 2011.

WAIVER

Participation Waiver: As a Competitor in the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition, I agree to waive any recording and or photo rights in or on any medium, during any aspect of my participation in this Competition. Further, I consent to the unlimited and unrestricted use of my name and image in any format or medium for use by The Guitar Foundation of America. Additionally, by submitting this application to enter this competition, I state that I accept all of the terms set forth in the Rules of the Competition.

For questions, please contact: Risa Carlson, Artistic Director of the International Youth Competition