Festival-wide rules

1. All entries to the Festival should be made via the online Play and Perform system. A link to this is available on the festival website www.rrfestival.org. Entries to the festival can be made from 1st January until the 25th February.

2. Classes are open to amateurs only unless otherwise stated. For this purpose an amateur is one who does not earn his/her living from practising in the discipline in which he/she has entered.

3. Where there are age limits age must be reckoned to the 1st May of the Festival year. The age of the eldest competitor in Duets/Trios/Quartets/Groups determines the correct class. All age limits must be strictly adhered to.

3a. It is a condition of our Surrey County Council performance licence that all performers in school years 11 and below must be accompanied by an appropriate adult at all times while at Festival venues.

4. Only in the case of the withdrawal of a Class will the fee be refunded.

5. Competitors should expect to receive by 8th April, via email from Play and Perform, a form giving the Date, Venue and approximate Time of the classes entered. Performers are required to print the form(s), enter the information requested, and to give the completed form to the Adjudicator’s Steward at the time of performance.

6. Adjudication. Marks will not be awarded. Performers will be placed in one of seven categories:

• ‘E’ Exceptional: A superlative performance displaying exceptional artistic individuality.
• ‘O’ Outstanding: An impressive performance technically and artistically, displaying spontaneity & clear individuality.
• ‘H’ Honours: An excellent performance, demonstrating fluent technical and artistic skills with emerging individuality.
• ‘C’ Commended: A convincing performance technically & artistically, with increasing stylistic & communication skills.
• ‘M’ Merit: A competent performance, showing some artistic awareness and/or technical ability.
• ‘P’ Progressing: A performance showing development of technique and/or communication and commitment.
• ‘D’ Developing: A performance demonstrating an awareness of technical skills, requiring more consistency & artistry.

‘E’, ‘O’, or ‘H’ are necessary to qualify for an award.

7. All awards will normally be presented at the end of the Adjudication. Individual certificates will be issued to groups up to a maximum of four performers. Only one certificate will be issued to larger ensembles and choirs.

8. Cups and trophies awarded remain the property of the Festival and must be returned to the Trophies Secretary, by 1st March the following year. If cups or trophies are mislaid, the Festival expects these to be replaced by the entry form signatory at no cost to the Festival.

9. The Adjudicator’s decision about categories is final. Any other dispute or complaint connected with the Festival should be submitted in accordance with our Complaints Procedure which is set out at the bottom of this page.

10. Any performance may be curtailed at the discretion of the Adjudicator. Time limits must not be exceeded.

11. Set pieces in the Syllabus may not be offered as Own Choice pieces in any other class, and no item may be performed in more than one class.

12. No Beginner is allowed to enter a Beginner’s Class for a second year.

13. The Instrumental Graded Classes, competitors may not enter more than one grade. A Grade 8 class cannot be entered if more than a year has elapsed since achieving Grade 8.

14. Deleted

15. 24 hours’ notice should be given for withdrawal from a class so that Adjudicators are not kept waiting.

16. Own Choice
If the edition of a piece is stated on the entry, it must be used.

17. Unless performance from memory is preferred, all performers must play from printed music or a copy authorised by the publisher.

18. In all cases of Own Choice, a hard copy of the piece selected must be provided for the adjudicator at the time of performance.

Competitors who choose to play pieces set by the Examining Boards (e.g. ABRSM) may not choose those pieces marked ‘Reprinted by permission, for use only in connection with the Examinations of the Royal Schools of Music’ (or any similar wording), unless written permission is obtained from the publisher. The Board does not hold the Copyright or Performing Rights for such pieces.

19. Graphic copying (including photocopying)
Graphic copying (including photocopying) music is illegal unless written permission of the publisher is produced at the Festival. The only exception to this rule is stated in The Music Publishers’ Association Code of Fair Practice on the Graphic Copying of Music which is as follows:

Adjudicator or Examiner Copy: A person performing a work in front of an examiner or adjudicator
may make one copy per examiner/adjudicator provided that the participant or candidate has
already purchased his/her own copy and that the copy/copies made is/are retained and destroyed
by the adjudicator(s) or examiner(s) immediately after the event.

Each copy must be marked with the following: ‘Adjudicator/examiner copy. Destroy after use.’

For full details see the MPA’s Code of Fair Practice.

Copying Verse and Prose
A copy of the piece(s) selected should be provided for the adjudicator by the performer.

The Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) encourages respect for copyright licences. A CLA licence allows copying from most books, periodicals and journals published in the UK. Please note it does not include music. Festivals may copy as many items as they wish, the number is unlimited, but under the standard licence they can make up to 9 copies of each item. Further information on the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) can be found on http://www.cla.co.uk

20. Whilst the Festival cannot accept responsibility for instruments or personal property brought to the Festival, please contact the appropriate secretary if you need assistance.

21. Photography is prohibited during Festival performances and adjudication. We have an official photographer, who with consent from either parent, guardian or teacher, may take photographs of performers under the age of 19 for possible use in the local press, festival syllabus and programme for the following year, or our website and social media. Permission is sought via response to a Yes/No question during the process of submitting entries.

If photographs are not used for these purposes, they may be used for our archives.

21a. Sound recording and video recording are prohibited during Festival performances and adjudication. Festival staff will be at liberty to ask any person not complying with rule 21 or 21a to leave the venue. Mobile phones must be turned off whilst on the Festival premises and at the Gala Showcase.

22. No Backing Tracks for accompaniment are permitted except when specifically stated otherwise.

23. Coaching from the audience is not permitted during a performance.

24. Any breach of Festival Regulations, intentional or unintentional, may result in disqualification. In practice, we shall do our best to resolve such issues with minimal disruption and upset to the performer, who will most often breach regulations because of a mistake made by a parent or teacher. Our adjudicators are professional and experienced, and will judge what effect the breach has had on competitive classes and take appropriate action, often behind the scenes.

25. The Festival Gala Showcase will take place soon after the end of the festival. Competitors, not necessarily prize-winners, MAY be invited by the Chairman to perform in the Gala Showcase, subject to the planning of a balanced programme and the recommendations of the Adjudicators and the Festival Committee. Invitations to perform will be given by the Chairman after the Festival itself has ended.

26. This Festival Committee is committed to implementing policies designed to promote equality of opportunity, to secure fair participation for any under-represented group and to reject absolutely unlawful discrimination of any kind.

While the Reigate and Redhill Festival (“the Festival”) always endeavours to conduct its activities in accordance with the law and its own policies and procedures, and to ensure that all its Trustees, volunteers, sponsors, advertisers, entrants, adjudicators, friends and audience are treated fairly and with respect, occasions can arise when people wish to lodge a complaint. This procedure sets out how such complaints will be received and managed.

This is a three-stage procedure.

All complaints must be made by email to the relevant address shown on the website and in the printed Programme.

Initial, level one complaints

1. Complaints about individual Classes or Sections should be made to the relevant Section Secretary.
2. Complaints about equality, diversity and inclusion should be made to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer.
3. Complaints about safeguarding should be made to the Safeguarding Officer.
4. Any other complaints should be made to the Honorary Secretary who will pass them on to the relevant person (who may be the Chairman, or any of the other Trustees) for resolution.
5. The relevant person will make every effort to resolve the issue with the complainant.

Escalation level two – Trustee

1. Should the relevant person not be able to find a resolution that is satisfactory for the complainant, the complainant will be given the opportunity to escalate the matter to a Trustee (usually the Chairman) who has not previously been involved in the complaint.
2. This Trustee will make every effort to resolve the issue with the complainant.
3. This is the final stage in the Festival’s internal complaints procedure.

External escalation level three

1. If the complaint has not been able to be resolved through the Festival’s internal procedure, the Chairman will advise the complainant of any external escalation processes available, such as to the British and International Federation of Festivals.  However, there will not always be any further, external, means of escalation open to the complainant.