Classical Guitar Syllabus
Entries open 01/01/2026 and close 25/02/2026
Friday 15th May in the Upper Hall at Redhill United Reformed Church, Shaw’s Corner, and Saturday 16th May at Reigate Park Church.
Adjudicator: Helen Sanderson
Helen Sanderson epitomises life as a 21st-century guitarist; her diversity as a performer, educator, arranger, composer and creative entrepreneur is reflected in the broad spectrum of guitar studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where she is Head of Guitar Performance.
Helen’s international performing career has centred on chamber music as a founder-member of the VIDA Guitar quartet and in partnerships with James Bowman, Mark Wilde and Zoran Dukic with highlight performances including the Southbank Centre, Kings Place and the Guitar Foundation of America. Alongside this, her impetus to create opportunities for young guitarists led to her founding the music education charity, Guitar Circus, home of the National Youth Guitar Ensemble and the World Youth Guitar Festival of which she is Artistic Director.
Helen’s passion as an educator has continued since becoming a Winston Churchill Fellow with her research into guitar programmes in the USA and she is embarking on developing a Whole Class Guitar Ensemble programme for Welsh Primary Schools based on this research in partnership with RWCMD.
Helen is a sought-after adjudicator for competitions including BBC Young Musician of the Year, Guitar Foundation of America, London International Guitar Competition, Koblenz Guitar Competition, Ida Presti International Guitar Competition and most memorably, the Sky Arts televised series “Guitar Star”.
Enquiries
Any enquiries about this section should be emailed to: guitars@rrfestival.org
Rules
For a full list of the Festival’s rules and regulations see here.
Please take note of Rule 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.
In addition, the following section rules apply;
- Backing tracks are not permitted in any class;
- Please provide the adjudicator with a copy of your music;
- Please choose any piece from a current examination syllabus or a piece appropriate to the grade;
- A Grade 8 class cannot be entered if more than a year has elapsed since achieving Grade 8.
Classes
500 Beginners Classical
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins.
501 Pre-Grade 1 Classical (Prep-test/Initial Standard)
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins.
502 Grade 1 Classical
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins.
503 Grade 2 Classical
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins.
504 Grade 3 Classical
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins.
505 Grade 4 Classical
Fee £5.50
Up to 3 mins.
506 Grades 5 & 6 Classical
Fee £6.50
Up to 5 mins.
507 Grades 7 & 8 Classical
Fee £7.00
Up to 6 mins.
508 Junior Recital, Grades 3 & 4 Classical
Own choice of contrasting pieces.
Fee £7.00
Up to 6 mins.
509 Intermediate Recital, Grades 5 & 6 Classical
Own choice of contrasting pieces.
Fee £8.00
Up to 8 mins.
510 Senior Recital, Grades 7 & 8 Classical
Own choice of contrasting pieces.
Fee £9.00
Up to 10 mins.
511 Recital (open)
Own choice of contrasting pieces.
Fee £9.00
Up to 10 mins.
519 Non-competitive Adult Recital (Age 18+)
Non-competitive (adjudication only).
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £9.00
Up to 8 mins.
520 Duet for Two Guitars (Beginner to grade 2)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £7.00 per duo
Group of 2 people
Up to 4 mins.
521 Duet for Two Guitars (Grades 3 & 4)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £7.00 per duo
Group of 2 people
Up to 4 mins.
522 Duet for Two Guitars (Grades 5 & 6)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £7.50 per duo
Group of 2 people
Up to 6 mins.
523 Duet for Two Guitars (Grades 7 & 8)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £8.00 per duo
Group of 2 people
Up to 6 mins.
524 Duet for Two Guitars (Open)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £8.00 per duo
Group of 2 people
Up to 6 mins.
525 Duet for Guitar & Instrument or Voice (Junior)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £7.00 per duo
Group of 2 people
Up to 4 mins.
526 Duet for Guitar & Instrument or Voice (Senior)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £8.00 per duo
Group of 2 people
Up to 6 mins.
527 Duet for Guitar & Instrument or Voice (Open)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £8.00 per duo
Group of 2 people
Up to 6 mins.
528 Self-accompaniment
Accompany your singing on guitar.
Award: Non-competitive
Fee £6.00
Up to 4 mins.
530 Guitar Trio/Quartet (Junior)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £7.00 per group
Group of 3 to 4 people
Up to 6 mins.
531 Guitar Trio/Quartet (Senior)
Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £8.00 per group
Group of 3 to 4 people
Up to 8 mins.
540 Guitar Orchestra (Junior)
Five or more guitarists. Own choice of piece(s).
Award: Cup
Fee £13.50 per group
Group of a minimum of 5 people
Up to 8 mins.
541 Guitar Orchestra (Senior)
Five or more guitarists. Own choice of piece(s).
Award: Cup
Fee £13.50 per group
Group of a minimum of 5 people
Up to 8 mins.
542 Ensemble (Guitars and Other Instruments/Voice)
Own choice piece(s) for a minimum of five players, including at least three guitars.
Award: Cup
Fee £13.50 per group
Group of a minimum of 5 people
Up to 8 mins.
547 Instrument or voice with guitar accompaniment
Fee £7.00
Up to 4 mins.
548 Anything Goes (Open)
If you don’t think your piece fits any of the other classes then this is the one for you!
Fee Solo: ₤7.00 Group: ₤8.00 per group
Solo or Group of any size
Up to 6 mins
549 Family Duet or Ensemble
Non-competitive (adjudication only). This must include at least one guitar in the ensemble. Own choice of piece(s).
Fee £8.00 per group
Group of any size
Up to 6 mins.
550 The ‘Helen Sanderson’ Class (Open)
Play any piece written or arranged by Helen.
Fee Solo: ₤6.50 Group: ₤7.50 per group
Solo or Group of 2 to 4 people
Up to 5 mins
Concerto Competition
For Concerto entries, please see our Concerto Competition section.
