Registration will open on Saturday, Feb. 11 for the EVYAC.
MDRS ERIC VARNER YOUNG ARTIST COMPETITION GUIDELINES FOR 2023 COMPETITION
Application Due Date is March 1, 2023
To enter the 2023 Competition, please follow the guidelines below. ALL ENTRANTS MUST COMPLY WITH ALL RULES. For the sake of fairness, we will unfortunately find it necessary to disqualify any entries that do not comply fully with the rules laid out here.
1. A $15 application fee is required to compete. See mdrs.org for payment information. Fees are non-refundable.
2. Residents of these U.S. states are eligible to enter the competition: Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
3. You must be a member of MDRS to enter the competition. If you are not already a member of MDRS, you must become one by registering online at mdrs.org and paying the $15 student membership fee, separate from your application fee. Fees are non-refundable.
4. The Competition has two separate divisions. They are the High School and Collegiate divisions.
a. Entrants in the High School Division must be enrolled in grades 9–12. Participants in the High School Division are to prepare approximately 7 minutes of music written for their instrument.
b. Entrants in the Collegiate Division must not have completed an undergraduate degree by March 1, 2023. Participants in the Collegiate Division are to prepare approximately 10 minutes of music written for their instrument.
5. The competition has two rounds: a preliminary recorded round followed by a subsequent live round hosted at Missouri State University.
6. For the preliminary recorded round:
a. Entries may be recent video or audio recordings.
b. Using a collaborative pianist is not required in the preliminary round.
c. Performances must be recent. Only recordings made within the last six months will be accepted.
d. Recordings may not be edited other than trimming the beginning and end of the video. Performances must be recorded live, in real time and in one take to emulate a live performance. Any evidence of editing will result in the immediate disqualification of the contestant.
e. No reverb or other audio processing can be added to your recording to enhance your sound.
f. Music performed in the preliminary recorded round does not need to be the same as what the applicant intends to present should they advance to the subsequent live round.
7. Entrants who submit recordings by the deadline will be evaluated by a panel of judges. If they are selected to perform in the subsequent live round, they will be named Sem-Finalists in the competition. Semi-finalists will be notified of their status by March 15th so that appropriate travel plans to perform at Missouri State University on April 15th may be arranged.
8. Semi-finalists will be provided with a collaborative pianist during the live round.
9. The first-place winner of the Collegiate Division will be ineligible from competing for one year. The winner of the High School Division will be ineligible for competing in the high school division for one year but may compete in the Collegiate Division when they are age eligible, regardless of placement in the High School Division.
10. Judges will be evaluating recordings based on performers’ expression, technical accuracy, intonation, tone, and stylistic correctness, and not based on quality of recording equipment.
11. To enter, upload your recorded performance to YouTube as “unlisted”. Then, fill out and submit the application form at MDRS.org. On this form, you will also include the unlisted YouTube link to your preliminary recording. Complete this form by 11:59pm Central Time on March 1, 2022.
12. Winners will be awarded these prizes either in cash or gift certificate to a double reed supply vendor:
Collegiate Bassoon:
1st Prize – $400
2nd Prize – $250
3rd Prize – $100
Collegiate Oboe:
1st Prize – $400
2nd Prize – $250
3rd Prize – $100
High School Bassoon:
1st Prize – $150
2nd Prize – $100
3rd Prize – $50
High School Oboe:
1st Prize – $150
2nd Prize – $100
3rd Prize – $50