Festival Rules and Regulations:

Financial Liability:

1. All choirs participating in the Festival are expected to pay their own travel and accommodation costs.

2. Peterborough Sings! (registered charity no. 1171950) accepts no responsibility for any expense incurred by any choir or individual chorister participating in the Festival.

Photography, broadcast and recording rights:

It is a condition of participation that choirs agree to the following:

1. Any performance given during the Festival may be broadcast live and/or recorded for subsequent broadcast on social media platforms/radio/television without payment to the choir. All broadcasting rights to any and all performances given at the Festival shall belong to Peterborough Sings! which will be free to dispose of them as it sees fit.

2. Any performance given during the Festival may, without payment, be recorded by contractors of Peterborough Sings! and Peterborough Sings! shall be entitled to possession of any such recording and shall further be entitled to reproduce any such recording and to sell, let for hire, offer for sale or hire, distribute or otherwise dispose of any recording or reproduction of recording of any such performance in any manner that it sees fit.

3. For copyright reasons, no sound, video or other recording of performances is made at any event other than those authorised in writing by Peterborough Sings!

4. Any photograph/s taken during the Festival shall belong to Peterborough Sings! and may be published across multiple platforms and media as it sees fit.

General:

1. The closing date for receipt of entry forms and registration fees is 12th December 2026, however choirs are advised to apply as early as possible as entries will be considered on a first come first served basis.

2. The Application Form must be completed and submitted online by the closing date, together with:

• a Festival participation fee of £10 per singer, which includes entry to all Festival activities across the weekend, including the Opening Night Celebration and Gala Dinner in Peterborough Cathedral, participation in the competition and informal performances, massed singing activities, Festival resources and materials, and access to the full programme of events and opportunities throughout the Festival.

• a biography of the choir (200 words maximum)

• a recent recording of the choir

• a high resolution photograph of the choir

3. The Festival reserves the right to close registration early if the maximum level of entries is reached sooner than the closing date advertised.

4. It is contrary to Law to perform music which has been reproduced illegally. Should a choir do so, Peterborough Sings! accepts no responsibility for any action taken by publishers.

5. Peterborough Sings! accepts no legal responsibility whatsoever in respect of a choir’s participation in the Festival and fringe activities.

6. Participation in the Festival implies acceptance of all the relevant rules and regulations.

Festival Selection:

a. Only applicants fulfilling ALL the application requirements will be considered.

b. Our Business Manager will be happy to answer any queries choirs may have regarding any aspect of participation: contact Jo Royle (jo.royle@peterboroughsings.org.uk) or call +44 (0)1733 425194.

Participation and application procedure:

a. Choirs are required to submit the Application Form online and provide other details as set out in this document.

b. Bank transfer in GBP sterling of the relevant registration fee is to be made as indicated in the entry form and the applying choir must pay the bank charges. Anyone having difficulty in submission of their entry online must immediately seek advice by emailing our Business Manager at jo.royle@peterboroughsings.org.uk

c. All applicants will be notified if their entry has been accepted as soon as possible.

The Competition - Female Voice Choirs (Saturday 19th June)

Female voice choirs only. Choirs of no fewer than 20 voices. Singers must be aged 18 or over on the day of the competition. Choirs are required to prepare a contrasting programme of up to 12 minutes of music.

Competition Eligibility:

a. A choir should have been in existence for at least one calendar year prior to the Festival and all choristers must be at least 18 years old at the start of the Festival.

b. Competing choirs must consist of 20 or more singers.

c. All members of a choir, except the conductor and accompanist, must be amateurs (i.e. people who do not earn their livelihood as singers).

d. No person may compete as a member of more than one choir.

e. The Festival reserves the right to limit the number of entries, to amend a category, or to split the competition into smaller categories.

f. The Festival reserves the right to alter the timetable according to the number of entries received.

g. Adjudicators’ decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding any aspect of their deliberations.

h. All mark and comments sheets will be made available to choirs after the Festival.

i. A choir which withdraws the Festival is not entitled to a refund of the registration fee.

Competition Repertoire:

a. Repertoire for the competition is at the discretion of individual Musical Directors, there is no set piece.

b. The competition programme must not exceed 12 minutes. Marks will be deducted where time is not used effectively.

c. Music copies or lyric crib sheets should not be used on stage by choristers.

d. The programme must contain at least one unaccompanied piece and one piece by a female composer.

e. The adjudicators will assess and allocate marks on performance quality, technical difficulty, the variety of musical styles included in the programme and range of period from which the music is selected. Choirs should consider including works by contemporary composers. Adjudicators will also take into account the success of the choir’s repertoire in terms of how well the choir communicates with the audience.

f. Four copies of each item sung in competition must be forwarded to Peterborough Sings! for use by the jury no later than 12th February 2027. Photocopies will only be accepted when accompanied by the full, written authority of the copyright holder. The Festival maintains the right to retain one set of the choir’s music for archive purposes.

g. No changes to competition repertoire can be considered after submission.

h. The three highest-placing choirs from the morning competition will be invited to compete again in the Festival Choir Challenge to become overall winners of the competitive element of the Festival. This will take place during the Gala Concert on Saturday 19th June 2027. Choirs will be required to sing two contrasting own-choice pieces to a maximum of 8 minutes performance time in total. Pieces may be specially prepared for this or those sung in previous class. No adjudicator copies are required.