Competition rules

1. General rules 

  • Only amateur choirs may participate in the competition, although the conductor may be professional.
  • A choir that has won the title of Laureate of the festival may reapply in three years at the earliest.
  • The minimum number of active singers in a choir is 12.
  • A competition performance may not last more than 15 minutes, including compulsory songs and getting on and off the stage.
  • The programme of a competitive performance is included in the application form and must be approved in advance by the festival steering committee.
  • According to the quality of the performance, the jury will divide choirs in individual categories into gold, silver, and bronze diploma and name the category winner.
    • gold – excellent performance
    • silver – very good performance
    • bronze – good performance 
  • Choirs, nominated by a jury from all categories, will compete for the Grand Prix.

2. Categories 

The competition takes place in 7 categories, the 8th category (G) is non-competitive. Every choir can register in a maximum of 2 categories. The jury will decide on participation in the categories after the application deadline. Based on the number of entered choirs, some categories can be joined or split.

  • category A male-voice choirs 
  • category B female-voice choirs
  • category C mixed choirs
  • category D girls’, boys’ and mixed youth choirs aged 12 to 24
  • category S senior choirs over 55 years with an average age of the choir over 60
  • category E choirs with a programme of sacred compositions
  • category F folksong – all choirs
  • category G festival (non-competitive – only for foreign choirs)

3. Competitive performances 

Categories A, B, C – male-voice, female-voice and mixed choirs (with obligatory composition)

  • The competitive programme comprises a maximum of five unaccompanied compositions (a cappella), including obligatory composition.
  • A competition performance may not be longer than 15 minutes, including getting on and off the stage.
  • The selected compositions should come from diverse epochs and styles, e.g. old masters, romantic period, contemporary music, folksong, etc.
  • Obligatory compositions:
    • male-voice choirs – Bedřich Smetana: Věno / Dowry 
    • female-voice choirs – Bedřich Smetana: Má hvězda / My star 
    • mixed choirs – Antonín Dvořák: Napadly písně / Fallen songs
    • Compulsory songs must be sung in the original language (Czech)
  • The scores of the obligatory compositions may be requested from the festival organiser.
  • The festival director may make an exception in the case of choirs who for serious reasons cannot rehearse the obligatory composition. However, these choirs cannot be placed higher than silver.

Category D – girls’, boys’ and youth mixed choirs

  • Girls’, boys’ and youth mixed choirs aged 12 to 24 can enter this category. 
  • The competitive programme does not include an obligatory composition and should comprise a maximum of 5 compositions in various styles and genres, one of which may be accompanied by 1 – 2 acoustic instruments.
  • A competition performance may not last longer than 15 minutes, including getting on and off the stage.

Category S – senior choirs

  • This category is open to choirs with singers over 50 years of age with an average age of the choir over 55 years
  • The competitive programme does not include an obligatory composition and will comprise a maximum of 5 compositions in various styles and genres, one of which may be accompanied by 1 – 2 acoustic instruments.
  • A competition performance may not last longer than 15 minutes, including getting on and off the stage.

Category E – choirs with a programme of sacred compositions

  • This category is open to all choirs.
  • The competition programme comprises a maximum of five sacred compositions without accompaniment (a cappella).
  • A competition performance may not last longer than 15 minutes, including getting on and off the stage.
  • The compositions should come from diverse epochs and styles – old masters, romantic period, contemporary music, spirituals, gospels.

Category F – Folksong

  • This category is open to all choirs.
  • The choirs will perform 3 to 5 folk songs (with an emphasis on songs from the choir’s own country). Compositions may be accompanied by folk instruments (not a piano). However, at least 1 composition must be performed without accompaniment (a cappella).
  • A competition performance may not last longer than 15 minutes, including getting on and off the stage.

Category G – non-competitive, festival (only for foreign choirs)

  • This category is for male-voice, female-voice and mixed choirs.
  • There is no limit on the number of singers or age.
  • Every choir will prepare a programme of its choice lasting 15 minutes at most, including getting on and off the stage.
  • The compositions may have a piano accompaniment, but at least 1 composition must be a cappella.
  • A member of the jury and a voice coach will listen to the programme and in an interview with the choirmaster will offer a specialist analysis of the performance and write a short evaluation for the choirmaster. The voice coach will then work briefly with the choir on one piece from their programme.
  • The choirs will not be ranked in this category.

4. Grand Prix of Praga Cantat

The jury can nominate choirs from each category to compete for the Grand Prix. In the Grand Prix competition, the choirs sing 2 songs of their choice not exceeding 10 minutes of performance. The choir may include only 1 song from the previous competitive performances. Maximum of one piece may be accompanied by 1 – 2 acoustic instruments.

The choice of the programme will also be judged by the jury. The Grand Prix PRAGA CANTAT winner will be the choir that receives the most votes by secret ballot of the jury.

5. The Jury 

The jury is composed of renowned international experts and judges the performance quality from professional aspects of the performance technique and artistic interpretation of the songs. The decision is final and secret until the results are announced.

6. Competition prizes

  • All participating choirs will receive a diploma.
  • Category winners will receive a cup.
  • The winner of the Grand Prix will receive a cup and a financial bonus.
  • The Artistic director of the Festival awards Special prize for the best conductor under 30 years of age named by Miroslav Košler (founder of the Praga Cantat festival and choirmaster).
  • The jury may decide to award special prizes in each category:
    • a prize for outstanding conducting
    • a prize for the best competition programme
    • a prize for the most effective performance of a folk song (not in the F category)
    • a prize for an outstanding performance of a piece by a Czech composer or a Czech folk song (only for foreign choirs)
    • other special prizes at the discretion of the jury

7. Announcement of results 

The results will be announced and the prizes will be awarded at the end of the festival. Choirs of categories A, B, and C will jointly sing the obligatory composition of their respective categories under the direction of competing choirmasters selected by the jury.

The awards ceremony is followed by a social evening with live music and dancing.

8. Final information

By submitting the entry form, competitors grant the festival representatives permission to make a recording of their performance and to use it later, or to broadcast the competition live.

The Competition Rules and Conditions are written in several languages; in case of a dispute, the Czech version takes precedence.