RULES
1. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
- to provide children living in Cyprus with the opportunity to show their talents to the wide audience,
- to give children an incentive for further development and professional growth,
- to encourage those who have already reached a certain level of performance skills,
- to upgrade the level of performance of musical compositions,
- to open the way to European and international music competitions for the GALAXY OF TALENTS winners.

2. ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Co-Presidents of the Organizing Committee: Natalia Kardash, Vestnik Kipra publisher and editor-in-chief and Vasos Argyridis, composer, director of the Pattihio Municipal Theater.
The Galaxy Music is organized under auspices of the Ministry of Education and Culture and Limassol Municipality with the support of the Charity Foundation "Creative World".

3. DATES AND VENUE
¼ final auditions - 16.11.2019 from 10.00 till 17.00
½ final (Vocal) - Thursday 21/11/2019 at 18:00.
½ final (Musical Instruments) - Friday 22/11/2019 at 18:00.
Finals (all nominations) - Sunday 24/11/2018 at 14:00.

4. ΤΗΕ JURY
The contest Jury will be comprised of professional musicians, conductors, composers, singers and actors, as well as representatives of television and radio companies of Cyprus. In the quarter finals, semi-finals and finals the Jury will include 8 judges. 50% of the Jury will change (from the quarter finals to the semi-finals and from the semi-finals to the finals) so that an objective assessment is ensured. A full list of Jury members will be announced immediately prior to the performance.

Heads and staff of music schools participating in the festival are not allowed to join the Jury.

5. ΤΗΕ CONTESTANTS
Performers aged 7-18 are invited to participate in the contest.
The contestants are divided into the following age categories:
Age group I: 7- 10 years old
Age group II: 10-14 years old
Age group III: 14-18 years old

6. ΤΗΕ NOMINATIONS
· "VOCAL" (solo)
· "PIANO" (solo)
· "YOUNG SOLOIST" (solo, any other musical instrument)
The contestants are only entitled to participate in one of the listed nominations. The maximum performance time of a composition shall not exceed 3 minutes.

7. APPLICATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE COMPETITION
The participant, his/her teacher or parents shall fill the application form online or send an email at music@vkcyprus.com, indicating his/her full name, age, contact phone number, as well as the full name and contact details of a parent/teacher. It is also necessary to indicate the relevant nomination.

Applications for participation in the competition will be accepted until 31/10/2019.

Following the approval of the application, you will need to fill out an application form and provide the below information:


For each composition you are asked to provide its title, composer, lyricist, performer's full name and the name of the music school, as well as contact details, including the mobile phone, electronic address, and the physical or legal entity(s) by whom the copyright is reserved for the entire composition or its parts (concerns copyright works). The performers (vocal and string instruments) need to specify the accompanist (if any).

8. SOUND RECORD
The following audio formats are accepted: MP3, WAV.
The sound record shall be sent at: music@vkcyprus.com until 04/11/2019.
Upon arrival at the contest, the participants must bring with them a USB with the duplicate sound records.
The contestants in the "Pop Vocal" and "Young Soloists" nominations are entitled to perform with an accompanist. The relevant information is to be specified when filling out the application.
The piano is provided. The use of sound records for the "Piano" nomination performances is prohibited.

9. JUDGING AND EVALUATION CRITERIA
The Jury assesses the participants by awarding points on a scale from 1 to 20, taking into consideration the purity of performance, performance skills, technique, onstage culture and artistry. The final score is formed by summing up the scores of all the jurors.

In addition to the main evaluation criteria, when listening to soloists, the Jury will pay special attention to the correspondence of the performance to the soloist's age and individual characteristics; to the level of the contestant's vocal skills; to the ability to create a single stage image (correspondence of music, words, outfit and movements).

10. CONTEST HOLDING PROCEDURE
The order in which the contestants will perform is determined by a random draw.
54 participants go to the semifinals, out of which 27 will advance to the finals.
The Organizing Committee reserves the right to combine age groups with a small number of contestants or to cancel the nomination due to the lack of participants.

All children participating in the quarter finals will get a free ticket to the finals' gala concert.

11. PRIZE-WINNERS AWARDING
All children registered to the Galaxy Music will receive certificates of participation. All finalists will receive laureate diplomas of 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree. Participants to have won the first place in their age category are awarded with cups and valuable gifts. In addition, during the finals a Grand Prix and an Audience Choice Award will be granted. The first prize is awarded by the jurors whereas the second one through direct voting of the audience.

The winners (musical instruments) will have an opportunity to play solo with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra on the 22nd of May 2020 (the Artistic Director of the Orchestra will choose children-players among the finalists). The Galaxy Music is supported by Sigma TV, Klik FM and Choice FM - some winners will be invited to a TV morning show, others will have live radio interviews.

In controversial cases, the final decision remains with the Chairman of the Jury. The Jury's decision shall be final and not subject to revision.

The voting results of the audience at the final stage of the competition will determine the contestant to receive the Audience Choice Award. The Jury is not involved in the selection. Each spectator is provided with a form to be filled out, and the prize-winner in this nomination is determined by summing up the results of the audience voting.

12. CONTEST PARTICIPATION REGULATIONS
Children aged 7 to 18 years old can take part in the competition, regardless of their citizenship and residence status in Cyprus.

The registration fee of EUR 35.00 is payable within 10 days following the approval of the application. Payment methods:


The registration fee must be received by the Organizing Committee of the competition within 10 days from the date of approval of the application and no later than 01/11/2019.

In case of late receipt of the registration fee, the participant is not included in the list of contestants. In the event of force majeure, the Organizing Committee must be informed immediately. One can refuse to participate in the contest until 01/11/2019 to be entitled to get a full refund of the registration fee paid. After this date, the participation fee is non-refundable.

The application submission and the receipt of payment mean acceptance of the competition rules published at www.vkfestival.com

The Organizing Committee shall bear all the costs of organizing the competition, the design and presentation of diplomas, certificates and prizes as well as for promoting the contest in the media space of the Republic of Cyprus.

Parents and teachers shall bear full responsibility for minor children during the event.

In the event of non-compliance with the contest regulations, a contestant is excluded from participation.

13. Prizes
3 VOCAL nomination winners get 3 prizes from the Blind Dog Studio, each one includes
- 2 hours rehearsal session
- 6 hours multitrack recording session
- mixing and mastering of the track
- IP registration worldwide
- distribution and promotion at 40+ electronic downloads platforms including Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify etc.
Professional sound recording equipment and high-end sound engineer support included.