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What to know before entering the 2027 Music festival

November 8, 2026By Vernon Performing Arts Festival

Music at the 2027 Vernon Performing Arts Festival runs March 1 to 9. It covers piano, strings, classical guitar, voice, and choral classes. Here is what performers, parents, and teachers need to know before they enter.

Music dates

  • Registration: November 15, 2026 to January 15, 2027
  • Junior and Intermediate Piano: March 1 to 5
  • Voice: March 2 to 5
  • Strings, Guitar, and Orchestra: March 5 to 8
  • Senior Piano: March 8 to 9
  • Gala Awards Night: March 11.

Classes may run on any day of the week. The festival cannot take requests for a preferred time. Venues are listed in the schedule once it is published.

Enter at your current level

Enter at the level you are studying now. Use that same level in every class you enter.

Most pieces must come from the current or one previous Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) or Conservatory Canada syllabus. If the two syllabi place a piece at different levels, the current RCM syllabus decides.

A few exceptions apply:

  • Voice selections may come from the level above or below
  • A Concert Class may include one piece one level higher
  • Duets and other ensembles enter at the level of the most advanced player
  • Pop, jazz, fiddle, and Suzuki pieces do not need to be in a syllabus, but they should match the student’s level.

A piece entered at the wrong level, or in the wrong class, is adjudicated as non-competitive. It still gets comments, but no mark and no award.

Choose your classes

Piano and strings classes are grouped by level. Junior is Pre-Level 1 to Level 3. Intermediate is Levels 4 to 7. Senior is Level 8 to ARCT. Classical guitar uses the same three groups.

Voice classes are grouped by age:

  • Junior A: 10 and under
  • Junior B: 11 to 14
  • Intermediate: 15 to 17
  • Senior: 18 to 22
  • Open: 23 and older.

Within each group, classes follow style or era. Piano, for example, has Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th century, Canadian, Pop, and Jazz and Blues classes. Voice has Classical, Musical Theatre, and Contemporary classes.

You may enter each class once. We encourage performers to enter several different classes.

Age is measured as of December 31, 2026.

Memory and sheet music

Memorizing your piece is encouraged, but it is not required. Playing from sheet music costs two marks.

Accompanists

Strings and voice performances need a piano accompanist. Unaccompanied solos and self-accompanied voice classes are the exceptions. Performers arrange their own accompanist. Recorded accompaniment is not allowed, except for choirs.

The adjudicator needs a copy of your music. It must be a purchased score or an authorized copy. An unauthorized photocopy means disqualification. The performance gets a non-competitive adjudication instead. The full rules, including how to use public domain and IMSLP downloads, are in the general rules of the Music syllabus.

Before the festival, erase pencil marks in the adjudicator’s copy. Number the first measure of each line.

On the day

Arrive at least 15 minutes before your performance. When your name is called, hand your book to the adjudicator’s secretary, then walk to the stage.

Stay in the festival areas, and do not practice in a venue unless a room is set aside for it. Food and drinks are not allowed in the venues.

Scholarships and Provincials

To qualify for an individual scholarship, a performer must enter at least two competitive classes. Ensembles do not count toward the two.

  • Piano and strings: up to three top students in each Junior, Intermediate, and Senior category may receive a scholarship
  • Voice: scholarships may go to the top Classical and top Musical Theatre student in each Junior, Intermediate, and Senior category. The adjudicator may award more.

Competitive adjudication sheets do not show a number mark. Teachers may ask for their students’ marks after the festival.

The adjudicator also selects the performers who represent Vernon at the BC Provincial Festival.

Fees

A solo entry costs $25 to $50, depending on the level and class. Concert classes, ensembles, choirs, and orchestras have their own fees. The full fee tables are in the Music syllabus.

Performers aged 23 and older may enter, but they are not eligible for scholarships or awards.

Ready to enter?

Read our registration guide for what to have ready, then register on our registration page from November 15. Questions go to [email protected].

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