Watch your inbox!

A few weeks before the Festival starts, you will receive your "Notice of Appearance" so you will know where and when to perform.

Make sure you return to STARDOM to add or update your music pieces by clicking  . Please check the spelling too, as this is exactly how it will appear in your Adjudicator's Report!

What to do on the day

On the day of your performance, arrive 20 minutes before the section starts. Find your friendly Registrar at the desk, and register by stating your name and handing in your copy of your sheet music (to be used by the Adjudicator). If your performance is accompanied, please find your Accompanist and give him or her the Accompanist's copy of your sheet music. When you have registered, feel free to enter the venue and sit down. Just relax and enjoy the experience! If you arrive and register before the previous section has ended, you are welcome to enter the venue between performances and listen to the competitors. You can take this opportunity to see how the section runs.

The Compere will give you plenty of guidance as to when to perform. Do buy a programme, as this lists all the performers and their order of appearance, so you will know when it will be your turn.As you are introduced, simply walk to the stage, turn to the audience, smile and bow from the waist (a bow of 2-3 seconds is perfect). Then take your position, and, if necessary, adjust your seat. Make sure you stand while you adjust the seat, as trying to adjust it while sitting on it can break the mechanism.

Take a moment to relax, think about the tempo of the piece, and then perform! When you are done, smile again, bow again, and walk back to your seat. You should feel proud that you did it!

No matter how your performance goes, always remain positive - try not to show frustration or disappointment if something doesn't go quite right. Keep in mind that the audience won’t know the piece as well as you do, and may not even notice! No performance is perfect, and Adjudicators also judge your performance on how well you recover and maintain a steady tempo. At the end, regardless of how well (or otherwise) you played, stand up, SMILE at the audience and bow as before – long enough to think the words, “Thank you for listening”, smile when you hear the clapping, then walk proudly off the stage. After all, you performed to the end, and even that is something to be proud of.

Remember: everyone makes errors occasionally, so relax! This is only an opportunity to perform, NOT AN EXAM, so there are no consequences if things don't quite go to plan.

Stay until the end of the section - and make sure you pick up your Adjudicator's Critique Sheet to see how you went! These sheets are collected from the Registration Desk after the end of the section. It is always worth staying (apart from being the polite thing to do), as the Adjudicator's summation is always inspirational and offers valuable advice to all competitors. Furthermore, even if you think you have missed out on a prize or Honourable Mention, the Adjudicator might have a different view of your performance!

To comply with copyright, you should have purchased the sheet music you will perform, unless you are performing music that is:

• Your own composition, or
• In the public domain  

Most performers in the Monash Youth Music Festival will be performing copyright protected music. 
Before your performance day, check that you have sufficient copies of your sheet music. You will need:

• One copy for the Adjudicator with all bars numbered, and 
• One copy with accompaniment part for the Accompanist,
• The original sheet music for yourself (unless you are playing from memory). You should not perform using a photocopy.

On the day of your performance, go to the Registration Desk and hand the Adjudicator's copy of your music to the Registrar. The bars should be numbered so that the Adjudicator can provide valuable and precise feedback for you. If the bars are not numbered, the Adjudicator will find it difficult to count the bars quickly to make reference to a specific bar, and may either skip the comment altogether, or miss an important part of your performance. 

Please note that the Adjudicator's copy will not be handed back to you, but will be shredded afterwards to comply with copyright laws. So please don't ask us to give your photocopies back! 

If you had handed in your original sheet music for use by the Adjudicator, this will be returned to the Registration Desk at the conclusion of the section for collection. Please label your property clearly on the cover to minimise likelihood of sheet music going to the wrong home! If your sheet music is particularly valuable to you, please  hand in a photocopy, as there is always a risk that your original is accidentally lost or picked up by someone else. The Monash Youth Music Festival cannot be held responsible for lost property.