The answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the festival are listed below for your information.

Question How do I get invited to play at the Grand Festival Concert and be eligible to win the "Most Promising Overall" scholarship?

Answer The adjudicators will be choosing the scholarship recipients from the participants of this year's festival. Out of those scholarship winners, the adjudicators will decide who should perform at the Grand Festival Concert and therefore be eligible for the "Most Promising Young Performer" scholarship or the "Most Promising Overall" scholarship. The adjudicators will also be making recommendations for other performers to appear at the GFC who perhaps are not eligible for the grand prizes, but show promise. Not all scholarship winners will be asked to play at the GFC and not everyone performing at the GFC will be eligible for the final scholarships.

Question How are combined classes adjudicated?

Answer Occasionally, classes with fewer participants are combined to form larger classes. This is done in the interest of efficiency as well as for the benefit of the students: they're able to perform in front of a larger audience. The classes will still be adjudicated separately (ie. each class will still have a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc), but the students will be addressed by the adjudicator as a group.

Question Can I choose my own time slot?

Answer We are anticipating approximately 1500 entries this year. The classes will be scheduled according to venue availability, adjudicators' timetables and length of classes. It is impossible to honour individual scheduling requests. The festival runs from Monday to Saturday 9:00am to 9:00pm. Your class may be held anytime during that period.

Question Can my accompanist use a photocopy of my music?

Answer Absolutely no photocopies will be allowed. The use of photocopies will result in disqualification.

Question I'm not a musician. Can I still help out?

Answer Certainly!! Many volunteers are required to make the festival run smoothly. We need help at the registration desks as well as inside the performance rooms. We even need people to direct inside traffic and answer questions. Please, if you'd like to help out, call Diane at 905-320-6906 or e-mail her at info@rotarymusicfest.org

Question How do I know which category (Baroque, Classical, etc) to enter my piece? Some composers fit into two categories.

Answer Use your current RCM or CC syllabus as your guide. For example, Schumann's "Children's Sonata, Op. 118a, No. 1" is considered a "List B" or Classical-style piece. Schumann's "Knight Rupert" is considered a "List C" or Romantic-style piece.

Question In the lower grades, RCM and CC have combined certain musical eras into one "List". How do I determine which category to enter my selection?

Answer Dust off the history books and find out which era your composer is from. Your teacher will be able to help you with this. Example: J.S.Bach and W.A.Mozart are both listed in grade one "List A". The Bach piece would be entered in the Baroque category and the Mozart piece would be entered in the Classical category.

Question What about grade 1 and grade 2 "List C"'s? In the RCM syllabus these are inventions from different eras.

Answer Go by the composer. Example: Pierre Gallant's "Jazz Invention" would be played in the 20th Century grade 2 class. Cornelius Gurlitt's "Canon" would be played in the Romantic grade 2 class.

Question I want to participate in the festival, but I've only just begun my piano studies. I'm twelve, and am playing at a pre-grade 1 level. What can I do?

Answer We have many classes for pre-grade 1 students and beginners of all ages. There are classes specifically for these levels (PC-12 and PC-13), as well as Beginner and Introductory-level duets, duos, and trios (PC-16, PC-17, and PC-18), Pop Music classes (PC-09), Canadian Piano Solos (PC-08), and Christmas Music (PC-10).

Question What are the Sight Reading and Quick Study classes?

Answer A great challenge! In the Sight Reading classes, participants will be brought in one by one and given a passage of music and a couple of minutes to look it over. The students will each perform individually, but will be adjudicated as a group. In the Quick Study classes, the students will be told when and where to pick up their music. They will have 48 hours to study and prepare the music for performance.