Click here to download the guidelines in PDF format.

Click here to download the application form in PDF format.

Click here to acquire a printed version of the guidelines and the application form.

1. Outline of Competition

The Sendai International Music Competition was established by the City of Sendai in 2001 and is held every three years. The Competition aims to boost the careers of talented young musicians, thereby contributing to the promotion of music and international cultural exchange.

The Competition has the unique aspect of focusing on the concertos in the selection of its repertoire. At the same time, it is highly reliable with authentic management and is designed to involve the warm support and hospitality of the local citizens. The Competition has been a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions since 2005.

1. Title

The 4th Sendai International Music Competition (abbreviated as SIMC)

2. Organizers

• Sendai International Music Competition Organizing Committee
• City of Sendai
• Sendai Cultural Foundation

3. Supporters

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications / Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Agency for Cultural Affairs / Miyagi Prefectural Government / Japan Federation of Musicians / Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) / Japan Piano Teachers Association / The Piano Teachers' National Association of Japan / JAPANESE STRING TEACHERS ASSOCIATION / Nippon Music Foundation / Asahi Shimbun Sendai General Bureau / THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS / The Yomiuri Shimbun Tohoku Bureau / NIKKEI INC. / THE SANKEI SHIMBUN / The Kahoku Shimpo / Kyodo News / Jiji Press Ltd. / NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Sendai Station / TOHOKU BROADCASTING CO., LTD. / Sendai Television Incorporated / MIYAGI Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. / Higashi Nippon Broadcasting Co., Ltd. / Date fm / ONGAKU NO TOMO SHA CORP

4. Sections

Violin section and Piano section

5. Competition Structure

• The Competition consists of Elimination, Semifinal and Final Rounds.
• A Preliminary Selection based on documents and recordings and the Screening Auditions will be held to decide which contestants qualify for the Competition.

6. Competition Dates

Violin section :	Saturday, May 22 - Sunday, June 6, 2010
Piano section :	Sunday, June 13 - Sunday, June 27, 2010

7. Venue

Sendai City Youth Cultural Center
( 3-27-5, Asahigaoka, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Pref., JAPAN )

8. Organizing Members of Competition (extract)

Organizing Committee

Chairperson	OKUYAMA Emiko	Mayor, City of Sendai
Vice- Chairpersons	EBISAWA Bin	Chairperson, Managing Committee / Professor, Graduate School of SHOBI University
	TSUTSUMI Tsuyoshi	President, Toho Gakuen School of Music / Cellist
	UEDA Katsumi	Member, Managing Committee / Pianist / Dean Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts
	UNNO Yoshio	President, Tokyo College of Music / Violinist
	MAKUTA Keiichi	Chairman, Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. / President, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra
	UJIIE Teruhiko	Deputy President, THE 77 BANK, LTD.
	OGIYAMA Tokuya	General Manager, Hitachi, Ltd. Tohoku Area Operation
	KASAHARA Shuji	Deputy Mayor, City of Sendai
	SATO Nobuo	Director General, Sendai Cultural Foundation

Managing Committee

Chairperson	EBISAWA Bin	Professor, Graduate School of SHOBI University
Vice- Chairpersons	KATAOKA Yoshikazu	Composer
	KOHCHI Kenji	Director, Japan Federation of Musicians
Members	SOH Tomotada	Violinist / Professor, Royal Academy of Music
	NOJIMA Minoru	Pianist
	OKAYAMA Kiyoshi	Violinist / Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts
	UEDA Katsumi	Pianist / Dean Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts
	MAYE Kazuo	Musicology
	SHIBUYA Yumiko	Violinist
	NOZAWA Mayumi	Professor, Miyagi Gakuin Women's University / Pianist
	MATSUMOTO Shinji	Artistic Administrator, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra
	SETO Kazuyoshi	Director General, Planning and Community Affairs Bureau, City of Sendai
	SATO Hisao	Deputy Director General, Sendai Cultural Foundation

9. Jury

Violin Section	Chairperson	SOH Tomotada	Japan
	Vice-Chairpersons	OKAYAMA Kiyoshi	Japan
		Thomas BRANDIS	Germany
	Members	Shmuel ASHKENASI	U.S.A.
		Roland DAUGAREIL	France
		HORIGOME Yuzuko	Japan
		KIM Younguck	U.S.A.
		Oleh KRYSA	U.S.A.
		SHENG Zhongguo	China
		Pavel VERNIKOV	Russia
		Krzysztof WEGRZYN	Poland
Piano Section	Chairperson	NOJIMA Minoru	Japan
	Vice-Chairpersons	UEDA Katsumi	Japan
		Bernd GOETZKE	Germany
	Members	Bruno CANINO	Italy
		Klaus HELLWIG	Germany
		KANG Choongmo	Korea
		Yoheved KAPLINSKY	U.S.A.
		KOYAMA Michie	Japan
		Pavel NERSESSIAN	Russia
		Piotr PALECZNY	Poland
		Jacques ROUVIER	France

10. Orchestra

Violin Section Elimination Round		The Chamber Orchestra consisting of some members from Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and some members from Yamagata Symphony Orchestra (with conductor)
Semifinal Round and Final Round		Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor	Violin Section	Pascal VERROT (Chief Conductor of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra)
	Piano Section	YAMASHITA Kazufumi (Resident Conductor of the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra)
	Violin Section Elimination Round	OOI Takeshi, KUDO Toshiyuki, FUNABASHI Yosuke, YAMADA Kazuki

2. Application

1. Eligibility

The Competition is open to candidates of all nationalities born on or after January 1, 1982.

2. Application Deadline

The application package must be postmarked no later than Thursday, October 1, 2009.

3. Application Method

The applicant must enclose items 1) to 4) listed below, and send the package to the Secretariat of the Sendai International Music Competition.

1)	Application Form (must be filled out completely) Click here to download the guidelines and application form in PDF format:
2)	Two photographs taken within six months of the date of application approximately 7x10cm, taken from the front, from the chest up, with the applicant's full name printed on the back. Photograph may be in high-quality digital data format (minimum 300 dpi, CD-ROM). Photographs must be free from copyrights. Photographs will be used in official programs, on the Competition's official website, and for other public relations purposes.
3)	One photocopy of an official document proving the applicant's age, such as a passport
4)	A recording of the applicant's performance of the piece(s) of he or she has chosen for the Preliminary Selection on CD or other recording medium (CD, MD or DAT) The applicant's name, the title of the chosen piece and the date and place it was recorded must be printed on the recording medium. The recording must be made on or after Tuesday, September 30, 2008

• The application package must be sent by registered mail or by a delivery service.
• The application may not be processed if the application form is not completely filled out.
• The Secretariat will accept no responsibility for loss of documents or recording medium in the mail.
• Application materials will not be returned.

4. Address for Applications

Secretariat of Sendai International Music Competition
3-27-5, Asahigaoka, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Pref., 981-0904, JAPAN
Phone: (+81)22-727-1872

5. Preliminary Selection

• A Preliminary Selection shall be carried out prior to the Screening Auditions.
• The Preliminary Selection shall be done by way of documents and CD or other recording medium submitted by the applicants. (See Repertoire for details.)
• The results of the Preliminary Selection shall be sent out to the applicants by Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
• The details of the Screening Auditions shall also be enclosed in the notice sent to the applicants who pass the Preliminary Selection.

3. Screening Auditions

1. Schedule / Venue

• The Screening Auditions for the applicants who pass the Preliminary Selection shall be held according to the schedule below.
• Each audition participant must perform the compulsory piece(s)* of his or her choice. (See Repertoire for details.)
  * In the Violin Section: Two compulsory pieces
  * In the Piano Section: One compulsory piece
• The audition participant in the Piano Section must provide his or her accompanist. The Secretariat will not introduce accompanists for the audition participants.
• For both sections, the audition participant shall bear the expenses incurred in participating in the Screening Auditions.

Violin Section Schedule	Venue (country)	Piano Section Schedule
Jan. 7, 2010	NewYork (U.S.A.)	Jan. 8, 2010
Jan. 11, 2010	Moscow (Russia)	Jan. 12, 2010
Jan. 14, 2010	Berlin (Germany)	Jan. 15, 2010
Jan. 16, 2010	Vienna (Austria)	Jan. 17, 2010
Jan. 18, 2010	Paris (France)	Jan. 19, 2010
Jan. 30-31, 2010	Sendai (Japan)	Jan. 24-25, 2010

• The applicant must select one of the six venues listed above at the time of application.
• The Screening Auditions are open to the public.
• The choice of the venue will not affect the results of the Screening Auditions.

2. Entry Fee

• An entry fee of JPY10,000 shall apply to all applicants who pass the Preliminary Selection.
• The entry fee must be paid into the bank account below, no later than Tuesday, December 15, 2009.
• If the entry fee is not paid by this date, the approval to participate in the Screening Auditions may be withdrawn.

Bank	The 77 Bank, Ltd., SENDAI SHIYAKUSHO Branch
Bank Address	3-7-1 Kokubun-cho, Aoba-ku, Sendai City, Miyagi Pref., 980-8671, JAPAN
Swift Code	BOSSJPJT
Account No.	5090814
Account Name	ZAI. SENDAISHI SHIMINBUNKAJIGYODAN

• All bank charges shall be borne by the audition participant.
• The entry fee is not refundable regardless of the reasons.

3. Notification of Screening Auditions Results

• The results of the Screening Auditions shall be sent out to the audition participants by Wednesday, February 10, 2010.
• The details of the Competition shall be enclosed in the notice sent to the audition participants who pass the Screening Auditions.

4. Participation in the Competition

1. Registration

• Contestants who pass the Screening Auditions must register in person at the place in Sendai City appointed by the Secretariat on the date listed below.

  Violin section	Thursday, May 20, 2010
  Piano section	Friday, June 11, 2010

• If a contestant fails to register for the Competition on the specified date, he or she shall be disqualified from the Competition.

2. Travel Expense Grants for Contestants (Elimination Round and up)

The Secretariat shall provide the grants specified below to the contestants who live outside of Japan to help them pay for roundtrip transportation to Sendai. The grants will be provided in JPY at the time of registration. The amounts vary by country/region as listed below. The contestant shall shoulder the balance of the travel expenses.

Country/Region	Amount of grant (tax included)
South Korea	JPY 50,000
China, Hong Kong, Macao, Guam, The Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Midway, Mongolia, North Korea, The Northern Mariana Islands, The Republic of Palau, The Philippines, Taiwan, Wake Island	JPY 100,000
Other	JPY 150,000

• The travel expense grants shall be given after any necessary taxes are deducted. (The applicable tax rate may be about 20%.)

3. Accommodation for Contestants (Elimination Round and up)

If the contestant uses the accommodation of the Secretariat's choice from the day of registration until the day specified below, the organizers shall pay the accommodation (one single room basic room charge and breakfast) expenses for the contestant for the duration of his or her stay. All other expenses shall be borne by the contestant.

Elimination Round contestant	Morning after completion of Elimination Round
Semifinalist	Morning after completion of Semifinal Round
Finalist	Morning after completion of Final Round

4. Practice

The following practice opportunities shall be provided free of charge during the Competition.

1)	For the piano section: Four hours a day in a room equipped with a piano starting from the day after the Registration date.
2)	For the violin section: One rehearsal with the chamber orchestra prior to the Elimination Round. As a rule, rehearsal time will be limited to 50 minutes (including the briefing with the conductor).
3)	For both sections: One rehearsal of one hour with an orchestra in the Semifinal and Final Rounds. As a rule, rehearsal time will be limited to one hour. (including the briefing with the conductor).

5. Order of Performances

• The order of performances in the Elimination Round and Semifinal Round of the Competition shall be decided based on a drawing at the time of registration.
• The order of performances in the Final Round shall be decided based on a drawing after the completion of the Semifinal Round.

6. Competition Performances

• The Competition is open to the public.
• All performances from the Elimination Round to the Prizewinners' Gala Concert may be distributed live on TV and/or radio and/or the Internet. Video and audio recordings of the performances may also be distributed on TV and/or radio and/or the Internet. Sale of CD, DVD and other media recordings of performances is also planned.

7. Judgment

• A Judging Committee consisting of 11 jury members shall judge the performances according to the Judgment Code (separately provided).
• The evaluation of each contestant shall be made public.
• The jury members shall not judge the performances of any contestants they have taught in the past two years.
• The jury members and contestants are not permitted to be in contact during the Competition. Once a contestant fails to pass a round, this condition will no longer apply.
• No objection or complaint shall be allowed concerning the decision made by the Judging Committee.

8. Prizes

1)	Prize Money First prize Cash prize of JPY 3,000,000, Diploma, Gold Medal Second prize Cash prize of JPY 2,000,000, Diploma, Silver Medal Third prize Cash prize of JPY 1,000,000, Diploma, Bronze Medal Fourth prize Cash prize of JPY 800,000, Diploma Fifth prize Cash prize of JPY 700,000, Diploma Sixth prize Cash prize of JPY 600,000, Diploma The Judging Committee may decide not to award a place or to award the same ranking for several prizewinners. If several prizewinners are awarded the same rank, the total amount of cash prizes at that ranking and the following ranking(s) shall be divided equally.
2)	Engagements for the First Prizewinner of Each Section (1) A minimum of three concert appearances (including Prizewinners' Gala Concert) with the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and other major Japanese orchestras in Japan by the end of December 2013. (2) Recitals in Sendai and other cities until the end of December 2013. (3) The production of a CD that includes one of their performances in the Competition. The first prizewinner of each section will receive JPY100,000 for each of the above mentioned performances. The travel and accommodation expenses for such concerts shall be borne by the organizers, as well as the performance fee and the travel and accommodation expenses for the piano accompanist in the violin recitals. The first prizewinner of each section shall notify the Secretariat if he or she intends to perform in concerts in Japan earlier than the above-mentioned performance opportunities.
3)	Contestants younger than 20 years of age who participate in the Semifinal Round but fail to qualify for the Final Round may be awarded a scholarship of JPY500,000 as a Special Jury Prize, if he or she demonstrates exceptional talent.
4)	Other awards, such as Audience Prize, may be presented.
5)	Supplementary prizes provided by organizations and individuals that support the aim of the Competition may be awarded to the prizewinner(s) of each section.

• The prize money and/or performance fee shall be paid after any necessary taxes are deducted.(The applicable tax rate may be about 20%.)

9. Prizewinners' Gala Concert

• The organizers shall hold Prizewinners' Gala Concerts in Sendai for both the violin section and the piano section on the day after the Final Round of each respective section. The winners of the first, second and third prizes of each section must agree to perform at the Prizewinners' Gala Concert.
• In the Prizewinners' Gala Concert, the winners will perform the pieces that they performed in the Final Round or the Semifinal Round. The pieces to be performed will be specified by the Chairperson of the Managing Committee. The part(s) to be performed may also be specified.

• Each of the winners performing at the Prizewinners' Gala Concert shall receive a performance fee of JPY100,000, and the accommodation expenses necessary for performing at this concert shall be borne by the organizers.
• The performance fee shall be paid after any necessary taxes are deducted. (The applicable tax rate may be about 20 %.)

5. Other

1. Visa Acquisition

The applicants must obtain the appropriate visas to enter the countries (including Japan) to participate in the Screening Auditions and/or the Competition. The Piano accompanists must do the same. If an invitation letter or any other document is required for the visa application, the applicant must request it from the Secretariat.

2. Insurance

Whether or not insurance is purchased is entirely the responsibility of the audition participants and contestants. This applies to health and injury insurance, as well as loss or damage to the instrument or to luggage, in the case of accident, fire, or theft during the travel.

3. Copyright and related rights

The copyrights and related rights (except for moral rights) of the contestant to all performances during the Competition and any related concert held after the completion of the Competition, and to all performances contained in the audio and visual recordings created by the organizers as well as the right of portrait of the contestant in the records of any official event shall be assigned to Sendai Cultural Foundation who is the one (1) of the organizers free of charge, and the contestant agrees to such assignment.

4. Governing Law

These Guidelines have been prepared based on the Sendai International Music Competition Code. Any problem arising from or related to the Code shall be settled in accordance with the Japanese version of the Code and the laws of Japan.

5. Restrictions

The contestants shall not give any public performance during the period of the Competition other than those required for the Competition. However, once a contestant fails to pass a round, this condition will no longer apply.

Download the Guidelines (PDF)