THE 15TH CHINA INTERNATIONAL

CHORUS FESTIVAL
AND IFCM WORLD CHORAL EDUCATION
CONFERENCE

23 July - 28 July, 2020

Beijing

1
 The 15th China International Chorus Festival

I. Introduction
Founded in 1992, China International Chorus Festival (CICF) is currently the only
state-level international chorus festival in China which approved by the state council.
As the largest-scale and highest-level international chorus festival held in China, CICF
is a cultural activity which brings choirs both at home and abroad together to sing. It is
held once every two years, and the past 14 CICFs have been proved a great success.
CICF plays an important role in improving performance level of the participating
choruses and promoting cultural exchanges between China and other countries.
As a much-loved festival among worldwide choirs, CICF has a great influence and
enjoys unanimous praise from professionals, chorus groups as well as people from all
walks of life. According to incomplete statistics, in the past 14 festivals, the number of
participating choirs has exceeded 2000 and more than 70000 choir members were
involved.
In the tenet of “Build a harmonious world together for the future---Peace and
Friendship”, CICF invites people from different countries and regions, of different
nationalities and colors to come together and compete on the same platform. Performers
sing for peace and friendship, express their happiness and desire for peace,spread
friendship and love throughout the world. The 15th China International Chorus Festival
will be held from July 23 to July 28, 2020. We sincerely welcome choral lovers from all
over the world to join us building the sky of choral music.

2
II. Theme
Come to Beijing, listen to the songs of the world.

3
III. Content
1. Opening Ceremony & Concert
2. IFCM Choral Education Conference
3. China Choral Development Seminar
4. IFCM Executive Committee Meeting
5. Group Choral Evaluation
6. High Level Choir Concert
7. Choral Carnival
8. Choral Exchange Concert
9. New Choral Work Concert
10. Master Class (Workshop) of Choral Conducting
11. Choral Public and Charitable Events
12. Choral Training Camp
13. SCO Summer Youth Camp
14. Choral Caravan
15. Closing Ceremony & Concert

IV. Opening Concert

4
After the comprehensive evaluation of the artistic committee, a batch of highly
professional and nationally characteristic choirs will be able to perform to show their
skills and charm to thousands of audience from different continent. This performance
will also be recorded by CCTV (China Central Television).

V. Choral System

5
 1. Eligibility
The organizing committee offers equal opportunity to all participated choirs to sign
for the choral evaluation system. The purpose for this part of activity is to provide an
international stage for choirs to sing and receive remarks and tutorship from
international well-known choral experts, exchange with other choirs and improve
oneself to better feel the charm of choral art.
Suitable for All professional and amateur choirs
Consist of 7 choral experts from home and abroad (5 of them will be
Expert group international experts) who will give professional advice and guidance
(21 experts of 3 groups in total).
Evaluation For more information please check below the Evaluation System.
system
Choirs will be classified into level A, B, C and D after evaluating by the
experts. Groups will be awarded with trophy and certificate.
Choirs who are in level A will be qualified to be introduce to
international choral festival representing the China. Conductors of level
Honor & A choirs will be able to take part in next year’s choral conductor master
certificate class without paying application fee.
The expert group will select one level A choir from each category to
further take part in the CICF Closing Concert & High Level Choral
Presentation. Those choirs will get the chance to receive the CICF
Choral Development Funds.

6
2. Evaluation Rules
A. Categories
No. Category Age Size
1 Children 6—12 25—45
2 Youth 13—18 25—45
3 Youth Student 15—27 25—45
4 Adult Mixed 19—49 25—45
5 Adult Male 19—49 18—45
6 Adult Female 19—49 18—45
7 Senior Mixed above 50 25—45
8 Senior Male above 50 18—45
9 Senior Female above 50 18—45
10 Vocal Ensemble none 4—16
11 Popular/Jazz none none
12 Natural Style none 4—16
13 Folk none 4—16
The size of category 1 to 9 include conductor, piano accompanist, no more
than 5 special instrument players. There is no age limitation to category 10 to 13.
Based on the organizing committee rule, it will be acceptable for each choir to
have no more than 10% singers over category age limitation.
Choirs who do not fit the category description will be disqualified from the
expert remark.
Participated choirs can at most choose to take part in 2 categories’
evaluation system. Application fee will be charged accordingly.
B. Accompany
Accompany of piano, accordion, a cappella or less than 5 light ethnic
instrument(s) will be acceptable. The organizing committee will only provide the
choir with piano. All other instruments should be carried by choirs themselves.
No recording is permitted.
C. Repertoire
Choirs will be allowed to sing no more than 3 songs from home or abroad.
If any published piece is included, please adopt the original scores or authorized
score. No unauthorized copy or handwritten score is permitted. Choirs should
sing exact the same based on the original score without re-composition. Please
pay attention to the copyright protection. All related legal problem shall be solved
by choirs themselves.
D. Time limit
Choirs will be able to sing no more than 15 minutes from the start of the
prelude music till the end of sing. Exceeding maximum singing time within 1
minute will be deducted 0.5 point of the final score, more than 1 minute will be
deducted 1 point of the final score.
E. Performance arrangement & order
All performance arrangement and order will be determined by the

7
organizing committee.
F. Scores
Each participated choir should bring 8 paper scores of each song including
the name of the song, composer, lyrics and adapter (if have) and submit them to
the organizing committee during their reception. All scores should be standard
stave.

3. Choral Evaluation Committee & System

A. China International Chorus Festival sets Choral Evaluation Committee
(Evaluation Committee as follows) with 3 sub evaluation groups to proceed
professional evaluation to all participated choirs. Committee consists of
acknowledged senior music experts including composers, conductors, theorist,
vocal artists and scholars etc. Each expert sub-group will include 7 experts with
5 of them are international choral experts.
B. The Evaluation Committee will judge each choir’s basic skills, vocal
techniques and artistry:
a). Basic skills: Intonation (the distance of interval & absolute pitch),
faithfulness (speedtempo, rhythm, dynamics, accuracy of expression mark);
b). Vocal techniques: Tone production, diction, blending, balance and overall
c). Artistry: Stylistic performance of structure, moderation, rhythm and color
& general and dynamics.
To improve the accuracy of the evaluation, jury committee will give a
maximum of 10 points for each single composition according to criteria a) and for
the overall performance according to criteria b) and c) respectively. Each of the
three parts has a maximum score of 10 and the total score of the choir will be the
average score of the first part plus the rest two parts. The average of the

8
adjudicators’ scores is the final score of the choir.

Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ
1 Composition 1 6
2 Composition 2 7
3 Composition 3 7
Scoring method: criteria a)
(average of 1-3)+criteria 6.67 7 8
b)+criteria c)
Final score 21.67

The final score of each choir will be announced at the end of the evaluation. Choir
will get the marking sheet with the adjudicators’ signature. Form attached is the sample
marking sheet.
As the evaluation rules are completely connected with the international
conventions, this system is agreed by both IFCM and China Choral Association, which
breaking the tradition of fixing the number of awards in advance but to build an
individual scoring system and present the signed comments of all experts together with
certificate as the proof and memory of CICF.

9
4. Evaluation Result
No portion of evaluation standard will be set in advance. It will be determined
based on the suggestion of the expert group. The organizing committee will give trophy
and certificate to all participating choirs.
A. Levels: all choirs will be classified in to level A, B, C and D based on the evaluation
result.
B. High Level Performance of Closing concert & CICF Development Funds: the expert
group will select one choir who received the evaluation of level A from each
category to be involved in the High-Level Performance & CICF closing concert.
Through the voting of 21 experts, those who receive top 3 votes from the expert
group will awarded with “CICF Choral Development Fund” and the trophy. The
price of the fund will be 50,000 RMB, 30,000 RMB and 10,000 RMB.
C. Individual Honors (TBC): a) Two Elite Choral Conductor: will be chosen according
to the evaluation and consensus of expert group. The winners will be awarded with
trophy and certificate; b) Two Elite Piano Accompanist: will be chosen according to
the evaluation and consensus of expert group. The winners will be awarded with
trophy and certificate; c) Choirs for Peace & Friendship: for oversea choirs with
trophy and certificate.

10
 Evaluation Sheet for the 15th CICF

Category: 组别：
Choir: 合唱团：
Conductor 指挥：
Accompanist 伴奏：
Song 1: 参评曲目 1：
新作品 New Work：□
Song 2: 参评曲目 2：
新作品 New Work：□
Song 3: 参评曲目 3：
新作品 New Work：□

Judging Criteria /评分标准 Full Score /最高分 Awarded Score /得分

Basic Skills /基础能力

⚫ Intonation (the distance of interval &
absolute pitch)
/音准（横向旋律 纵向和声）
⚫ Faithfulness /对作品的忠实度
①节奏 10
②Rhythm /节拍
③Speed & Tempo /速度
④ Dynamics /力度
⑤风格 Accuracy of Expression Mark
⑥各种表情记号的准确度
Vocal Techniques /声音技巧
⚫ Tone Production /音色美感
⚫ Diction /用声力度
10
⚫ Blending /声部统一
⚫ Balance /声部间的平衡
⚫ Overall Harmony /整体的和谐度
Artistry /艺术表现
⚫ Stylistic Performance of structure,
moderation, rhythm and color & General
10
Impression and Dynamics /
情感层次、舞台效果等诸方面的综合艺术表现
力、整体的完整性及感染力
Total Score /合计 30
Nomination for Excellent Conductor /优秀指挥提名（ ）
Nomination for Excellent Accompanist /优秀伴奏提名（ ）
Comments /评语：

Jury Member’s Signature /专家签字

11
VI. Choral Exchange Performance
The organizing committee will arrange every choir with opportunity(ies) to exchange
the joy of singing with choristers from all over the world, singing for the world peace
and friendship, sharing the skills and experience of choral music.

12
VII. Choral Club
For the purpose of celebrating, exchanging and learning, the organizing committee will
establish a Choral Club for Chinese and international choirs who stay in the choral
camp. Besides, choral lovers will also be able to enjoy delicious Chinese cuisine, shop
for special designed souvenirs, improvise, exchange scores and CD with other choirs in
the club. The Choral Club will become a Fiesta for choral lovers during the Festival.

VIII. Sightseeing
Being the capital city of China, Beijing is the international modern metropolis and one
of the Four Great Ancient Capitals in China. With more than 3000-year history, Beijing
owns abundant touristic resources who also has 6 world cultural heritages in the city.
The organizing committee will arrange choirs (self-paid only) to visit the Forbidden
City (largest imperial palace in the world), Tian’anmen Square (largest city center
square), Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall.

13
14
IX. Application
1. Ways of Application
A. Apply on our website: http://www.cicfbj.cn/en
B. Demand the application form through telephone, fill the form and send to the
Organizing Committee through e-mail: cicfbjf@163.com
C. Apply through provincial choral association (domestic choirs)
2. Registration Materials
A. Application form with all the required information filled;
B. Introduction of the choirs (no more than 200 words) and biography of the
conductor (no more than 150 words);
C. Photos of the choir (no less than 3) and the conductor (2). The photo quality should
be 300 dpi or higher;
D. Scores of each composition (8 paper scores as well as digital scores of each piece
for both competitive and demonstrative choirs);
E. Compositions must be performed in accordance with the composer’s original score.
Change of tone or adaptation should be marked with the adapter’s name. Participating
choirs must respect the published score and take full responsibility for any copyright
issues.
3. Registration Fee
A. Registration fee for Chinese choirs (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) is
RMB 3000 per choir, and USD 500 per choir for international choirs.
B. Early bird who apply before January 31, 2020 will get 50% off for application fee.
C. Standard number of reception is 45 members per choir with one bus. Group
members between 49 to 58 will be arranged to take two buses, which costs each person
RMB 200 more for extra transportation expense.
Note: Any application will only be accepted till the organizing committee receive the
application fee no later than 7 days after we receive the application form
4. Deadline -- May 1, 2020

15
X. Reception
According to the regulation of China International Chorus Festival, to guarantee the
smooth operation of whole events, the reception service of all participated choirs will
be provided by China Cultural International Tours Inc. which is the officially designated
reception unit.
The Organizing Committee provides two different packages for international choirs
(including Chinese Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao):

Deluxe Comfort
Time July 23 – July 28, 2020
Hotel Four Star Three Star
Reception
Three meals per day (from the breakfast on
Contents Meal
July 23 to the breakfast on July 28)

Bus Bus with air conditioner

Tour Guide Whole stay
Opening Ceremony Whole Choir
Performance 2 exchange performances with other choirs

Activities Exchange Exchange activities with other choirs

Choral Club Celebrate and communicate with other choirs
Closing Ceremony Choir representatives
Entering tickets of Great Wall, Temple of
Sightseeing
Heaven and Forbidden city
Price 700 USD per person 600 USD per person
Other optional items (performance observing, master class, etc.)
Notes备注
could be found in announcements by the Organizing Committee
16
XIII. Photographs and Audiovisual Products
All copyrights of photographs and recording materials produced by CICF Organizing
Committee during the 15th CICF are owned by the organizing committee. CICF
Organizing Committee is authorized to use and advertise relative materials of the choirs
(including record of performances) on media or internet.

17
XIV. Transfer Account
Beneficiary: CHINA CULTURE INTERNATIONAL TOURS INC.
Beneficiary Account: 0200080709004606256
Bank: INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL BANK OF CHINA BRANCH
DONGCHENG
Bank Address: No.24 DONGSISHITIAO, DONGCHENG DISTRICT, BEIJING,
100007
Swift Code: ICBKCNBJBJM
IBAN: 102100008075

XV. Contact Information

Name: Secretary Office of CICF Organizing Committee
Address: F16, Easyhome Tower, Dongzhimen South Street, Dongcheng District,
Beijing, 100007
Tel: 086-10-64005083; 18811560901 Fax: 086-10-84038226
Website: http://en.cicfbj.cn Email: cicfbjf@163.com

XVI. Other
Content Changes: The arrangements of 15th CICF may changes due to unforeseen
technical, organizational, or artistic reasons. Please note update announcement of the
Organizing Committee.

18