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Friday 26 June to Sunday 28June

at The Warehouse Theatre

Wednesday 1 July to Saturday 4 July

at the Elder Conservatorium Hartley Concert Room

Adjudicators: Nicholas Lester, Mark Oates and Kim Spargo

Convenors: Fiona McArdle and Jemimah Lanyon (vocal@adelaideeisteddfod.com.au)

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 11:59PM FRIDAY 10 APRIL 2026

Additional Rules for the Vocal Division:

Participant information, including song selection and electronic copies of sheet music, must be provided via Stardom by Friday 12 June 2026 (2 weeks before the commencement of the Vocal Division). Participants will be withdrawn from any sections where this has not been provided. Participants will not receive a refund. Changes to song selection is not permitted after this date except under special circumstances.
Backing tracks are only permitted where specified in the section description. Backing tracks must be uploaded to Stardom by Friday 12 June 2026 (2 weeks before the commencement of the Vocal Division). If a competitor has not uploaded a backing track by this time, it is assumed they will be using a live accompanist. Changes to provided backing tracks are not permitted after this date except under very special circumstances.
Use of microphones is only permitted where specified in the section description.
All items are to be performed from memory. Exception: music may be held for pieces from oratorio as is standard performance practice.
When a competitor is singing in a language other than English, they must give a BRIEF one sentence translation to the audience. A word for word translation is not required.
Props and costumes are not to be used, unless specified.
If competitors wish to ensure eligibility of their choice of items, they should email the Vocal Division Convenor before 1 June 2026.
Competitors in Section V712 may be asked to provide proof of SACE Stage 2 Music Solo Performance subject enrolment. The committee reserves the right to withhold a prize until such proof has been sighted.
As per rule 5e for the Adelaide Eisteddfod, competitors are only able to enter two types of “and under” sections. The Vocal Division has further clarified this rule and for “X years & under” sections, competitors are only able to enter the section appropriate to their age, plus one age bracket above. This applies across Solo and Duet sections.

WHICH SECTIONS CAN I ENTER?

As per rule 5e for the Adelaide Eisteddfod and additional rule 9 of the Vocal Division, competitors are only able to enter two types of “and under” sections. The Vocal Division has further clarified their age rules for the 2026 competition. For “X years & under” sections, competitors are only able to enter the section appropriate to their age, plus one age bracket above. All singers may still enter open sections. Please see the table below for clarification.

Age on 30 June 2026	Section Age Categories You Can Enter
Age on 30 June 2026	10 yrs & under	12 yrs & under	15 yrs & under	17 yrs & under	20 yrs & under	18 yrs & over	21 yrs & over	40 yrs & over	Open
5-10 yrs	Y	Y							Y
11-12 yrs		Y	Y						Y
13-15 yrs			Y	Y					Y
16-17 yrs				Y	Y				Y
18-20 yrs					Y	Y			Y
21-39 yrs						Y	Y		Y
40+ yrs						Y	Y	Y	Y

ACCOMPANISTS

For most sections competitors are required to provide their own accompanist. The only exception to this is for sections where backing tracks are listed as accepted or where it is stated that an accompanist will be provided. Should you require assistance in finding an accompanist, a list of names of suitable accompanists is available from the Vocal Division Convenor.

If you have entered a section where an accompanist is provided, you will be emailed with contact details for this accompanist by Friday 24 April 2026. Should you wish to rehearse prior to the competition, you will need to organise this with the accompanist separately and at your own cost. There are no rehearsal or warm-up spaces available at the competition venues.

Please be mindful that accompanists can be very busy at this time. You should make sure to contact and confirm an accompanist as early as possible (even before registrations have closed). It is considered polite to confirm your repertoire and competition times with an accompanist at least 4 weeks prior to the competition. This gives the accompanist sufficient time to learn your music and allows time for a rehearsal.

BACKING TRACKS

Backing tracks are only permitted where explicitly stated in the section rules. Some sections allow PIANO ONLY backing tracks and some sections allow MULTI-INSTRUMENTAL backing tracks. Please carefully check the rules for your section. If you use the wrong type of backing track, you may be disqualified from receiving a prize. Backing tracks must be uploaded to stardom 2 weeks before commencement of the vocal division. Changes to submitted backing tracks after this time will not be permitted except in very special circumstances (ie. last minute illness of accompanist).

DRAFT SCHEDULE

After feedback from entrants, schools and teachers, this year we are releasing a draft schedule so that potential entrants can plan their availability before entering the competition. Please note that this schedule is very much subject to change and is especially dependent on section entry numbers. The Adelaide Eisteddfod Society Inc and the Vocal Division will not provide any refunds should scheduling changes cause issues for competitors.

Music Theatre and Contemporary Sections

Location: The Warehouse Theatre

Classical Voice Sections

Location: Hartley Concert Room

Friday 26 June

10am – 6pm

ALL MUSIC THEATRE SECTIONS

Wednesday 1 July

12:30am – 7:30pm

10 years & under

12 years & under

15 years & under

Saturday 27 June

2pm – 7pm

12 years & under Jazz/Contemp

15 years & under Jazz/Contemp

Thursday 2 July

1:30pm – 8:30pm

17 years & under

20 years & under

Arnold Matters HEATS

Sunday 28 June

2pm – 7pm

10 years & under Jazz/Contemp

17 years & under Jazz/Contemp

SACE Performance Solo

Friday 3 July

11am – 7pm

21 years & over

40 years & over

Open

Saturday 4 July

10am – 7pm

18 years & over

Arnold Matters FINALS

AUSTRALIAN COMPOSERS

Australia has a rich history of classical and Art Song Composers. We would encourage you to explore this vast repertoire, and even consider presenting Australian repertoire in English language sections. Some Australian classical composers to explore:

Anne Cawrse	Stuart Greenbaum	Dulcie Holland	Stephen Yates	Dean Rancewicz	Annie Kwok	Glyn Lehmann
Elena Kats-Chernin	Andrew Schultz	Martin Wesley-Smith	Rachel Breuerville	Wendy Hiscocks	Andrew Close	Ruth McCall
Katy Abbott	Claire Jordan	Oscar Walters	Alan Trevaskis	Peter Sculthorpe	Peter Webb	Linda Phillips
Andrew Ford	Sally Whitwell	Graeme Koehne	Colin Brumby	Percy Grainger	Richard Peter Maddox	Keith Humble

SONGS OF RICHARD WAGNER

Famous for his operatic works, Wagner wrote a selection of songs for solo voice as well. Schott Music has published a full collection of Wagner's Art Songs, other editions including PDF downloads are also available. A full list of these pieces is below:

Sieben Kompositionen zu Goethes Faust, Op. 5

5. “Lied des Mephistopheles II”

6. “Meine Ruh ist hin”

7. “Melodram Gretchens”

Der Tannenbaum

Trois Melodies

1. “Dors, mon enfant”

2. “L’Attente”

3. “Mignonne”

Extase (fragment)

Gruß seiner Treuen an Friedrich August den Geliebten

La tombe dit à rose (fragment)

Tout n’est qu’images fugitives (or Soupir)

Les deux grenadiers

Les adieux de Marie Stuart

Wesendonck Lieder

1. Der Engel

2. Stehe still!

3. Im Treibhaus

4. Schmerzen!

5. Träume