Every choir and singing formation has the right to participate.
There is no restriction on the number of choir members.
Online Application form must be filled for the participation. Also CV, photograph of
Conductor and Choir, recent voice recording of choir must be send by mail or e-mail.
Deadlines for Application Submission: 17 March 2026
The Festival program will take place on the following dates:
- Official opening ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 7 July 2026
- Hall Concerts: 8–9–10 July 2026
- Open-Air Concerts: 8–9 July 2026
- Troya Museum Concerts: 10 July 2026
- Closing and Award Ceremony will be held on Saturday, July 11, 2026
All general details are available in the festival draft program.
The Organization Committee will publish the detailed schedule after May 30, 2026.
Travel, accommodation, meals and Çanakkale inner city transportation costs will be covered by the choir.
After the festival application and acceptance, the choir acknowledges that it gives the festival the right to use all the materials to be recorded during the festival.
The Organizing Committee reserves the right to make any last logistical changes in the
program. Prices and accommodation prices will not be affected by these changes and will remain as they were offered here.
COMPETITION
In the 2026 organization, there will be no competition.
The competition category will take place in the 2027 organization.
The Choirs can compete in the following Categories:
Category A – Homogenous Choirs-Women and Men
Category B – Adults Mixed choirs
Category C – Children’s Choirs ( 2/3 of the participants must be 15 or younger)
Category D – Homogeneous Boys-Girls and Mixed Youth Choir (2/3 of the participants must be 25 or younger)
Category E – Folk Choirs- This category is for specific folkloric voices choirs, who can perform at least 3 voices polyphonic folk songs.
Each choir can compete in at most 2 categories.
Competition performance does not last longer than 15 minutes.
In order to be included in the competition category and an Applicant Choir must be reviewed and approved by the Organisation Committee. The Choirs will be informed previously for their acceptance to the competition category.
Some categories may be combined if the applications are less than expected.
The competition programme must comprise maximum 5 compositions and only for Category B /Mixed choirs/ one of them must be to by Turkish Composer.
At least 3 compositions must be performed without accompaniment.
It is recommended that the program selection be in the distribution of works with different times and styles such as classics, romantic period, contemporary music, folk songs.
In case the choirs are having difficulty choosing the composition of a Turkish composer, the Festival Organization Committee will assist the Choir Conductors.
The International Jury will evaluate the quality of the performance of Choirs.The performance will be evaluated according to the technique of the performed compositions
and the artistic interpretation.
All jury members will take notes that include both technical and interpretative personal assessments.
The jury will consist of important artist personalities who will be able to report on different comments and opinions in detail.
However, the determination of the choirs to be awarded the gold, silver and bronze awards and the decisions to be made for the winners of both category and festival awards will be made jointly by all the juries.
The decision of the jury will be final and the results will be kept confidential until theyare announced.
Each jury member will evaluate each choir’s performance with an arithmetic score of 100.
If a competing choir requires, jury may give a written appraisal of the performance.
The international jury will give the following awards to the winner choirs:
85 -100 – Gold /I prize/ – excellent performance
84.99 – Silver /II prize/- very good performance
65 – 74.99 – Bronze /III prize/ – good performance
The jury will take into account:
Pitch and Intonation; Rhythm; Interpretation and fidelity to the score; Sound quality and
blending – Artistic Impression.
The jury will NOT take into account for dance, choreography, costumes.
Jury members having experience in international festivals and competitions will be announced
after the participant choirs are clear.
Competition Awards:
The organizers will give a participation certificate to all participating choirs.
The category winners will receive a diploma.
In each category, the jury may decide to grant special awards:
- Award for the best Conductor;
- Award for the best selected program;
- Award for the most impressive folk song performance;
- Award for the best performance of a Turkish composer’s song or a Turkish folk song. (available only for foreign choirs);
- Other special awards given at the discretion of the jury.
OTHER INFORMATION
High resolution “choir – choirs Conductor photograph”, “choir – choirs conductor curriculum vitae” and “choir repertoire” which are required for the Festival Booklet must be sent by email until 30 May 2026 at the latest. (Choir and Choirs Conductor C.V. should be no more than 2000 characters).
Participating choirs can enter the accommodation from the afternoon on July 7, 2026, and
leave until July 12, 2026 at 12:00.
All days of the Festival the Choirs are required to follow the festival activities and be open to interactions.
In general, the choirs who do not follow the festival events and find that they have damaged the festival culture are excluded from the festival.
Video and photo recordings of all concerts and performance events within the festival will be made by the organizer. If requested, these records will be distributed to the choirs for a fee.
Participant choirs should be able to request their technical support needs within the festival performances through the “choir guide” before the Festival starts.
The Festival committee reserves the right to use all kinds of performances- visuals and records within the scope of the festival in press, media, internet and social network when necessary.
The festival committee has the right to amend the festival schedule and conditions as
necessary.
The festival organizing committee is not responsible for any disruptions that may arise as a result of insufficient reading of the General and Technical Information.