2. Dates

The competition will be held on 23, 24 and 25 October 2026 at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Turin, Via Mazzini 11.

3. Participants

The competition is open to choir conductors from any country in the world who were born between 1st November 1986 and 23 October 2008. A maximum number of 18 conductors will be admitted to the competition, selected on the basis of their CVs and the videos they have submitted.

4. Procedure

The competition falls into three parts: preliminary, semi-final and final.

PRELIMINARY ROUND

• First part: performance, without prior rehearsal, of the compulsory piece and one further piece chosen from a list of five, drawn by lot on the evening of Thursday 22 October. 
• Second part: rehearsal of a piece chosen from a list of six, drawn by lot on the evening of Thursday 22 October. Performance of the piece is not compulsory. Candidates will be allowed a maximum of 7 minutes.

The order of appearance for the conductors in the first and second rounds will be decided by a draw on the evening of Thursday 22 October.
At the end of the preliminary rounds, the jury will announce the candidates who have qualified for the semi-final (a maximum of 10 conductors); at the same time, the pieces and the order of appearance for the semi-final will be drawn.

SEMIFINAL ROUND

• First part: Rehearsal of a pair of pieces selected at random from a list of five on the evening of Friday 23 October. The performance of the Britten piece is compulsory. Candidates will have a maximum of 15 minutes.
• Second part: rehearsal and performance of a piece drawn at random from a selection of five on the evening of Friday 23 October. The candidate will have a maximum of 15 minutes.

The order in which the conductors will perform in the first and second rounds will be decided by a draw on the evening of Friday 23 October.
At the end of the semi-final, the jury will announce the candidates admitted to the final (maximum 5 conductors), namely those who have obtained the highest score (the sum of the points from the heats and the semi-final); at the same time, the pieces and the order of performance for the final (first and second parts) will be drawn.

FINAL ROUND

• First part: rehearsal of the complusory piece and one further piece chosen at random from the five available on the evening of Saturday 24 October. Candidates will have a maximum of 25 minutes. The jury will be present at the rehearsal, which will be assessed.
• Second part: each candidate must conduct, in concert form, the two pieces rehearsed in the first part of the final.
  

At the end of the final, the jury will announce the final results, which will be determined on the basis of the overall score (the sum of the points from the heats, the semi-final and the final).

5. Repertoire

PRELIMINARY ROUND

First part 
Compulsory piece:

1. Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) Warum toben die Heiden op. 40 [SATB, ed. Carus-Verlag]

By lottery:

1. Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) Benedictus Dominus, op. 163 n. 1 [SATTB, ed. pubblico dominio CPDL]
2. Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) In Deo speravit, op. 163 n. 2 [SATTB, ed. pubblico dominio CPDL]
3. Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) Sederunt principes, op. 163 n. 3 [SATTB, ed. pubblico dominio CPDL]
4. Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) Confitebor tibi Domine, op. 163 n. 4 [SATTB, ed. pubblico dominio CPDL]
5. Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901) Benedicta es tu, op. 163 n. 5 [SATTB, ed. pubblico dominio CPDL]

♪ Libercantus Ensemble di Perugia | mixed choir | conductor Vladimiro Vagnetti

Second part
By lottery:

1. Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) Cantate Domino [TTBB, ed. Feniarco]
2. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525ca-1594) Alma redemptoris Mater [TTBB, ed. Feniarco]
3. Ludovico Grossi da Viadana (1564-1627) O sacrum convivium [TTBB, ed. Feniarco]
4. Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548ca-1611) Jesum tradidit impius [TTBB, ed. Feniarco]
5. Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548ca-1611) Judas mercator pessimus [TTBB, ed. Feniarco]
6. Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548ca-1611) O vos omnes [TTBB, ed. Feniarco]

♪ Coro La Rupe of Quincinetto | male choir | conductor Domenico Monetta

SEMIFINAL ROUND
First part
By lottery:

1. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Kyrie dalla Missa brevis in re magg. [SSA, ed. Boosey&Hawkes] + Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Surrexit pastor bonus op. 39 n. 3, bars 162-259 fine [SSAA, ed. Carus-Verlag]
2. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Gloria dalla Missa brevis in re magg. [SSA, ed. Boosey&Hawkes] + Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Veni domine op. 39 n. 1, bars 1-51 [SSA, ed. Carus-Verlag]
3. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Sanctus dalla Missa brevis in re magg. [SSA, ed. Boosey&Hawkes] + Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Laudate pueri op. 39 n. 2, bars 1-109 [SSA, ed. Carus-Verlag]
4. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Benedictus dalla Missa brevis in re magg. [SSA, ed. Boosey&Hawkes] + Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Surrexit pastor bonus op. 39 n. 3, bars 1-91 [SSAA, ed. Carus-Verlag]
5. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Agnus Dei dalla Missa brevis in re magg. [SSA, ed. Boosey&Hawkes] + Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Veni domine op. 39 n. 1, bars 52-95 fine [SSA, ed. Carus-Verlag]

♪ Tölzer Knabenchor of Munich (Germany) | children choir | conductor Marco Barbon

Second part
By lottery:

1. Andrea Buonavitacola (1993) Gelsomino [SSATBB, ed. Feniarco], brano vincitore del 3° Concorso di composizione del Conservatorio G. Verdi di Torino
2. Marta Cellini (1996) Hope is the thing with feathers [SATB div., non pubblicato]
3. Giuseppe Di Bianco (1969) L'onda [SSATB, non pubblicato]
4. Francesca Idini (1997) Davanti a noi tenebra eterna [SATB div., non pubblicato]
5. Davide Sanson (1974) Si farà bella [SSATB, non pubblicato]

♪ Coro da camera di Torino | mixed choir | conductor Dario Tabbia

FINAL ROUND
First part
Compulsory piece:

1. Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) Cade la sera [SATBB, ed. Suvini Zerboni]

By lottery:

1. Vaclovas Augustinas (1959) M.K.O. priesakai sūnui (M.K.O. Sermons for His Son) [soli+SATB div, ed. Music Information Centre Lithuania]
2. Andris Dzenītis (1978) Mēness starus stīgo (moon beams) [SSAATTBB, ed. Musica Baltica]
3. Ēriks Ešenvalds (1977) Northern lights [T solo+SSAATTBB, ed. Musica Baltica]
4. Arvo Pärt (1935) Nunc dimittis [SATB div, ed. Universal Edition]
5. to be defined

Second part
Pieces reharsed during the first part.
♪ Youth Choir Kamer... of Riga (Latvia) | mixed youth choir | conductors 

6. Competition programme

► Thursday 22 October 2026
h. 18.30: participants' presentation, draw to establish the order of performance and the pieces for the preliminary round

► Friday 23 October 2026

PRELIMINARY ROUND
First part
h. 9:30 n. 6 candidates
h. 11:00 n. 6 candidates
h. 12:30 n. 6 candidates 

Second part
h. 16:00 n. 6 candidates (7 minutes each)
h. 17:15 n. 6 candidates (7 minutes each)
h. 18:30 n. 6 candidates (7 minutes each)
h. 20:00 announcement of the candidates admitted to the semi-final, draw to establish the order of performance and the pieces for the semi-final round

► Saturday 24 October 2026 

SEMIFINAL ROUND
First part 
h. 10:00 n. 5 candidates (15 minutes each)
h. 11:45 n. 5 candidates (15 minutes each) 

Second part 
h. 16:00 n. 5 candidates (15 minutes each)
h. 17:45 n. 5 candidates (15 minutes each)
h. 19:45 announcement of the candidates admitted to the semi-final, draw to establish the order of performance and the pieces for the final round

► Sunday 25 October 2026

FINAL ROUND
First part
h. 10:00 n. 3 candidates (25 minutes each)
h. 12:00 n. 2 candidates (25 minutes each) 

Second part
h. 17:00 final
h. 18:15 concert 
h. 19:30 winners' announcement and awards

7. Prizes

First prize: € 2.000 and diploma
Second prize: € 1.500 and diploma
Third prize: € 1.000 and diploma

Special prizes:
Grazia Abbà special prize for the youngest conductor admitted to the final: € 500
Special prize Noël Minet Fund of the Friends of the European Choral Association: Scholarship of up to 500 € for a promising young conductor to attend a training course in 2027/28
Final concert audience prize: € 500

8. Jury

The jury of the competition will consist of 5 well-known musicians:
- Julia Selina Blank (Germany)
- Risto Joost (Estonia)
- Karmina Šilec (Slovenia)
- Gianluca Capuano (Italy)
- Maria Dal Bianco (Italy)

9a. Registration

To enter the competition, candidates must complete and submit the relevant entry form by 31 May 2026. Along with their personal details, candidates must submit a musical CV, two videos of themselves, and proof of payment of the entry fee.
The two videos must feature two compositions that differ in period and style. Furthermore, at least one of them must include a frontal shot of the conductor, failing which the candidate will be excluded from the selection process. The videos must be recorded in a single take and must not have been edited or cut during post-production. Videos in which the conductor is conducting an orchestra or a pianist are not permitted. 

By 15 July 2026, the list of candidates admitted to the competition will be announced by the evaluation committee, comprising four members representing Feniarco, the Associazione Cori Piemontesi, the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Turin and the European Choral Association respectively. 

To enter the competition, a non-refundable registration fee of €50 must be paid by 31 May 2026.
Bank account in the name of Feniarco APS at Intesa Sanpaolo: IBAN IT79P0306909606100000060527 - BIC/SWIFT BCITITMM

9b. Application fees for the admitted candidates

Failure to do so will result in exclusion from the competition; admitted candidates must pay the entry fee by 31 July 2026 in accordance with the table below.
Country group 1: AT, BE, CA, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, HK, IE, IL, IS, IT, JP, KR, NL, NO, SE, SG, UK, US
Country group 2: AR, CN, CZ, EE, GR, HR, HU, LT, LV, PL, PT, SI, SK, TW, ZA
Country group 3: AL, AM, BA, BG, BY, GE, KZ, MD, ME, MK, RO, RS, RU, TR, UA

10. Study Tour

The fourth edition of the F. Corti International Choir Conducting Competition also offers the opportunity to take part in the event from a unique perspective, under the guidance of an expert lecturer-conductor. The initiative is aimed at choir conductors and students of choral conducting, and offers a training and development programme designed to analyse a wide range of situations, experiences and repertoires within a high-profile international setting. 

Full details and registration procedures will be available on the dedicated page.

11. Other provisions

The official language of the competition is English, in all rounds and contexts.
Participation in the competition implies acceptance of the regulation in each of its articles.
The jury's judgment and decisions are final and binding.
The choirs will have good knowledge of the repertoire.
Every participant must perform from original scores and it is responsibility of the individual participant to use them.