HIGH SCHOOL FAQs

To be eligible, you must be a high school sophomore, junior, or senior recommended by your choral director or vocal teacher. You may enter only one competition per school year or competition season, whether live or virtual. Please also read our eligibility requirements HERE.

No, it is not necessary. Bring your music in a binder, clearly marked for cuts, on the day of the competition. Our pianists include some of the finest vocal coaches in the country and will most likely have played your repertoire before. It is important, however, that you provide, along with your application materials, the keys in which you will sing each of your pieces.

There is no hard and fast rule regarding dress. We recommend you wear your “Sunday Best.” Formal wear is not necessary. Dresses should be an appropriate length for stage, as the audience is often below you. If you are wearing high heels, make sure that you can walk in them with poise. Bear in mind that your appearance will make an impression on the judges.

The fee to enter the competition is $45 and must accompany your application. If you need special financial consideration, please contact us.

The live high school competition begins in the morning, typically around 8:30am, depending on the number of applicants. The morning round will last until approximately 1:00pm. followed by a lunch break, and then the Master Class at 2:00pm. The final round usually commences around 3:00pm, and awards are announced during the Awards Ceremony at 5:00pm. The ceremony is usually finished by 6:00pm. To receive a cash award, singers must be present at the Awards Ceremony. Close to the date of the competition, you will receive a specific time to sing, directions to the venue, and a detailed schedule for the competition day.

You will be assigned a time slot to sing which will be sent via email about two weeks before the competition. You should arrive no later than 30-45 minutes ahead of your time slot to sign in and warm up. However, we encourage you to be present at the beginning of the competition to meet and hear other competitors. This is not a requirement, but it is strongly encouraged. Time slots are determined by travel distance from the venue and the date your application was received.

While Schmidt Vocal Arts limits each competition to a maximum of 30 singers, we also require a minimum of 15 eligible singers to hold a competition. If we do not have a minimum of 15 eligible singers by the application deadline, we will extend the deadline by one week. If the deadline extension does not yield enough singers, then we may unfortunately cancel the competition at that location. If this happens, we will contact each family directly by email and/or phone. In the case of cancellation, applications fees may be transferred to another competition location or refunded. We encourage families to book refundable travel arrangements when possible. If you have a question about a specific location, please feel free to call our office.

You may make changes to your repertoire at any time, right up until you walk onto the stage. After the program has been printed (about a week before the competition) you will simply need to announce your change from the stage. Before the program has been printed, we encourage you to email us with any changes so that we can correct the program and send the change to the pianist. For virtual competitions, you can change your repertoire up until the submission deadline.

All award winners will have to fill out tax forms in order to receive an award check. All award winners will be required to complete an electronic W9 AFTER the competition day.