Rules

Guitar Styria Festival 2026

The festival takes place from January 29th until February 1st 2026 in Steiermarkhof in Graz

Application deadline for competition and masterclasses: December 15th 2025

Apply Here

Category 1, Classical Guitar Solo (born 2016 or later)

born in 2016 and later (up to and including 9 years of age)
up to 5 minutes of program
free program, at least 3 compositions of different character and technical content

Category 2, Classical Guitar Solo (born 2014 or later)

born in 2014 or later (up to and including 11 years of age)
4-6 minutes
free program, compositions of different character and technical content

Category 3, Classical Guitar Solo (born 2012 or later)

born in 2012 and later (up to and including 13 years of age)
6-8 minutes
free program, compositions of different character and technical content

Category 4, Classical Guitar Solo (born 2010 or later)

born in 2010 and later (up to and including 15 years of age)
8-11 minutes
free program, compositions of different character and technical content

Category 5, Classical Guitar Solo (born 2008 or later)

born in 2008 and later (up to and including 17 years of age)
10-13 minutes
free program, compositions of different character and technical content

Category 6, Classical Guitar Solo (born 2006 or later)

born in 2006 and later (up to and including 19 years of age)
11-15 minutes
free program, compositions of different character and technical content

Category 1K, Chamber Music With Guitar (ensemble age average less than 9,00)

on January 1st 2026 the ensemble members will have an average age of less than 9 years,
the ensemble should have at least 2 members and no more than 4,
on January 1st 2026 the oldest member of the ensemble will be less than 11 years old,
at least one member of the ensemble should be a classical guitar player,
program length: up to 5 minutes,
at least 3 compositions of different character and technical content,
at least one composition has to be written before 1920 (the arrangement can be from a more recent time)

Category 2K, Chamber Music With Guitar (ensemble age average less than 12,00)

on January 1st 2026 the ensemble members will have an average age of less than 12 years,
the ensemble should have at least 2 members and no more than 4,
on January 1st 2026 the oldest member of the ensemble will be less than 14 years old,
at least one member of the ensemble should be a classical guitar player,
program length: 4-6 minutes,
compositions of different character and technical content,
at least one composition has to be written before 1920 (the arrangement can be from a more recent time)

Category 3K, Chamber Music With Guitar (ensemble age average less than 14,00)

on January 1st 2026 the ensemble members will have an average age of less than 14 years,
the ensemble should have at least 2 members and no more than 4,
on January 1st 2026 the oldest member of the ensemble will be less than 16 years old,
at least one member of the ensemble should be a classical guitar player,
program length: 6-8 minutes,
compositions of different character and technical content,
at least one composition has to be written before 1920 (the arrangement can be from a more recent time)

Category 4K, Chamber Music With Guitar (ensemble age average less than 16,00)

on January 1st 2026 the ensemble members will have an average age of less than 16 years,
the ensemble should have at least 2 members and no more than 4,
on January 1st 2026 the oldest member of the ensemble will be less than 18 years old,
at least one member of the ensemble should be a classical guitar player,
program length: 8-11 minutes,
compositions of different character and technical content
at least one composition has to be written before 1920 (the arrangement can be from a more recent time)

Category 5K, Chamber Music With Guitar (ensemble age average less than 18,00)

on January 1st 2026 the ensemble members will have an average age of less than 18 years,
the ensemble should have at least 2 members and no more than 4,
on January 1st 2026 the oldest member of the ensemble will be less than 20 years old,
at least one member of the ensemble should be a classical guitar player,
program length: 10-13 minutes,
compositions of different character and technical content
at least one composition has to be written before 1920 (the arrangement can be from a more recent time)

Category 6K, Chamber Music With Guitar (ensemble age average less than 20,00)

on January 1st 2026 the ensemble members will have an average age of less than 20 years,
the ensemble should have at least 2 members and no more than 4,
on January 1st 2026 the oldest member of the ensemble will be less than 22 years old,
at least one member of the ensemble should be a classical guitar player,
program length: 11-15 minutes,
compositions of different character and technical content
at least one composition has to be written before 1920 (the arrangement can be from a more recent time)

The competition is divided into 12 categories, according to the table above. The reference date for the age calculation is 1st of January 2026.
The festival is international and public. By participating, the festival participant agrees that their first name, last name, and photos/videos recorded during the festival may be published on various channels for the purposes of the Guitar Styria association.
After the application, every contestant or ensemble may change/add/extract one of the applied pieces of the program as long as the program stays within the propositions after the change. Any change of this kind have to be announced to the administration at least 1 hour before the performance.
All competitors and ensembles are obligated to perform two or more pieces of different character and style. Competitors of categories 1 and 1K are obligated to perform 3 or more pieces of different character and style.
The competitors of categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are obligated to play at least 1 piece by heart.
Program length will be timed from the beginning of the performance (first note) to the end of the performance (last note).
If there are less than five (5) participants in a category, the organizer has the right to cancel the competition in this category. In this case, the registration fee will be refunded. Any other possible costs will not be refunded.
The jury of the competition is international, appointed by the Organizing board of the Festival.
Every category will have a jury who will give points to the competitors. The jury members give points from 50 – 100.
Awards for points are divided in 4 categories:
– Gold: 90-100 points
– Silver: 80 – 89,99 points
– Bronze: 70 – 79,99 points
– Acknowledgement: 50 – 69,99 points
The jury member whose students or family members participate in the competition may not award points to those participants or ensembles, in which they participate.
All the participants will receive certificates with number of points won.
If a soloist or an ensemble performs longer than the allowed time, the head of the jury has the right to stop the candidate. However, there is no point deduction for playing too long. Playing too short, however, leads to a reduction of points.
If two or more competitors or ensembles have the same number of points, the advantage goes to the younger competitor or ensemble, whose members average age is lower.
In categories 1K, 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K and 6K the artistic performance of the whole ensemble is being judged.
Jury decisions are final and cannot be changed.
After the last competition day of each category, the official points lists will be published publicly.
Prizes and certificates will be awarded in the evening after the last competition day of a category. Prizes and certificates have to be collected personally at the evening event. Those will not be sent per post afterwards.
If the competitor does not perform or does not show up at the competition, the organizer is not obligated to refund the registration fee.
The competitors are obligated to send a payment confirmation of the registration fee with the application.
The audience is allowed to film or photograph the competition as long as it does not disturb the performer. If an audience member disturbs the live performance, they will be asked to leave the concert hall.
The competitors in categories 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be arranged into their respective categories in alphabetical order by surname. The competitors in categories 1K, 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K and 6K will be arranged into their respective categories in alphabetical order by the surname of the youngest ensemble member. The starting letter will be the same in all categories and chosen randomly one day after the application deadline.
By applying, competitors accept the rules and terms of the competition.

Registration Fees

Category 1 – 50€
Category 2 – 50€
Category 3 – 50€
Category 4 – 50€
Category 5 – 60€
Category 6 – 70€
Category 1K – 30€ per ensemble member (but max. 100€)
Category 2K -30€ per ensemble member (but max. 100€)
Category 3K – 30€ per ensemble member (but max. 100€)
Category 4K – 30€ per ensemble member (but max. 100€)
Category 5K – 35€ per ensemble member (but max. 110€)
Category 6K – 40€ per ensemble member (but max. 120€)

Bank account information:

IBAN: AT19 2081 5000 4597 8376
BIC/SWIFT: STSPAT2GXXX

Guitar Styria Musikverein
Plabutscherstraße 47b/1
8051 Graz
Austria

Confirmation of payment of the registration fee must be included with the application.