Announcing our Competitions 2023
We’re thrilled to announce that entry to our 2023 Competitions is open. Held annually, the Competitions are a chance for flute players to showcase their talent, receive feedback from top judges, and win brilliant prizes.
In 2023, the Competitions will be held live over two events:
On Sunday 26 February 2023, the School Performer and Young Performer categories competition will take place at Loughborough Schools Music
On Sunday 12 March 2023, the Adult Amateur and Young Artist categories will take place at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Alongside the competition, there’ll be lunchtime performances and trade stands at both events.
Registration closes on February 11 at 11:59pm GMT. There’s a financial assistance scheme, as well as the chance to sponsor a player (details below). Judges and prizes will be announced shortly - best of luck!
Categories
A. BFS School Performer
Performers aged 13 and under on 31 August 2023 and approximately Grade 5 or above in standard. Performance time allowed (including breaks between movements/pieces) is 4-6 minutes. The performance can be shorter than this, but must not be longer than 6 minutes.
B. BFS Young Performer
Performers aged 14-18 on 31 August 2023 and approximately Grade 7/8 or above in standard. Performance time allowed (including breaks between movements/pieces) is 5-7 minutes. The performance can be shorter than this, but must not be longer than 7 minutes.
C. BFS Young Artist
Performers aged 19-24 on 31 August 2023 and approximately Grade 8 or above in standard. Performance time allowed (including breaks between movements/pieces) is 6-8 minutes. The performance can be shorter than this, but must not be longer than 8 minutes.
D. BFS Adult Amateur
Performers aged 25 and over on 31 August 2023 and of any standard. Performers must not currently be studying on or have completed a higher education music performance course in the past 5 years. They must not make their main income through music.
Performance time allowed (including breaks between movements/pieces) is 6-8 minutes. The performance can be shorter than this, but must not be longer than 8 minutes.
Rules
Please click the button below to download the Competitions Rules 2023 (PDF). Please read these carefully.
Entry Deadline
Entries will open on January 4 and close at 11:59pm GMT on February 11 2023.
Entry Fees
All competitors must be a BFS member at the time of entry and on the day of the Competition (26 February 2023 for categories A and B, 12 March 2023 for categories C and D). Individual membership is from £25 - £35 - to become a member, sign up via our Join Us page.
The entry fee for all categories is £30.
There is an additional fee for the use of the BFS official accompanist of £20. You can book this separately after entering the Competitions via the link in your entry confirmation email.
Financial Assistance
Through generous donations we are able to offer a financial aid scheme to competitors who otherwise wouldn’t be able to enter the competition this year.
To be considered for this, please send a short statement explaining why you need assistance and a reference from your current teacher to competitions@bfs.org.uk by 31 January 2023.
Unfortunately we won’t be able to consider anyone for financial aid after this deadline.
We will let candidates know the outcome of their financial aid application before the competition closing date (11 February 2023).
Sponsor a Player
Our financial aid scheme supports players who wouldn’t otherwise be able to enter the Competitions due to the entry fee (£30 plus cost of membership if not already a member). As a small charity, currently donations in the form of member subscriptions support our essential running costs, and so our ‘Sponsor a Player’ initiative helps us meet this additional need. Last year, sponsors funded the entry of five players. If you’d like to sponsor part or the whole cost of entry, please click below:
Prizes
1st, 2nd and 3rd Prizes will be awarded for each of the four categories. Prizes will be announced in due course.
This year, there will also be the Atarah Ben-Tovim Legacy Prize, which will support a competitions participant deserving of support because of the innate talent shown in the competition, and the possible career that could be nurtured if supported.
How to Enter
For full details of the Competitions 2023 and to register, please visit the Competitions homepage: