Illinois Music Society Competition Rules

Illinois Music Society, LLC

Illinois Music Society
Annual Competition

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Performance times announced
the week of October 10, 2025

Registration Dates
August 20 - September 20, 2025

ANNUAL COMPETITION RULES

(Updated, July, 2025)

Teachers, please read the rules carefully!

Illinois Music Society

ELIGIBILITY

Step 1 This competition is open to all students.

Step 2 The students can be registered by their teachers or music schools. Registration by a parent is accepted if there are available slots.

Step 3 Age limit: no lower age limit; upper age limit is 18 for all categories.

Step 4 Students are eligible to register for more than one instrument, and for any and all vocal and drum categories.

- A student is not allowed to register for multiple levels for the same instrument.

- Exception - voice: there are 4 voice categories, and every student can enter any or all of them.

- Exception – drums: students can enter both rudimentary and full set categories.

Step 5 Limit for 2025 - 100 competitors.

NEW!

Required Repertoire

Please note that the repertoire lists for piano, violin, drums and guitar are now the lists of required music. No songs outside of the required lists will be eligible to compete. There are no required lists for voice students.

HOW TO REGISTER

Step 1 Only teachers and music schools can enter their students. Applications from parents will be accepted if there are slots available.

Step 2 Registration: August 20 - September 20, 2025.

Step 3 Late registration will be accepted if the slots are available and with an administrative fee of $15 per event, in addition to the registration fee.

Step 4 To register, submit the following:
    a) Student Registration Form using the link on the home page
    b) Payment: one check/Venmo/PayPal payment for all registered students. For Venmo and PayPal payment information, please contact Sonja Mihelcic at 630-730-0148 or illinoismusicsociety@gmail.com
    c) Sheet music requirements:
    - The student’s name must be at the top of the first page of the sheet music presented to the judge
            - Downloaded sheet music: must include the proof of purchase on the bottom of the first page (purchaser name).
            - Free download: there must be visible proof of free download such as the page from the website from which the music was downloaded which lists the downloaded song.
            - Due to the US Copyright law, students without original music will be able to perform for comments only.

Step 5 Payment: you can mail the check to the address listed below. The payments must be postdated by September 20, 2025, or pay by Venmo or PayPal payment information. You can also call us at 630-730-0148 to make the payment over the phone with the credit card. We accept all cards except for AmEx.

    Illinois Music Society, LLC
    c/o NMA
    4260 Westbrook Dr, Ste 102-103
    Aurora, IL 60504

Step 6 Registration Fee: $42 per student per event. If a student is competing in 2 or more categories, they must submit fees for each category. Voice students need to submit $42 for each vocal category. Teachers, please submit ONE payment for all registered students.

Step 7 Once the students are registered, there would be no possibility of a refund.

Step 8 The form and the fees must be postdated by September 20, 2025.

AWARDS

1^st placed students will receive a monetary award of $25. Students placed 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd will receive trophies. The remaining participants will receive ribbons. All students will receive a certificate of participation. The teachers will be notified by IMS when the awards are ready for pick up so they can distribute them to their students.

SCHEDULES

Step 1 Due to the complex nature of scheduling, which involves pairing the students of similar age and level, it would be impossible to change the student performance times once the schedule is announced. Also, there is no possibility of requiring specific times.

Step 2 The performance schedule will be announced on the Illinois Music Society web site by October 10, 2025.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE REPERTOIRE

Step 1 There are required repertoire lists for piano, violin, guitar and drums. For voice, there are no required lists, and the students are grouped by age.NOTE: the repertoire entered on the student application form is final and cannot be changed. The decision about the levels assigned by IMS Committee is final.

Step 2 The repertoire entered on the application form is final and cannot be changed.

Step 3 Drum Categories: rudimentary and full set are separate categories and students can register for one or both events.

Step 4 Voice – no required repertoire list. Students are allowed to change the key of the song they are performing. No explicit language allowed.

Step 5 Accompaniment: students are encouraged to perform with accompaniment track, if there is one. They are also welcome to perform a capella. The presence or absence of the accompaniment will not influence student’s rating. Students must bring accompaniments on their own devices and will be able to connect it to the Bluetooth loudspeakers.

Step 6 All songs must be performed from memory.

JUDGING

- This event is judged by highly qualified and established music professionals. All judges’ decisions are final.

For any questions, please contact us at:
illinoismusicsociety@gmail.com
630-585-6000

Illinois Music SocietyAnnual Competition

Saturday, October 18, 2025

Performance times announcedthe week of October 10, 2025

Registration DatesAugust 20 - September 20, 2025

Contact Illinois Music Society

Send us a message orCall 630 730 0148

Illinois Music Society
Annual Competition

Performance times announced
the week of October 10, 2025

Registration Dates
August 20 - September 20, 2025

Send us a message or
Call 630 730 0148