Format of listenings: remote
Dates: October 28 — November 2, 2026
Contest venue: Syktyvkar, Russia
With the support of the Head of the Komi Republic, Rostislav Goldstein.
Dedicated to the memory of Vladyka Pitirim – Archbishop of Syktyvkar and Komi‑Zyryans, and to the 30th anniversary of the Syktyvkar Diocese.
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Genre: academic vocal
Age of participants: from 9 to 21 (inclusive)
The Contest is incorporated in the Association of Music Contests of Russia
Founders of the Contest
— Ministry of culture and archives of the Komi Republic
— Ministry of education and science of the Komi Republic
— International Cultural Foundation “Classics and Modernity”
The Contest Terms (remote)
- Competitive selection is carried out in absentia in a remote format based on video recordings.
- Video recording of each round of the competitive program must strictly comply with the requirements and must be sent within a specified timeframe in accordance with the Contest schedule (the requirements are listed below in the document).
- Young vocalists in 4 age groups are allowed to participate:
- Younger age group — 9-11
- 1st average age group — 12-14
- 2nd average age group — 15-17
- Senior age group — 18-21 (inclusive for the moment of registration)
- The remote Contest consists of 2 rounds. Winners of the 1st round are eligible to participate in the 2nd round.
- The Jury estimates the appearances of participants by 10 ball system by closed vote.
- The estimation of a jury member whose pupil takes part in the contest, is not taken into account at count of balls.
- Final determination of places and prizes is done taking into account the results of the first and second rounds.
- If and when at count of balls or when voting there exists the equal amount of votes «for» and «against», the vote of the chairman is final. Olga Sosnovskaya is Constant Chairman of the Contest Jury, in her absence Chairman of the Contest Jury is appointed by the Organizing Committee.
- Within the competence and the established bonus fund the Jury has the right:
- a) To award not all prizes;
- b) To divide monetary awards between winners.
- c) To award the title “Prize winner (Diplomant) of the International Contest”.
- d) To establish special prizes
- Jury decisions are final and are not subject to reconsideration. The jury members’ assessments are not published.
- Results of the Contest are announced not later than the day of the final Gala concert of the Contest.
- Participants define sequence of the performed musical compositions themselves.
- Performing the contest program to a backing track is not allowed.
- Video recordings of the Contest listenings are posted on the Internet on the Contest’s RuTube channel for audience voting and subsequent public viewing.
- The Organizing Committee has the right for TV and radio broadcasting of listenings and concerts of the Contest, make audio and video recordings with their further commercial distribution without the additional fee to contest participants.
- The winners of Grand prix and laureates of the First Prize of the Contest of last years have the right to participation in the next contest only on condition of their participation in another age category.
- Attention! The winners of the Contest must subsequently indicate in their creative resumes that they participated and their status as a laureate of the International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest.
Competitive requirements on the Program of Appearances
Soloists-vocalists. Time of performance: no more than 12 minutes
I round
Younger age group (9-11) (2 works are recorded in one file):
— folk song accompanied by a piano or «a capella»;
— musical composition by choice.
1st average age group (12-14) (2 works are recorded in one file):
— folk song accompanied by a piano or «a capella»;
— aria, arietta, madrigal, canzone of XVI-XVIII century;
2nd average age group (15-17) (2 works by choice are recorded in one file):
— folk song accompanied by a piano or «a capella»;
— aria, аrietta, madrigal, canzone of XVI-XVIII century;
— romance of a Russian (Sopviet) composer.
Senior age group (18-21) (2 works by choice are recorded in one file):
— folk song accompanied by a piano or “a capella”;
— aria of XVI-XVIII century;
— romance of a Russian (Soviet) composer.
II round
Younger age group (9-11) (2 works are recorded in one file):
— song or romance (Mozart, Schubert, Vekerlen, Haydn, Grieg, Brams, Beethoven, Glinka, Tchaikowsky, Bulahov, Gurilev, Varlamov, etc.);
— musical composition by choice.
1st average age group (12-14) (2 works are recorded in one file):
— song or romance (Mozart, Schubert, Vekerlen, Haydn, Grieg, Brams, Beethoven, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Bulahov, Gurilev, Varlamov, etc.);
— musical composition by choice.
2nd average age group (15-17) (3 works are recorded in one file)::
— aria of a Russian or foreign composer;
— romance of a foreign composer;
— musical composition by choice.
Senior age group (18-21) (3 works are recorded in one file)::
— aria of a Russian or foreign composer;
— romance of a Russian or foreign composer;
— musical composition of a composer of XX-XXI century.
The performance of the program is desirable in the language of the original.
Musical compositions performed in the 1st round cannot be performed again in the 2nd round. It is recommended that the selection of musical compositions correspond to the age of the participants (complexity, character, texts).
Music material of the composers of the Komi Republic can be sent on request and approval.
On the site you can find a full list of works performed by the participants in previous years.
The Prize Fund
Younger age group (9-11)
— first prize and the title of laureate 10.000 rubles
— second prize and the title of laureate 5.000 rubles
1st average age group (12-14)
— first prize and the title of laureate 10.000 rubles
— second prize and the title of laureate 5.000 rubles
2nd average age group (15-17)
— first prize and the title of laureate 10.000 rubles
— second prize and the title of laureate 5.000 rubles
Senior age group (18-21):
— first prize and the title of laureate 10.000 rubles
— second prize and the title of laureate 5.000 rubles
Special prizes and monetary awards:
— title “Prize winner (Diplomant) of the Contest”
— prize for the best performance of a romance
of a Russian composer 5.000 rubles
— prize for the best performance of
a musical composition of the
Komi Republic composer 5.000 rubles
— prize of spectators’ sympathies 5.000 rubles
— special prize for the best performance
of a piece based on the poems of Vladyka Pitirim 10.000 rubles
The winners of the Contest in the appropriate category are awarded the title of «Laureate of the International Contest» or “Diplomant of the International Contest”, diplomas and monetary prizes are awarded. All other participants are conferred certificates for participation in the Contest.
The Terms for Participation in the Contest
For participation in the contest you are to send to the Organizing Committee before October 16, 2026 (inclusive) to mcfond@mail.ru the following documents:
— filled in application form (Appendix 1)
— participant‘s competition program (Appendix 2)
— video recording of the Contest program in accordance with the Contest schedule;
— high-quality color portrait photo for the booklet (looking into the camera) in electronic format (at least 2 MB)
— brief creative biography (educational institution, teacher, participation in contests, master classes)
— passport or birth certificate copy
— a receipt (scan) for the payment of the application fee
The application fee is:
— before October 16, 2026 (inclusive) — 4000 rubles
— from October 17 to October 28, 2026 — 5500 rubles
For foreign participants, payment is made in euros or US dollars at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
For payment inquiries, please contact the fund’s accounting department at shulepova_s@mail.ru.
Detailed information is available on the Сontest website in the “Payment of the application fee” section.
Payment of application fee is the acknowledgement and acceptance by the contestant of the terms and conditions of the given REGULATIONS.
Detailed information on organizational matters is available on the Contest website in the “Important Information” section.
Schedule of competitive days
- until October 16 — acceptance of applications (+video) for the 1st round of the Contest.
- October 17–21 – Round 1 (the jury’s work: selecting contestants based on video recordings).
- until October 22 — a written notification of the jury’s decision will be sent to the applicant’s email address from which the Contest application was submitted: “Accepted” or “Not accepted” for the second round of the Contest (the jury’s decisions are not subject to discussion).
- October 22–27 – submission of videos by participants accepted for Round 2.
- November 2 – announcement of the results of the remote Contest at the Gala concert in Syktyvkar.
Requirements for video recordings:
1.The video recording must be made no earlier than August 28, 2026.
- Before the recording of the competition program begins, the contestant must introduce himself in the video frame (say the date of the recording, first name, last name, age, city) and announce his (her) performance program (reading from a sheet is allowed, but only during the already recorded video).
- All works in the competition program of each round must be performed one after another. The recording must be made in one file without interruptions or editing cuts.
- The sound recording of the voice and instruments must be natural and without additional sound effects from the equipment. Natural acoustics (hall, lobby) are allowed.
- The background behind the performer must be neutral and free of unnecessary objects.
- The performer’s appearance must be a concert dress or suit.
- The video recording of each round of the competition program must be recorded only on a video camera or smartphone in high resolution.
- The recording must be made in a horizontal screen position.
- The camera must be positioned so that the contestant (full height), the instrument (piano or grand piano), and the concertmaster are included in the frame. Cutting off the contestant’s legs in the frame is not allowed.
- The competition program must be performed only with a grand piano or piano.
- Performing the competition program to a phonogram is not allowed.
- The sequence of musical compositions to be performed is determined by the participants themselves.
- The link to the video recording of the competition performance is indicated in the application. The download link must be Yandex.Disk, Google Drive, Cloud Mail.ru (NOT YouTube or RUTUBE (!!!)
Composer’s Contest
In order to promote vocal art and stimulate the creative activity of contemporary composers, the International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest, as part of its events, announces the “Composer’s Contest for the creation of vocal works for children and youth”.
A prize fund is:
- first prize and the title of laureate — 50,000 rubles
- second prize and the title of laureate — 35,000 rubles
- special prize for the best work based on the poems of Vladyka Pitirim — 20,000 rubles.
Required condition for participation in the Composer’s Contest! – the work must be performed by a participant of the XXIII International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest, within the framework of the competition program, in one of the following categories: a romance by a Russian (Soviet) composer, a work by a composer of the XX-XXI centuries, or a musical composition by choice.
Important clarification! If a participant did not advance to the second round, but the composer’s work is included in the program of the second round, the performance of this work will be permitted on the days of the second round.
Detailed information about the Composer’s Contest is available on the Contest website.
Additional information
Contest administration: Syktyvkar, Komi Republic. Non‑profit cultural foundation “International Cultural Foundation ‘Classics and Modernity’”. Tel.: + 7 (8212) 57-08-08, mobileT2: +79087170808. E‑mail: mcfond@mail.ru.
We are in the VK groups https://vk.com/konkursyun, Odnoklassniki https://ok.ru/konkursyun.
Accommodation and meals for the contestants and accompanying persons will be provided in the dormitory of the Gymnasium of Arts, as well as in hotels of Syktyvkar. Detailed information is available on the Contest website in the “Important Information” section.
Information about the arrival dates (route, date and time of arrival, number of people) must be sent to the Organizing Committee no later than three days before arrival.
In November, an international scientific and practical conference will be held in a remote format based on the results of the Сontest. The conference will focus on issues related to pre‑professional training, the development and popularization of academic vocal art among children and young people. The conference will be attended by well‑known teachers and concertmasters, professional vocalists, heads of music educational institutions, specialists in the fields of medicine and psychology, and representatives of cultural administration bodies. The conference will be included in the program of advanced training courses.
Representatives of mass-media, organizations and establishments, interested persons, sponsors can take part in the Contest as Contest Partners.
All videos of the Contest participants, starting from 2012, are available on our YouTube and RUTUBE channels.
Complete information on the “International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest”, list of participants of previous years, results, program of performances, list of sponsors and prizes you can find on http://konkursyun.ru/
P.S. Dear laureates and diploma winners! Please indicate in your creative resumes in the future that you participated and your status as “Laureate/Diploma Winner of the International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest”.
Appendix No. 1
to the Regulations on the XXIII International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest in Syktyvkar
APPLICATION
for participation in the XXIII International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest
NAME (first name, family name) of participant, place of residence ________________________
Date of birth, age ______________________________________________________________
Postal address (postal code) _____________________________________________________
Tel. ________________________ E-mail _________________________________________
Voice type ___________________________________________________________________
Place of training _______________________________________________________________
Teacher (adviser) (first name, family name, place of work, position, mob.tel.) _______________
____________________________________________________________________________
Concertmaster (first name, family name, place of work, mob.tel.) ________________
____________________________________________________________________________
If you have no concertmaster, it is necessary to write down — «Concertmaster is necessary. Music material is enclosed».
The video of the participant in a remote format is available via the link ____________________________________________________________________________________
Payment date of admission fee “____”_______________2026
I agree that in the case of my passing in the 2nd round, I gratuitously take part in the final Gala concert of the Contest, as well as in additional 2nd concert if the decision on its carrying out is accepted by the Organizing Committee.
I agree that the Organizing Committee has the right for TV and radio broadcasting of listenings and concerts of the Contest, make audio and video recordings with their further commercial distribution without the additional fee to Contest participants.
Date_______________________ Signature of participant/adviser _________________
Filled in and sent by e-mail: mcfond@mail.ru in 2 variants: a scanned signed copy and in Word.
Appendix No. 2
to the Regulations on the XXIII International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest in Syktyvkar
COMPETITION PROGRAMME
of the participant in the XXIII International Olga Sosnovskaya Young Vocalists Contest
NAME (first name, family name) of participant, place of residence ________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
The video of the participant in a remote format is available via the link ____________________________________________________________________________________
I round
- __________________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________
II round
- __________________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________
- __________________________________________________________________________
Date_____________ Signature of participant/adviser ____________________
Filled in and sent by e-mail: mcfond@mail.ru in 2 variants: a scanned signed copy and in Word.