Competition

The competition will be divided into two rounds – the Preliminary Round which will be held online and the Final Round which will be held in-person as a public performance, forming part of the 2nd SA Strings Convention in Bloemfontein on Friday, 2 May 2025.

All four members of the quartet must be South African citizens or residents between the ages of 18–30 years old (NB: Age as on 2 May 2025).

Participants do not have to be registered at an academic institution.

The deadline for the application form, entrance fee and video material of the preliminary round must be submitted by 23h59 on Monday, 3 March 2025 (SA Time). No late entries will be accepted.

For each quartet submission there is an application fee of R400.00

1. The Preliminary round performances must be presented for adjudication as pre-recorded videos.
2. Videos for the Preliminary Round must be uploaded before 23h59 on 3 March 2025.
3. All videos submitted for the Preliminary Round will be broadcast on the 2025 SASF Youtube Channel on 9 & 10 March. After the broadcast, the finalists will be informed directly, and the list of names will be published on the SASF website and social media platforms. A maximum of four quartets will be admitted to the Final Round.

1. Final Round performances must be presented for adjudication as a public performance on 2 May 2025 at the Odeion School of Music in Bloemfontein.
2. All Final Round competitors will receive a complimentary full pass to the 2025 SA Strings Convention that includes all lunches and dinners as well as an invitation to perform as tutti player in one or two of the convent concert series pieces.
3. By participating in the Final Round of the competition, all performers tacitly agree to the terms allowing the South African Strings Foundation to use audio and video material from their final-round performances for archival and promotional purposes.

1. The adjudication panel of the Preliminary and Final Rounds are composed of at least three distinguished musicians.
2. All decisions of the adjudication panel are final and no appeal will be considered. The adjudication panel reserves the right to withhold any prize should the required standards of quality of performance not be met.
3. Competitors will be evaluated on technical command, musicianship and overall presentation.
4. No feedback from the adjudication panel will be made available until after the Final Round of the competition. Competitors are encouraged to request feedback comments directly from the panel once the competition has ended. Upon such requests, sharing comments with performers is at the sole discretion of each adjudicator.
5. The Preliminary and Final Rounds are adjudicated independently (i.e. performance scoring is not cumulative).

1. Preliminary Rounds are conducted by review of videos submitted online.
2. The videos must be recorded in landscape orientation, at a resolution of 720p or higher, with clear audio and video.
3. The videos must show the competitor facing forward, clearly framing both hands and at least the full upper body.
4. The video should begin with one of the quartet members stating their name, full list of works performed (title and composer), and that the performance is being submitted for the 2025 South African Strings Foundation Quartet Competition.
5. The video and audio must be in one unedited take, from the moment the competitors announce themselves through to the last note of their performance.
6. The video must be uploaded to YouTube (unlisted) with the title “South African Strings Foundation Quartet Competition (select appropriate) – quartet’s name – Junior/Senior Division (select appropriate) – Preliminary round.”
7. In the description of the video the competitor must include the line “South African Strings Foundation Quartet Competition – name of the works and composers.”

1. Competitors may repeat works from the Preliminary Round in the Final Round, but are not required to do so.
2. It is expected that competitors consider the time restrictions of each round when selecting their programs. Timing begins with the first note of the performance and continues uninterrupted until the end of the full programme’s performance. If a competitor exceeds the given time allotted in a performance, that competitor’s video or live performance may be cut short and will only be adjudicated up until the assigned time of the round.

Online Preliminary Round: (15-20 minutes)

1. One or two movements from a Classical work
2. One or two movements from a Romantic work or character piece
3. A South African work
4. Own choice, time permitting

Public Final Round: (25-30 minutes)

1. Two movements from either Classical or Romantic work
2. Newly composed required work by South African and Dutch composer – Lise Morrison and Ivan Vukosavljevic (10 minutes)
3. Own choice, time permitting