2024 Spring North International Music Competition

Tradition: One of the earlist and leading online music competitions, held 12 times

International: Participants from 40 countries, 500 cities, 9 international judges

Honour: Biography of Absolute Winner from Global Round will be published online

Diversity: No age or instrument limination, open to all musicians over 6 years old

Unique: Duo category for the first time with unlimited instrumental combinations

Platform: A brand new way of competing, a great reference for the biography

Invitation

Dear Students,

At the North International Music Competition we are constantly looking for new ways to improve our contestants opportunities and provide them a broad platform of partners who can help them develop their career further.
We are therefore glad to confirm the partnership with ASDAN China. We believe that utilizing both organisations and connections we can offer musicians from all around the world a chance to realize their dreams and potential.

Leo van Debré, President of NIMC

Being one of the earliest online music competitions, the North International Music Competition aims to discover new talents and provide them with more career opportunities. It provides a platform for all-age music lovers from all over the world to communicate through the Internet. Two sessions per year, spring and fall, for soloists and duos, North Competition is open to contestants without the limitation of age and instruments. Since 2017, nearly 4,000 contestants from over 40 countries and 500 cities have participated in the competition.
Since 2022, ASDAN China started a strategic partnership with North International Music Competition, and will act as the exclusive partnerto organize and promote the China Preliminary Round of the online competition. Winners from the China Preliminary Round namely First, Second and Third Prizes could participate in the Online Global Round, competing with musicians from around the world.

SOLO
Group 1	6 - 7 Years old – Up to 4 minutes
Group 2	8 - 9 Years old – Up to 5 minutes
Group 3	10 - 11 Years old – Up to 6 minutes
Group 4	12 - 13 Years old – Up to 7 minutes
Group 5	14 - 15 Years old – Up to 8 minutes
Group 6	16 - 17 Years old – Up to 8 minutes
Group 7	18 - 19 Years old – Up to 8 minutes
Group 8	20 - 21 Years old – Up to 8 minutes
Group 9	22 - 23 Years old – Up to 8 minutes
Group 10	24 - 25 Years old – Up to 8 minutes
Group 11	26 Years old and above– Up to 8 minutes

DUO
Group 1	6 - 7 Years old – Up to 5 minutes
Group 2	8 - 9 Years old – Up to 6 minutes
Group 3	10 - 11 Years old – Up to 7 minutes
Group 4	12 - 13 Years old – Up to 8 minutes
Group 5	14 - 15 Years old – Up to 10 minutes
Group 6	16 - 17 Years old – Up to 10 minutes
Group 7	18 - 19 Years old – Up to 10 minutes
Group 8	20 - 21 Years old – Up to 10 minutes
Group 9	22 - 23 Years old – Up to 10 minutes
Group 10	24 Years old and above – Up to 10 minutes

* Duo age group is classified by the older player's age

【Evaluation Criteria】

1. The contestants from Global Round will be marked in hundred-points system. The judges will mark the contestant's performance based on overall impression, interpretation, musical expression, technical skills etc.
2. Each program must be played and recorded completely.
3. All jury decisions will be final and irrevocable once announced, the organizing committee reserves the right of final interpretation of the results.
4. The jury will not only focus on technical aspects, but also on artistic interpretation and overall performance of the contestants.
5. All works must be performed by heart except contemporary music and duos.

Leo van Debré

President of NIMC, cellist, chamber musician

Leo van Debré, born in Moscow and raised in Stockholm, was accepted to the prestigious music school, Lilla Akademien in Stockholm at the age 15. He later went to the Royal College of Music in Stockholm where he attained his Bachelor of Music Degree under the tuition of prof. Elemer Lavotha. A keen chamber musician, Leo’s interest for chamber music grew throughout his studies, leading to the founding of many chamber ensembles including duets, piano trios, piano quartets and string quartets. His love of the orchestra led him to take part in symphonic ensembles such as the Verbier Festival Orchestra and the Swedish National Youth Orchestra. He recently completed his Master of Music in Performance Degree with Louise Hopkins as his professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Jesper Alm

Flute teacher, practical musician

Jesper Alm, born in southern Sweden, started singing from a young age. Started playing the flute at the age of 10, soon delved deeper in to world of music, with music theory and piano studies. Was accepted to the prestigious music school, Lilla Akademien in Stockholm at the age 15. Moved from home ready to explore his love for music, earning Selma Music’s scholarship for promising young musicians. Attend to masterclasses with Göran Marcusson and Gitte Marcusson, which in turn led him to Vänersborg where he continued study under their tutelage. While also working taking on students of his own. Experienced flute teacher, theoretical and practical musician. As both a soloist, chamber musician and in orchestras, Jesper has performed at concert venues in Italy, the UK, Norway, Denmark and around Sweden. He has participated in Masterclasses with prominent flutist such as Adam Walker, Göran Marcusson, Cecilie Løken and Jan Bengtsson

Kristoffer Siggstedt

Trombonist

Grew up in a musician’s home in Söderhamn, Sweden. Started playing the trombone as a seven year-old and later also the tuba and bass trombone. He went to the Royal College of Music in Stockholm at the department of classical music for five years, under prof. Sven-Eric Ericsson, Håkan Björkman and prof. Michael Lind. He is active orchestra and chamber musician both in studios and live performer. During his years as a freelancer he played among other Stockholm Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Norrbotten Big Band, Stockholm JazzOrchestra and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Because of his broadness in genre he had the opportunity to be a part of the Stockholm musical scene in productions at the Theaters in Stockholm.

Emma Johansson

Pianist, International Competition Winners

Emma Johansson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1993. She started playing the piano at the age of 6 through the Suzuki piano school. After studying the piano with Anna Simon, Thomas Rydfeldt and Mikael Kanarva, Emma was awarded her Bachelor’s degree with Bernt Wilhelmsson as her main teacher at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg. She was accepted to the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Royal College of Music, Edsberg Manor in Stockholm, where she finished her Master’s under the guidance of Professor Mats Widlund in 2017. She is a prize winner of the Swedish Steinway Competition and has received scholarships from the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Swedish Freemasonry. In addition, she has also been awarded the Anders Sandrew Scholarship for promising musicians as well as the Fredrika Bremer Music Scholarship.

Olivia Lundberg

Violinist

Olivia Lundberg (born 1992) comes from Stockholm and started playing the violin when she was 4 years old. She studied with Ulla Magnusson and prof. Henryk Kowalski at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and with prof. Elise Båtnes at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Since 2016 Olivia is doing her master studies in orchestral playing in Stockholm, with Bartosz Cajler. Olivia has participated in many international courses both in Europe and United States. She is frequently having masterclasses with prof. Ulf Wallin (Hans Eisler, Berlin) and she also participated in masterclasses with famous pedagoges, among those Mimi Zweig, Federico Agostini, Vilde Frang, Detlef Hahn and Almita Vamos. Olivia has been awarded scholarship from the Royal Musical Academy twice , in 2011 and 2016.

Mirjam Mesak

Estonian Soprano

Estonian soprano Mirjam Mesak was born in 1990 in Tallinn and graduated in 2006 from The Music School of Tallinn, playing the piano under the tutelage of Heli Taar. She received her Bachelors’ degree in voice from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with a First Class Honours in 2016 and is now continuing her studies on the Guildhall Artist Masters Programme, under the tutelage of Prof. Rudolf Piernay. At Guildhall, Mirjam has worked with the finest singers and coaches including Graham Johnson, Sarah Walker, Eugene Asti, Julius Drake, Stephan Loges, Amanda Roocroft. Mirjam has performed as a soloist in several of London’s renowned concert halls such the Barbican Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall (including as part of the LSO’s This is Rattle festival), and Wigmore Hall where she premièred new work by Guildhall composers and writers.

【Video Submitting Requirements】

The video should be recorded in landscape orientation. The contestants' face (piano players shall keep the right side of the face and feet visible) , hands, arms and instruments shall be recorded clearly. The camara should stay in a fixed position to maintain the same posture and orientation, and avoid environmental noise.
Piano accompaniment can be used for instrumental and vocal performance. Please note that your accompanist should also be filmed and its voice should not be too loud. External microphones can be used if necessary.
Participants may submit up to two pieces within the time limit for its category and may record them separately or merged.
No editing, no splicing, no filtering, no tuning, no special effects of the video is allowed. The video must be recorded in good quality.
The videos must be recorded within 1 year. The file size should not exceed 1G. Sound and picture shall be synchronized. Video shall be named after Category + Name.
The contestant should send the video recording and score named after "category + name" to our email nimc@seedasdan.org before March 12, 2024.