BICEC Rules and Policies

1. Boston Int'l Chorus & Ensemble Competition

Categories: 1-Chorus, 2-Ensemble & Orchestra

Age Codes: Contestant ages are 5 to 35

      A - Elementary (Age 5-10)

      B - Junior (Age 11-14)

      C - Senior (Age 15-18)

      D1 - Young Artist (Age 19-35): Non-Music Major

      D2 - Young Artist (Age 19-35): Music Major

There are 10 groups among the 2 categories. 

Eligibility: 

• BICEC welcomes choruses & orchestras of all nationalities with members of age from 5 up to 35 as of the date of March 15th, 2026
• Please select the correct group in your application and pay the appropriate fee based on the number of the team members
• One team can only submit ONE application each year
• Each application must submit just ONE video for the competition
• Chorus or orchestra from a music college level school or from a professional music organization must choose the category D2 -Music Major

BICEC Competition Schedule: Competition results for all rounds will be available timely in the "Competitions" channel on this website.

• 3/15/2026 Sunday, Online - BICEC Round 1 Preliminary Round Application Deadline (Application Fee applies) .
• 4/6/2026 Monday, Online - BICEC Round 1 Competition Announcement: Video evaluations yield BICEC Finalists, the Finalists in every age group for all categories are invited to the final round on-site competition in Boston MA, USA.
• 4/12/2026 Sunday, Application Fee for BICEC Final Round Competition is due - and if not being able to participate the Final Round in person, please submit your final round video. Only BICEC Finalists are eligible to this Final Round Competition.
• 4/18/2026 Saturday 12PM noon-5PM EST, Cary Hall, Lexington MA - BICEC Final Round On-Site Competitions for all categories will proceed from 12PM-5PM EST. Any finalist who could not come on site will need to submit a required video BEFORE April 12th, 2026. The Gold First, Silver Second and Bronze Third Position Winners will be announced on the BIECE Awards Ceremony on 4/19/2026. Dress Code: Stage Performance
• 4/19/2026 Sunday 2PM-5PM EST, Cary Hall, Lexington MA - BICEC Winners' Concert & Awards Ceremony, free to contestants. Open to Public. The Gold First Position Winners for all groups will perform on the concert, but the Silver Second Position Winners may perform if the Gold First Position Winners are not present, and so on, RULES APPLY. 
• 7/19/2026 Sunday 7PM-9PM EST, Boston MA - BIMC & BICEC Reception Dinner.  All Judges and Finalists are invited to the BIMC & BICEC Reception Dinner in the evening at a reserved beautiful restaurant. Location will be noticed to the finalists.
• 7/20/2026 Monday noon-6PM EST, Boston MA - Music College Exploration Tour. Open to Registered Contestants and family members. Comprehensive tours to Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, New England Conservatory of Music and downtown of Boston.
• 7/21/2026 Tuesday 10AM-6PM EST, Boston MA - Ivy League University Exploration Tour. Open to Registered Contestants and family members. Comprehensive tours to Harvard University, MIT and Boston College. Seminar for Music College and Ivy League University Application. 
• 7/22 - 7/24/2026 Wednesday to Friday 10AM-4PM EST, Boston MA - Masterclasses with Judges for Voice, Piano, String, Woodwind, Brass. Open to Registered Contestants ONLY. Masterclasses will be run simultaneously in different classrooms, 20 mins ~ 30 mins per session for every registered contestant.
• 7/25/2026 Saturday 2PM-9PM EST, Boston, MA - WeStar Music Festival: (1) BIMC & BICEC contestant concert at 2PM, (2) Judge & Guest Musician Concert at 7PM, both free to contestants.  Open to Public. 

Rules for the Performance of the Winners' Concert:

• BICEC has a total of 10 competition groups for categories and ages. In principle, the Gold Medalist of each competition group will perform on stage. If the Gold Medalist of the competition group is vacant, the Silver Medalist will perform on stage; if the Silver Medalist is vacant, the Bronze Medalist will perform on stage; if the Bronze Medalist is vacant, the winner with the highest score in the Outstanding Achievement Award of the same competition group will perform on stage. In case of the same score, the contestant who came from afar will be given priority to perform on stage.
• The BIMC Executive Committee may also invite famous musicians to perform on the same stage from time to time.
• For the outstanding Gold Medalists (final score above 95) who could not participate in the on-site finals, if the quality of their entry video is excellent, it can be considered to play the video of the Gold Medalist at the concert for encouragement.

Repertoire and Video Requirements:

• Every team can choose their music piece to compete, no matter classical or contemporary music. Only one piece of music is needed in every round of the competition.
• Every piece of music should be no more than 8 minutes. For Music Major (D2) participants, music should be no more than 12 mins.
• Videos should be in MP4 format and no more than 800MB each
• Videos must be in original recording from ONE camera angle with good lighting and may not be edited or modified in any way
• Videos must show all of the team members. Instrument performers must show the whole or major portion of the instrument
• Vocalists may wear headphones while recording but need to show at least the top half of their bodies and any microphones
• If you have accompanists, the pianist or the principal accompanist must be shown in the video
• Any video applications that are suspected of foul play will be asked to re-take and resubmit their applications, including repaying the application fees
• Videos must be recorded after January 1, 2025
• Video submission should be a web link of Youtube or Bilibili. Video files/titles must be named in a format as "Your Full Name_Category_Age Code_Music Title". Example:  John Smith_Piano_Age Code B_Chopin Ballade No 1 in G minor Op 23
• Dress Code: formal

Application and Fees: 

To avoid over payment for some of the contestants who might not proceed to the next round, we choose a fee strategy of splitting the competition fees to each round rather than a flat fee to everyone for the entire competition. It may seem tedious, but we believe it is more fair to the contestants in every round of the competition.

When you make the payments, please make sure to choose the right Team Size, based on the exact number of your team members, and keep "1" in the "Quantity" box to ensure the correct amount for the team. Please click here for the payment and application.  

• Round 1 Preliminary Application Fee, due on 3/15/2026

1. Team (5-10 members): US$600 /Team
2. Team (11 - 20 members): US$1,000 /Team
3. Team (21 - 30 members): US$1,500 /Team
4. Team (31+ members): US$1,800 /Team

• Round 2 Final Round Application Fee, due on 4/12/2026 

1. Team (5-10 members): US$600 /Team
2. Team (11 - 20 members): US$1,000 /Team
3. Team (21 - 30 members): US$1,500 /Team
4. Team (31+ members): US$1,800 /Team

            (*Scholarship: No Final Round Application Fee to College Student D1 or D2 Teams)

• 4/18/2026 Saturday 12PM noon-5PM EST, Cary Hall, Lexington MA - BICEC R2 Final Round On-Site Competitions for all categories will proceed simultaneously from 12PM-5PM EST. 
• 4/19/2026 Sunday 2PM-5PM EST, Cary Hall, Lexington MA - BICEC Winners' Concert & Awards Ceremony, free to contestants. Open to Public. 
• 7/19/2026 at 7PM, BIMC & BICEC Reception Dinner: This event is limited to BIMC & BICEC contestants and family members for an entrance ticket of $75 /person. Please click for tickets.
• 7/20 - 7/21/2025 from 10AM-6PM, Music College + Ivy League University Exploration Tour: Open to Registered Contestants and family members. Package Price US$280 /student to cover staff, tour transportation, tour guide and fees. Parents & friends for Two-day School Exploration cost $200 /person. Click here to BOOK your space.  
• 7/22 - 7/24/2025 from 10AM-4PM, Three-Day Masterclasses with Judges for Voice, Piano, String, Woodwind, Brass: Open to Registered Contestants ONLY. Package Price US$680 /student to cover professor and staff, venue and fees. Click here to BOOK your space. 
• 7/25/2026 Saturday 2PM-9PM EST, Boston, MA - WeStar Music Festival: (1) BIMC & BICEC contestant concert at 2PM, (2) Judge & Guest Musician Concert at 7PM, both free to contestants.  Open to Public. 

BICEC Award Certificates and Prizes:

• Gold First Place Winners in every age group of Non-Music Major (A, B, C, or D1) for all categories will receive Certificates, Gold Plaque and $1000/Team prize awards
• Gold First Place Winners in the age groups of Music Major (D2) for all categories will receive Certificates, Gold Plaque and $1500/Team prize awards
• Silver Second Place Winners in every age group for all categories will receive Certificates and Silver Plaque awards
• Bronze Third Place Winners in every age group for all categories will receive Certificates and Bronze Plaque awards
• Outstanding Achievement Award (Finalists) and Honorable Award Winners in every age group for all categories will receive Certificates only

Other Award Certificates：

• The team Conductors or Music Directors of the first three position winners will receive Certificates of Excellent Music Education
• The schools or studios of the first three position winners will receive Certificates of Excellent Music Organization