Rules

The Competition is open to all Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Status documents, valid for the duration of the competition, are required to be eligible for the semi-final and final rounds;
The Competition is not open to winners of a Grand Prize or First Prize from a previous edition of the OSM Competition;
It is the responsibility of candidates to ensure that their program complies with all of the Competition’s repertoire requirements. Failure to meet these requirements will result in disqualification of the application.
By registering, candidates agree to abide by all the conditions of the Competition and the decisions made by the committee and the jury, which will be final and without appeal;
The Competition is not open to Orchestre symphonique de Montréal musicians;
Throughout the Competition, any direct or indirect contact between a candidate and jury members is prohibited;
Candidates who fail to comply with any of the Competition’s regulations are subject to disqualification without appeal.

Ages 16 to 25 as of the Final Round of the Competition.

Ages 16 to 30 as of the Final Round of the Competition.

Ages 16 to 25 as of the Final Round of the Competition.

Ages 16 to 30 as of the Final Round of the Competition.

Ages 16 to 25 as of the Final of the Competition.

Ages 16 to 25 as of the Final of the Competition.

The Competition comprises three rounds: preliminary, semifinal and final. In the final round, candidates will peform alongside the OSM.

For the string and piano editions of the OSM Competition, a J.S. Bach round is added to the program.

For the semifinal and final rounds, performance order will be determined by random draw;
A performance may be interrupted at the discretion of the jury;
The semifinal, J.S. Bach and final rounds will be performed in front of an audience.

Recordings that include orchestral accompaniment are not permitted;
It is allowed to record in separate takes the various works required, but the recording of each work must be made without editing between movements or parts of the same work;
Each take must be filmed with a single fixed camera (horizontally if filmed with a phone or tablet) and the musician must take up as much space as possible in the image. The candidate’s face and upper body must be visible at all time.

Candidates may modify their repertoire or the order of works provided they notify the Competition before September 4, 2026;
The maximum permitted time for the round includes entrances and exits as well as time between pieces.

The repertoire selection for the final round must be confirmed at the time of registration;
In the interest of fairness among the competitors, no changes will be allowed after the repertoire has been submitted.

Candidates must cover their own accommodation; the Competition does not cover, nor reimburse, these costs;
Candidates agree to be free from all professional and academic commitments, other than Competition events, for the duration of the Competition, that is, from November 9 to 14, 2026 inclusively;
Semifinalists must be present for the Competition launch, the announcement of the finalists and the awards ceremony;
Semi-formal dress is required for all official Competition events as well as for all performances in front of an audience.

The jury reserves the right not to award a prize;
The jury will determine the winners for various prizes. Their decision is final and cannot be appealed;
The OSM Competition reserves the right to modify the body of the rules at any time and without notice.

Applies only to the string, woodwind and brass, and voice editions of the OSM Competition.

Requests to have an official pianist assigned by the Competition must be made at the time of application.
Each pianist will provide a total of two (2) hours of rehearsal per semifinalist, in addition to accompaniment during the semifinal performance;
Any extra rehearsal time will be at the candidate’s expense and may be arranged directly with the pianist;
To ensure fairness and avoid potential conflicts of interest, the Competition will choose and assign official pianists. Semifinalists are not permitted to choose their own official pianist, and official pianists cannot choose their semifinalists;
Official pianists are required to accompany exclusively the semifinalists assigned to them by the OSM Competition and cannot act as personal pianists for any other semifinalists.

Candidates are free to perform with their own pianist, at their own expense;
A rehearsal room with piano will be made available to candidates for the same number of hours, whether they arrive with a personal pianist or make use of the services of an official Competition pianist.