Accompaniment – A musical part that supports a solo, or group of instruments or voices. It is usually played on the piano or guitar.
Adults – For the purposes of this competition Adults are 29 years of age and over and must be amateurs.
Advanced Level – Competitors between the ages of 19-28 as of December 31, 2023, inclasses by age rather than levels.
Amateur – A person whose principal means of livelihood is not obtained from the performance of music in the discipline in which they are competing.
A professional shall be defined as an individual performing in a professional show or earning significant income (over $5000 for adults and over $1000 for children up to 18 years) from performing or teaching music, privately or in the school system. Musicians who are full membersof Actra, Equity or the Musician’s Union are considered to be professional. A competitor who qualifies as a professional in one class (i.e. strings) may qualify as an amateur in other classes(i.e. voice or piano).
ARCT/ACCM – The diploma level directly after Level 10 in either the RCM or CC syllabi.
Chamber Ensemble – Any combination of orchestral instruments playing standard chamber repertoire comprising 3-5 players with individual parts. May include piano and one voice singer. Selections may not be from popular music idioms or genres.
Class – Each section is sub-divided typically by age or grade level or some other specific criterion.
Concert Bands – A group of musicians playing brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.
Conservatory – An educational institution that specializes in teaching music and publishes lists of repertoires (syllabi) for their exams. RCM – Refers to the Royal Conservatory of Music. CC – Refers to Conservatory Canada Music.
Contrasting Music is selections that are different time periods, styles, tempo, languages, key signatures, and composers. For musical theatre, contrasting selections would be ballad, up-tempo, different eras, and different composers.
Discipline – A discipline is a particular area of music or study. Examples are Band, Choir, Piano, Voice, etc.
Diploma Level – Classes that are offered for competitors who are studying but have not completed the Associate Diploma at the Conservatory Associate Level as of December 31st, 2023. Note: for Provincials competitors who have been studying at Diploma level for 2 years or more will have to compete at the Open level. The RCM diploma is called ARCT. The CC diploma is called ACCM.
Disqualification – Competitors who do not comply with the KKMF rules and regulations will be disqualified.
Graded Level – Applies to RCM and CC levels/grades from preparatory level to level 10 and Diploma.
Hand-Held Props – Items used onstage by the performer that can be held in their hands, e.g. brush, wand, mirror scarf.
OMFA – Ontario Music Festivals Association is the umbrella body of forty local member festivals in the province of Ontario.
Open – Classes that are offered for competitors who are performing at the ARCT Music level or above but do not have to have attained their associate diploma. For Musical Theatre, Open refers to competitors between the ages of 16 and 28 performing at an exceptional level.
Section – Each discipline is subdivided into sections by number of performers, type of organization (e.g. school, community), type of music, etc.
Symphony Orchestras – groups comprised of string, wind, brass, and percussion sections.