The Rules

1. The Veronica Dunne Bursary is open to Irish singers resident in Ireland or abroad, and also to singers of any nationality who are resident or studying in Ireland.

2. Applicants must be born on or after February 1st, 1992.

3. There is a non-refundable application fee of €30.

4. Applications can be made through YAP Tracker – you do not need to be a paying subscriber to YAP Tracker to use the application form, although you will need an account (guest accounts are available; see the website for details). Registration can be completed at www.yaptracker.com. Applicants must submit a recent video recording of two contrasting arias, a CV showing relevant training / experience and a reference from a professional musician. These applications will be assessed by an artistic panel and up to 30 singers will be invited to compete in the live rounds.

5. Live Rounds
1st Round on 8th December 2023: Singers to sing two contrasting operatic arias, not to exceed 10 minutes in total.
2nd Round on 9th December 2023: Up to ten singers will be admitted to the 2nd round. This round will consist of an interview with the international jury and a performance of two arias, one of which can have been sung in the first round.
The arias in the video recording CAN be repeated in the live rounds.

6. All arias must be performed from memory and in the original language and key.

7. An official accompanist will be available. Singers may bring their own accompanist if they wish.

8. All singers must provide a copy of the music for the official accompanist.

9. Strict adherence to time limits must be observed.

10. The order of the performances will be determined by ballot.

11. Singers who are not available to perform when called upon to do so by the jury may be disqualified.

12. The decisions of the jury will be final and beyond appeal and the jury may award or withhold any prize as deemed fit.

13. There is a bursary fund of €10,000 which will be distributed at the discretion of the jury.

14. The distribution of the awards will reflect the jury’s assessment of each recipient’s needs.

15. The recipients of the bursaries will be expected to sing at one of the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition fundraising events throughout 2024 and/or 2025.

16. Deadline for applications via YAP Tracker: Friday November 24th, 11.59pm.