How to prepare your choir for a competition
A week-by-week plan for choirmasters: reading the rules, choosing two songs, rehearsing to the marks, and running the last week before a choir competition.
On this page
In short
- Four criteria, 25 marks each, 100 per judge: intonation and blend, musicality, diction and language, presentation.
- Write the criteria down and give them to every choir before the day.
- Each judge marks alone. Add the sheets up after, and publish every mark.
The four criteria at a glance
Most choir competitions mark on three to five things. We use four, weighted equally, so no single strength can carry a choir that is weak everywhere else. Each judge scores every choir out of 25 on each criterion, for a total of 100 per judge.
| Criterion | What the judges listen for | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Intonation and blend | Singing in tune, as one choir | 25 |
| Musicality | Dynamics, phrasing, tempo — what the choir does with the song | 25 |
| Diction and language | Words the room can hear, in whatever language you sing | 25 |
| Presentation | Entrances, focus, discipline and how you hold the stage | 25 |
| Total per judge | 100 |
Intonation and blend
This is the first thing a judge hears and the hardest thing to hide. Intonation is whether each part sits on the pitch; blend is whether the parts sound like one choir rather than a row of soloists. A choir can sing loudly and confidently and still lose marks here if the altos drift sharp or one voice pokes out of the texture.
What helps: rehearse the hardest chords slowly and unaccompanied, and record your rehearsals so the choir can hear what the judges will hear.
Musicality
Musicality is what the choir does with the song, not just whether the notes are right. Judges listen for contrast in dynamics, phrases that go somewhere, a tempo that suits the words and endings that are placed on purpose. Two choirs can sing the same arrangement accurately and score very differently here.
Diction and language
If the room can't follow the words, the song loses half its meaning. We mark diction in whatever language the choir sings — English, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Latin or a mix — so no language is an advantage. Consonants at the ends of words and clean vowels across the section matter most.
Presentation
Presentation covers everything the audience sees: how the choir walks on and settles, where eyes are during the song, and how discipline holds when something goes wrong. It is not about costume budgets. A choir in its own wax print, standing still and singing to the room, can take full marks.
How the marking should work on the day
- Publish the criteria and the sheet to every choir before the competition.
- Judges mark independently, on paper, without conferring.
- A judge doesn't mark a choir they train or belong to.
- Read each choir's marks out after it sings.
- Publish the full sheet — every judge, every criterion — the same day.
At FSN Voices, both judges are named by 14 November 2026 and every mark goes up the evening of 5 December.
Questions choirmasters ask
What are the criteria for judging a choir competition?
Most competitions use three to five. FSN Voices uses four, at 25 marks each: intonation and blend, musicality, diction and language, and presentation.
How many judges does a choir competition need?
At least two, marking independently, so no single opinion decides the result. FSN Voices uses two.
Should choir competition marks be published?
Yes. Choirs trust a result they can check. We read marks out on the day and publish the full sheet the same evening.
Last checked 29 September 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email info@futurestarnetwork.com.