How Perth Eisteddfods Are Judged and Scored
At a Perth eisteddfod, qualified adjudicators assess each performance live, then provide every participant with a written personal report covering technique, interpretation and presentation. Prizes, medallions and championship titles are awarded based on those assessments across categories including piano, strings, singing, instrumental and speech and drama. Understanding the process before you enter helps performers prepare with the right focus.
What do adjudicators actually look for in a performance?
Adjudicators assess a combination of technical accuracy, musical or dramatic interpretation, and stage presence. No single factor alone wins a competition; in eisteddfod judging generally, interpretive choices and communicative intent are considered alongside technical execution, not separate from it.
In practical terms, a vocalist is typically assessed on intonation, breath control and engagement with the text. A pianist is assessed on articulation, dynamics and rhythmic steadiness. A speech and drama competitor is judged on clarity, characterisation and physical command of the space. Each discipline has its own weighting, but the broad principle across eisteddfod adjudication is consistent: deliberate interpretive choices matter, not just rehearsed accuracy.
Does every competitor receive feedback, or only prize winners?
Every performer at the North of Perth Music Festival receives a personal written report from the adjudicator, regardless of placing. This applies across all age groups and all categories.
That feedback is one of the most practical reasons to enter, especially for younger students or first time competitors. A written adjudicator report gives a teacher something concrete to work with in the weeks after the festival, and it gives a student an outside perspective they cannot get from their regular lessons. The report covers what was done well and what to develop, phrased to be constructive rather than merely comparative.
How are championship titles and the Most Outstanding Performance decided?
Championship titles are awarded within categories, for example the Piano Open Championship or the Strings Open Championship, based on the highest assessed eligible performances in those sections. The Most Outstanding Performance is selected from across all categories and disciplines.
At the North of Perth Music Festival, Zenith Music sponsors a $2,500 cash prize for the Most Outstanding Performance, which is the festival's top individual award. In 2025, the Overall Outstanding Performance went to Hale Bravura Quartet, while category championships were taken by Jeffrey Shield in Piano Open and Raphael Yong in Strings Open. Heath Ledger won the Most Outstanding Speech and Drama Item at the 1995 festival; Lisa McCune won the Ladies Vocal Championship in 1990. The full list of outstanding winners shows how consistently the award identifies performers who go on to significant careers.
Are marks given as numbers, or is it purely a ranking?
Eisteddfod festivals use a range of marking approaches, and the specific scheme is set by each festival's organising committee. Some use numerical scores; others use award level descriptors. The method can also differ between disciplines within the same festival.
Because marking practices vary, the most reliable thing a teacher or parent can do is contact the festival directly before competition day to understand how results will be communicated. The North of Perth Music Festival can be reached on 0409 292 876 or at northofperthmusicfestival@yahoo.com.au with any questions about how assessments work in a particular category.
What is the difference between a class prize and a championship?
A class prize is awarded within a specific age or grade section, for example Junior Strings Solo. A championship draws the highest assessed performers from multiple related classes and names a single winner across that broader category.
This means a competitor can win their class without winning the championship, and the championship winner is not necessarily the student who won every class they entered. Encouragement awards, like the Encouragement Award Junior that went to Karin Yorozu and Lily Sawyer in 2025, recognise performers who showed exceptional promise or significant improvement rather than the highest result overall. The Encouragement Award Senior in 2025 also went to Raphael Yong, recognising his performance across the strings sections.
Does the audience affect the result through a People's Choice Award?
Yes. At the North of Perth Music Festival, a People's Choice Award is given separately at both junior and senior levels, voted on by the audience rather than the adjudicator. In 2025, St. Mark's Viva Ritmo Voices took the Junior People's Choice and James Giuffre the Senior.
This award sits completely outside the adjudicated assessment and does not affect any other prize. It does, however, reward performers who connect with a live audience, which is a distinct skill from technical proficiency and worth developing in its own right.
What prizes are on offer beyond the Most Outstanding Performance?
Across the festival, $11,000 in prize money is distributed, alongside gold medallions, trophies and certificates at various levels. The $2,500 Most Outstanding Performance prize from Zenith Music is the largest single award, but prizes are spread across categories so performers at all ages and skill levels have a realistic target.
The 2025 festival also recognised outstanding work in specific categories: Outstanding Junior Vocalist went to Arini Paul, Outstanding Senior Vocalist to Anthony Ottobrino, Outstanding Junior Instrumentalist and Outstanding Junior Strings Solo both to Joshua Woods, and Outstanding Senior Instrumentalist to Mike Jin. Outstanding Speech and Drama was awarded to Sage Longton. The breadth of these awards reflects the festival's aim of recognising achievement across every discipline it covers.
What does this mean for how you prepare?
Knowing that adjudicators provide individual written feedback regardless of outcome changes how a performer and their teacher can approach competition day. The goal is not only to win a prize but to receive a specific, independent assessment that can guide the next phase of study.
Performing in front of a live audience before the festival is also worth planning for, since stage presence is part of how performances are assessed and a practice room run through does not replicate the experience of performing for a room. Understanding whether your session includes a People's Choice vote is useful too, since engaging the audience is a different preparation from preparing for adjudication alone.
The festival has been running since 1957 and draws participants from across the Perth metropolitan area. Reading the personal report you receive after your session carefully is one of the most direct ways to use the experience, and many teachers build the feedback into lessons for weeks after the competition concludes.
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