Structure

The EMCY General Assembly gathers, in general, every two years in a different European country at the invitation of an EMCY Member Competition. The next General Assembly will be in Vilnius (Lithuania), September 2024.

Recent General Assemblies have been held in:

• 2022 – Bonn (Germany); Deutscher Musikrat & Jugend Musiziert
• 2020 – Online due to COVID-19
• 2018 – Luxembourg (Luxembourg); Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes & European Competition for Young Soloists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)
• 2016 – Vilnius (Lithuania); National Lithuanian Balys Dvarionas Piano & String Competition, the International Balys Dvarionas Competition for Young Pianists and the International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)
• 2014 – Luxembourg (Luxembourg); Concours Luxembourgeois pour Jeunes Solistes & European Competition for Young Soloists (and INTER-NATIONAL net_works+)
• 2012 – Ohrid (Macedonia); International Competition for Young Musicians ‘Ohrid Pearls’

Preamble

The European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) is a Europe-wide network of nearly fifty national and international music competitions for young people. Since its foundation in Brussels in 1970, the EMCY develops, co-ordinates, and maintains a system of music competitions in nearly thirty countries, from Portugal to Russia and from Norway to Macedonia, that is a vehicle to promote and inspire young musicians. Every year, thousands of musicians under the age of 25 take part in our member competitions.

We believe that music competitions stimulate passionate musicianship. For many, they are a first opportunity to perform in public, play in ensembles, or of break out of the orthodox repertoire. They foster a sense of healthy self-assessment, fight stage fright, and establish a motivation to practice. We believe music competitions are a wonderful opportunity for young people to be inspired by experiencing contemporary interpretations and discovering new works, and make new friends from other European cultures in the process.

For us, competitions are not the end of the learning process, they are the beginning. Therefore, EMCY promotes the laureates (under 25 years) of its member competitions. After every edition the member competitions can propose EMCY one prize winner (for member competition, taking place every year or every 2 years) or two prize winners (for member competition, taking place every 3 year or every 4 years), which EMCY promotes through online profiles on its website. Furthermore EMCY arranges tours and concerts for them, and sends them to master classes to further develop their talents. All EMCY member competitions have the opportunity to award a special prize from the EMCY for an exceptional performance at their competition. The EMCY and its members reach a broad and young audience with its various projects.  These projects serve to foster music, music education, and musical practice for young people.

EMCY represents music competitions worldwide, cooperating with organisations such as the European and International Music Councils. We offer our member competitions the opportunity to network and share educational, practical, and musical know-how. Through our Quality Standards we uphold fairness in our competitions, as well as help new competitions build up their scope, ambitions, and results.

EMCY is a non-profit organisation registered under German Law and has its headquarters in Munich (Germany). It is run by an international board, which is elected every four years the General Assembly.

1. Name, Legal Status and Registered Office

1. The Association bears the name “Europäische Union der Musikwettbewerbe für die Jugend – European Union of Music Competitions for Youth – EMCY – e.V.” (Union européenne des concours de musique pour la Jeunesse), henceforth abbreviated to EMCY. EMCY is an international association in the legal form of an association according to German law and is registered under the number VR 16803 at the Munich Register of Associations.
2. EMCY has its legal seat in Munich.
3. The Association works only and directly for non-profit purposes within the meaning of “tax-privileged purposes” of  § 52 Abs. 1 and Abs.2, Nr. 5 Abgabenordnung (regulation of taxation).
4. The funds of the Association may only be used for statutory purposes. The members receive no contribution from the funds of the Association. No person may be favored through expenditure unrelated to the purposes of the Association or through disproportionately high payments.
5. The Association’s work is not for profit. It does not pursue aims primarily serving its own economic interest.
6. The works of EMCY are regulated by the following rules of procedure:

6.1. Internal regulation for admission and exclusion of members;

6.2. Quality Standards for the member competitions;

6.3. Regulation for the organization of EMCYs projects.

2. Aims and Tasks

1. The aim of the Association is the development and promotion of pre-professional musical education of young talents up to the age of 25 as well as fostering cooperation and exchanges for music competitions for youth on the European level.The Association serves the support and promotion of:

• art and culture,
• and  the formation and training of young musicians.

2. The statutory aims are realized primarily through:

2.1. Recommending prize winners of the member competitions to worldwide projects to accomplish the purpose of the statutes.

2.2. Carrying out projects of EMCY as well as supporting the projects of its members such as concerts, tours, master classes and workshops for the further educational care and for the artistic as well as personal development of competition participants. By doing so EMCY promotes the transnational mobility and international experience of competition participants, their audience development particularly with young people, an extended cooperation between young composers and young musicians as well as training in digital media. These projects organised on a non-profit basis, serve the support of music, music education, and musical practice of young people.

2.3. Content and technical support for members organising a European competition, the European Music Prize for Youth, for prize winners of national youth music competitions which should take place every year in a different European country.

2.4. Supporting and advising competition organisers in all European countries. This support is for members and non-profit competitions which are based upon music-educational principles, firm quality, and which take into account the interests of young musicians. All disciplines and musical styles are included.

2.5. Applying, maintaining and promoting the EMCY Quality Standards.

2.6. Development and cultivation of a network of organisers of youth music competitions through the organisation of conferences and workshops in order to facilitate cooperation and exchange of music-educational experiences, the support of bi- and multilateral cooperation between member competitions and the cooperation between EMCY and other European networks.

2.7. Stimulating interest from the responsible national and European authorities, and of the public, for music-education and musical training issues as well as for the great benefit of music competitions and  for the promotion and support of particularly talented young people.

2.8. Representing the particular interests of music competitions for youth in national and international organizations.

3. Members

1. Members of EMCY are persons of legal capacity.
2. There are the following kinds of membership of EMCY: ordinary members, individual members and honorary members.

2.1. Ordinary Members are legal or natural persons which regularly organise on a national and/or international level in Europe music competitions for children and young people up to the age of 25 years.

2.2. Individual members are the members of the Board by virtue of the office.

2.3. Honorary members can be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Board as recognition of special services.

3. Acceptance and termination of membership

3.1. The Board makes decisions about the admission of new ordinary members after consulting the ordinary EMCY members, according to the Internal Regulations for the Admission and Exclusion of EMCY Member Competitions.

3.2. Membership comes to an end due to the withdrawal or end of activities of a member at the end of the calendar year. The notice of withdrawal must be communicated by the official representative of the competition in writing to the EMCY office by 1st October.

3.3. The Board makes decisions about the exclusion of ordinary members due to severe violation of the aims, statutes, decisions, Quality Standards and interests of the Association. It is possible to appeal against the exclusion to the internal disciplinary committee of the Association. The decision of the disciplinary committee is final. The procedure is determined by internal regulations.

4. Organs

The organs of the association are the:

• General Assembly
• Board
• Honorary Committee
• Disciplinary Committee

5. General Assembly

1. The ordinary members constitute the General Assembly. This is the highest body of EMCY and usually meets every two years.
2. The General Assembly is to be convened by the Board in writing at the latest 2 months in advance stating the items of the agenda.
3. The General Assembly constitutes a quorum, irrespective of the number of members present, when all members have been accordingly invited.
4. Decisions require a simple majority of votes. Decisions regarding statutory changes and the dissolution of the Association must be announced in the agenda sent with the invitation and require a majority of ¾ of the votes.
5. Each ordinary member has one vote. Each ordinary member decides upon the delegate which exercises this vote. Each ordinary member can vote on behalf of one further member. The proxy must be presented to the office in writing. Each member of the Board has one vote as individual member. Each person with voting powers can exercise a maximum of three votes.
6. Tasks of the General Assembly are:

6.1. Election of the Board

6.2. Statutory changes

6.3. Decisions about priorities of the work program

6.4. Approval of the activity and financial reports

6.5. Approval of the annual financial statements and of the budget

6.6. Discharge of the Board

6.7. Election of auditors

6.8. Election of disciplinary committee

6.9. Determination of the amount of membership fees

6.10. Nomination and admission of personalities in the Honorary Committee

6.11. Establishment of working groups

6.12. Appointment of honorary members

7. The General Assembly can issue internal regulations in which further tasks and procedures are determined.

6. Board

1. The Board is made up of five members:

1.1. President

1.2. Two Vice-Presidents, one from the area of national, one from the area of international competitions

1.3. Two further persons as Board Members, one from the area of national, one from the area of international competitions

2. The Board is elected for four years and remains in office until the election of a new Board. If a Board Member resigns during their period of office, the next Board Member in line in this area (national/international competitions) succeeds them. If the President resigns, the remaining Board Members decide which of the Vice-Presidents take on the office of the President. In order to be able to replace the position of a Board Member (who has succeeded a Vice-President or resigned), the General Assembly elects two replacement Board Members, one for the national and one for the international area. The next General Assembly re-elects the vacant positions which were temporarily occupied by the successors. If the successors are not confirmed in their new positions at this reelection, they take up again their previous offices.
3. The President and the Vice-Presidents are the Executive Board according to §26 of the German Civil Code and thereby is an individual judicial and extrajudicial representative of the Association.
4. The Board can appoint a Secretary General, and if necessary a deputy, and delegate tasks to him/her. In this case the Secretary General is a special representative of the Association according to § 30 of the German Civil Code and administrates the ongoing affairs of EMCY. He or she is entitled to enter into engagements in the frame of the budget. His or her tasks encompass all transactions associated with the normal undertakings and field of activity of EMCY except for transactions which exceed the agreed budget or the assets of the Association.
5. The tasks of the Board include:

5.1. Realisation of the decisions of the General Assembly

5.2. Preparation, convocation and leadership of the General Assembly.

5.3. Decisions about the finances in the framework of the budget

5.4. Public relations

5.5. Establishing contacts and representation

5.6. Supervision of the Honorary Committee

5.7. Decisions about the location of the office

6. Further tasks and procedures are regulated by the internal regulations of the Board.

7. Honorary Committee

The General Assembly can establish an Honorary Committee. Further tasks and procedures are regulated by the internal regulations.

8. Disciplinary Committee

The General Assembly forms a disciplinary committee which is composed of three persons (members or external) who are elected for four years. The disciplinary committee is responsible for appeals against Association penalties, in particular against exclusion decisions (see § 3 Nr.3.3).

 9. General

1. The financial year is the calendar year.
2. The audit is carried out by auditors elected by the General Assembly.
3. The Board Members are liable in legal transactions for the Association only with the funds of the Association.
4. Each member competition is autonomous and responsible for its own activities and for the financing of its own projects.
5. Decisions of meetings are to be minuted and signed by the chairperson and keeper of the minutes.
6. In case of doubt the German version of the statutes is legally valid.

10. Dissolution of the Association

1. Decisions about the dissolution of the Association can only be made in a General Assembly if the intended dissolution of the Association is communicated with the invitation in the agenda. The decision to dissolve the Association requires a ¾ majority of the votes cast.
2. In the event of the dissolution or termination of the Association or if the charitable status is discontinued, the funds of the Association are transferred to a legal person under public law in Germany or to any other charitable body in Germany for the purpose of promoting art.

The EMCY Board is elected every four years at our General Assembly.

It consists of five members and both national and international competitions are represented.

Board members are active in representing EMCY and its member competitions, for instance in visiting current or prospective member competitions, and work closely with the EMCY Office.

The Board meets regularly in different locations around Europe.

The actual members of the board are listed below.

The EMCY General Assembly can appoint Honorary Members in recognition of outstanding service to EMCY and to young musicians throughout Europe.

Up until now the following persons have been awarded Honorary Membership: