The International Harp Competition Elena Carfi honors the memory of this great Argentine teacher who worked lovingly and selflessly for her students. Born in Santiago del Estero (Argentina) Elena Carfi was unquestionably the main harp teacher of the second half of the 20th century in Argentina.
The purpose of this contest is to promote, inspire and stimulate children and young harpists in their journey with music. The competition will take place every two years and it will include in each category a piece by an Argentine or Latin American composer, original or transcribed. In this way we seek to introduce rich musical heritage of Latin America.
Competition Rules
1. The competition is open to harp students of all nationalities.
2. Repertoire.
Children I: Contestants born up to 2014
1- Free choice piece (up to 2 minutes)
2- Iglesias Villoud: Huaino – Transcription by Marcela Mendez.
Children II: Contestants born up to 2012
1- W. A. Mozart: Glissando Waltz (Any edition).
2- A free choice piece written by a harpist composer (not to exceed 3 minutes). You can choose movements of a Suite, Partita, Sonata, etc.3- Laura Manghi: Vals con la muñeca. (Ask the organization for the score)
Junior I: Contestants born up to 2009
1- J. L. Dussek: Sonatina No. 6 for Harp in E-Flat Major, C. 165.
(The sonatina must be recorded in a single take without cuts between movements).
2- A free choice piece written by a harpist composer (not to exceed 5 minutes). You can choose movements of a Suite, Partita, Sonata, etc.
3- Luis Gianneo: 2do mouvement of Sonatina. (Any edition).
Junior II: Contestants born up to 2006
1-Choose one from the following:
a) Les anses grises sur la route de d’El-Azib (3eme Suite Op.35)
b) Au matin (Etude de Concert)
2- Moisés Moleiro: Toccata.(Ask the organization for the score).
3- Handel, Georg Frideric: Passacaglia (Transcription by Tiny Beon).
General considerations
The repertoire of each category must be performed by memory and without repeats. Participation with levers or pedal harps is allowed in the Children’s Categories.
Participants must apply in only one category.
If the participant won an award in previous editions of this competition, they cannot apply to the same category in future editions.
Videos must be recorded and destinated specifically for this contest.
Videos will not be accepted after the deadline, this date will not be changed under any circumstances.
To complete the application, contestants must send a scanned document (Identity Document or Passport) that confirms their date of birth.
All applicants will be asked to email an artistic photo with a signed image release form. This is not an obligatory requirement.
If you have any questions or queries regarding the repertoire, contact us: amigosdelarpa@gmail.com
Organizing Committee
Marcela Méndez, Ramiro Enriquez, Valentina Reyna Masat, Florencia Arizpe y María Victoria Cozzi.
Prizes
All prizes will be awarded and will be announced in due course.
Application
Sign up by filling the following form: https://forms.gle/dJhJkeShaCPj9k7G6
Children Category
- Application fee is 25.000 (ARS) for residents in Argentina, and U$25 (US dollars) for foreigners.
Junior Category
- Application fee is 30.000 (ARS) for residents in Argentina, and U$30 (US dollars) for foreigners.
Payment
PayPal: amigosdelarpa@gmail.com
Schedule
Registration is now open until the 30th September, 2025.
Video Submission since 1st October 2025 to 15th october 2025, 23:59 (GMT-3)
Video submitted after 15th October 2025 at 23:59 (GMT-3) will not be accepted.
Results Announcement Date: 1st November, 2025
Video specifications:
Videos must be recorded only for the International Harp Competition Elena Carfi.
Filming position: camera in landscape format from the left of the performer; both hands and face must be visible.
The contestants must begin by introducing themselves with their name, the name of this competition and the category they are applying to, their age and country of origin (all in their native language). The participant must then perform the first chosen work without cutting or editing between presentation and performance.
All repertoire must be sent in a single video. The recording may have a cut between the pieces, but without editing or changing the camera angle. If there are pieces with several movements (sonata, partita, etc.), it must be recorded in a single take.
If the jury has the impression that the videos have been edited, the participant will be disqualified.
Specifications for the video release:
The video must be published in the mode “not listed” on YouTube before 23.59 (GMT-3) of October 15th, 2025. Once published, the link must be sent to the following email:amigosdelarpa@gmail.com with the free choice piece score.
If you can not publish the video on YouTube, it must be sent via WeTransfer platform before 23.59 of October 15th 2025 so it can be published in the Asociacion Civil Amigos del Arpa Youtube channel.
Videos must remain on YouTube until November 1st 2025 and can not be deleted before that date.
The video title must include the following information:
- International Harp Competition Elena Carfi, name of the participant, category and age.
- The video description must detail the program in its order of interpretation. Composer, (arranger), title, opus, name of the piece.
- The name of the teacher and/or institution of the participant cannot be mentioned.
The comment section of the video must be disabled.
To make your video optimal, it is recommended:
- Choose a neutral background.
- Avoid shooting in the backlight (for example, in a window).
- Shoot with as little background noise as possible.
- Place the device firmly on a base for image stability.
Evaluation of the videos:
The organizer invites the Zoom-Conference evaluation according to the schedule.
To ensure the accuracy of the evaluation and the final result, the Asociación Civil Amigos del Arpa will appoint a supervisor who will have neither voice nor vote in the process.
If the participant is the student of one of the jury members, they can not participate in the evaluation and the jury’s assessments of their performance. In that case, the evaluation will be divided by 4 to obtain the average score.
Scores range from 0 to 10 points. It is each member of the jury who decides how the video is valued and how the score is reached (sound, stage presence, appropriate tones at the right time, musicality, etc.).
Subsequently, each member of the jury will send their score to the organizer privately.
The Organizer will share the data received in an Excel spreadsheet via the Zoom shared screen. The judges must verify that the scores were not altered, and they will witness it.
The entire evaluation process will be recorded.