> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hex.singbarbershop.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What's going on with the BHS 2027 International Chorus Contest? - URL: https://hex.singbarbershop.com/whats-going-on-with-the-bhs-2027-international-chorus-contest/ - Published: 2026-09-11T11:00:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-11T11:00:40.000Z - Description: The Barbershop Harmony Society recently announced a set of changes to the format of the International Chorus Contest. Here's what's changing. - Author: Peter Bryant - Tags: News The Barbershop Harmony Society recently [announced](https://www.barbershop.org/international-contest-format-changes?ref=hex.singbarbershop.com) a set of changes to the format of the International Chorus Contest, designed to make the contests "more exciting to watch, more rewarding to compete in, and better paced for everyone in the hall." Here's what's changing and how it might impact a chorus wishing to plan a trip to International. ## The headline: new two-round format The biggest change is that there will now be a new **Chorus Semi-Final** round at International, starting from the 2027 convention in Minneapolis. This will take place on the Friday, with the **Chorus Finals** taking place on Saturday during the day. The Quartet Finals stay in their usual Saturday evening slot. Not every qualifying chorus will have to sing in the semi-final. **Choruses seeded in 10th Place or higher will automatically qualify for the Finals**, without having to sing on Friday. The purpose of the Semi-Final is to allow choruses seeded in 11th Place or lower to qualify. There are **15 total spots** available in the Finals, meaning the **top five semi-finalists** will join the ten automatic qualifiers in the Finals. Interestingly, BHS has decided that semi-finalists who qualify for the finals **can** repeat the same set they sang in the first round, and the final result of the contest will be determined **solely by the Finals performances**. This is the opposite of the Quartet Contest, in which no song can be repeated over the 3 rounds and the result is determined by the total score across all rounds. Both rounds of the Chorus Contest will take place on the same stage. BHS has also announced a new set of "tiered awards" for the best Semi-Finals performances which don't make it through, although it's currently not totally clear how these will work. ### In practice I think the biggest impact of these changes is that your qualifying score matters much more than before. Getting into the top 10 qualifiers gets you straight into the Finals, whereas being seeded 11th or below means you potentially have to be prepared to perform twice (although that's not a certainty). While repeating a set across both rounds is allowed within the rules, I would expect many choruses to feel the need to prepare separate Semi-Finals and Finals packages in order to maximise the impact of their Finals performance. But preparing two contest sets in parallel is something no chorus in the BHS universe has had to do before (although SingUnited International (formerly Sweet Adelines International) chorus final hopefuls have always had to prepare two contests sets). For many choruses, who may not know whether they are likely to reach the Finals, they risk preparing a whole Finals set and never getting to perform it. BHS has confirmed the qualifying scores will not be changing. BHS choruses achieving 81.0 or higher qualify for at least the Semi-Finals automatically; representatives from Districts and Global Alliances must have achieved a 74.0 minimum to be eligible for nomination. I can certainly see this making the Chorus Finals a must-see event, much like the Quartet Finals. As an audience member, having all the top choruses in one session is certainly preferable to having them scattered throughout the contest over two days. ## Other changes: new time limit The BHS has also announced that, starting from the 2027-28 contest cycle, a 12-minute performance time limit will be enforced for chorus contests. Performances will be timed from the first sound of song 1 until the last sound of song 2, with a pause for the applause between the two songs. The motivation here is to curb some of the disruption caused by extremely long contest performances in recent years. BHS says that "the average song length... has increased every year since 2022, from 4:09 to 5:12 in 2026." Choruses will receive penalties (to be determined) for exceeding the 12-minute singing time limit. ## Will this affect BABS contests? The BABS judging system is designed to mirror the BHS system as much as possible to ensure consistency and parity for competitors. That said, some rules and formatting are not always identical. No changes to the BABS rules or format are planned based on the BHS announcement. In particular, the BABS Contest & Judging Team are not currently planning to introduce a time limit. --- Is your chorus planning a trip to BHS International in the next few years? If so, how do you feel about these changes? Will you be preparing two sets, or focusing your efforts on one package? If you were considering a trip to International, does this affect your thinking at all? Let us know all your thoughts and feelings in the comments below!