NAVI Grand Jury Members
Our jury comprises of world-renowned concert artists, musicians, as well as experienced professors and pedagogues from major institutions.
Maestro Adam Johnson (Canada)
Working at the highest levels of the Canadian music scene, award-winning conductor Adam Johnson has been hailed as an exciting talent and for his charismatic and commanding presence on the podium. A highly-sought leader, he completed his tenure as resident conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) in 2019, and has conducted over 75 concerts with the OSM. He recorded his first full album, Riopelle Symphonique, with the OSM in 2022 and won an Opus Prize with the famed orchestra in 2018. Prior to his tenure in Montreal, Dr. Johnson worked for three seasons with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and continues to regularly guest conduct orchestras across Canada. Internationally, Adam Johnson has conducted at the Opéra National de Paris and has led orchestras in Spain, Germany and the United States.
Known for his extraordinary versatility, Dr. Johnson has conducted sold-out concerts with dozens of leading artists in a wide range of styles from pop to jazz to Broadway. He is also regularly invited to studio record with orchestras for major international projects and even recorded for virtual reality. He has been the Mécénat Musica Educator-in-Residence since 2019, creating educational materials for music educators and offering workshops and performances to increase the quantity and quality of music education for youth. A recipient of a Canada Council conducting award, he holds a doctorate in piano performance from the Université de Montréal and a prize in orchestral conducting from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.
Working at the highest levels of the Canadian music scene, award-winning conductor Adam Johnson has been hailed as an exciting talent and for his charismatic and commanding presence on the podium. A highly-sought leader, he completed his tenure as resident conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM) in 2019, and has conducted over 75 concerts with the OSM. He recorded his first full album, Riopelle Symphonique, with the OSM in 2022 and won an Opus Prize with the famed orchestra in 2018. Prior to his tenure in Montreal, Dr. Johnson worked for three seasons with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and continues to regularly guest conduct orchestras across Canada. Internationally, Adam Johnson has conducted at the Opéra National de Paris and has led orchestras in Spain, Germany and the United States.
Known for his extraordinary versatility, Dr. Johnson has conducted sold-out concerts with dozens of leading artists in a wide range of styles from pop to jazz to Broadway. He is also regularly invited to studio record with orchestras for major international projects and even recorded for virtual reality. He has been the Mécénat Musica Educator-in-Residence since 2019, creating educational materials for music educators and offering workshops and performances to increase the quantity and quality of music education for youth. A recipient of a Canada Council conducting award, he holds a doctorate in piano performance from the Université de Montréal and a prize in orchestral conducting from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.
Dr. Gabriel Prynn (Canada)
Born and raised in the UK, cellist Gabriel Prynn is a founding member of the Trio Fibonacci, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. His most influential teachers were Clive Greensmith and David Finckel.
During his career as a soloist, as a member of the Trio Fibonacci, and as a guest artist with diverse ensembles, notably the Ensemble Alternance in Paris, Gabriel has both resurrected forgotten masterpieces and premiered over sixty new works. Gabriel has performed at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre, Merkin Hall in New York, at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris in association with IRCAM and Radio-France, at the Aldeburgh Festival (UK) and at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. He has been both a resident artist and Chamber Music Coordinator at the Atlantic Music Festival (Maine, USA) since 2016.
Dr. Prynn is passionate about teaching, and in addition to his position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Cello at Ohio University, USA, from 2016-2019, he has given masterclasses, coached chamber music, and given workshops at such prestigious institutions as the École Normale de Musique (Paris), University of South Africa, University of Curitiba (Brazil), Royal Academy of Music (UK), Conservatory of Belgrade (Serbia), Conservatory of Nagoya (Japan), Hochschule Hanns Eisler (Berlin, Germany) and at the University of Oxford (UK).
Gabriel has collaborated with some of the most respected composers of our time, notably Mauricio Kagel, Pascal Dusapin, Jonathan Harvey, Georges Aperghis, Hannah Lash, George Tsontakis, Pierre Jalbert and Henri Pousseur. Gabriel’s doctoral research at the University of Montreal led to his book Taming the Cello: a handbook of contemporary cello for performers, teacher and composers. Excerpts were published in the December 2018 edition of The Strad.
Born and raised in the UK, cellist Gabriel Prynn is a founding member of the Trio Fibonacci, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. His most influential teachers were Clive Greensmith and David Finckel.
During his career as a soloist, as a member of the Trio Fibonacci, and as a guest artist with diverse ensembles, notably the Ensemble Alternance in Paris, Gabriel has both resurrected forgotten masterpieces and premiered over sixty new works. Gabriel has performed at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre, Merkin Hall in New York, at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris in association with IRCAM and Radio-France, at the Aldeburgh Festival (UK) and at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. He has been both a resident artist and Chamber Music Coordinator at the Atlantic Music Festival (Maine, USA) since 2016.
Dr. Prynn is passionate about teaching, and in addition to his position as Visiting Assistant Professor of Cello at Ohio University, USA, from 2016-2019, he has given masterclasses, coached chamber music, and given workshops at such prestigious institutions as the École Normale de Musique (Paris), University of South Africa, University of Curitiba (Brazil), Royal Academy of Music (UK), Conservatory of Belgrade (Serbia), Conservatory of Nagoya (Japan), Hochschule Hanns Eisler (Berlin, Germany) and at the University of Oxford (UK).
Gabriel has collaborated with some of the most respected composers of our time, notably Mauricio Kagel, Pascal Dusapin, Jonathan Harvey, Georges Aperghis, Hannah Lash, George Tsontakis, Pierre Jalbert and Henri Pousseur. Gabriel’s doctoral research at the University of Montreal led to his book Taming the Cello: a handbook of contemporary cello for performers, teacher and composers. Excerpts were published in the December 2018 edition of The Strad.
Maestro Sebastian Di Bin (Italy)
Sebastian Di Bin was born in 1981 in Udine (Italy) and began his musical studies at the age of 7. He made its official debut at 11 in a concert with the orchestra Slovenicum of Ljubljana in the hall of the Parliament of the Castle of Udine and since then he has been working to build his international reputation as one of the greatest pianists of his generation.
He has won numerous important national and international awards:
(2015-2020) Recorded four CDs with Centaur Records, see below.
(2014) 1st Prize Gold Medal at the San Jose International Piano Competition in California (U.S.A.).
(2013) 3rd Prize at the 7th "Fausto Zadra" International Piano Competition.
(2013) 1st prize at the "Ischia" International Piano Competition.
(2013) 3rd Prize at the International Piano Competition “Sergey Rachmaninov”.
(2013) 3rd Prize at the International Piano and Orchestra Competition “Città di Cantù”(Italy).
(2012) 4th Prize at the 12th UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria (South Africa).
(2011) Prize for the best interpretation of Spanish music tracks on the 25th Concurso Internacional de Piano de Ferrol (Spain).
(2011) "New Cup Pianists of Italy" in Osimo, absolute 1st prize.
(2011) 2nd Prize (1st prize not awarded) at the 27th International Piano Competition Valsesia Music (Italy).
(2011) 2nd Prize at the International Competition "Neue Sterne" Wenigerode (Germany).
(2010) Absolute First Prize and Special Prize "Lazar Berman" at the IX Piano Competition San Giovanni Teatino-Chieti (Italy).
(2010) 3rd Prize at the IV International Piano Competition Campillos-Malaga (Spain).
(2010) Special Mention for best performer at the 26th International Competition “Valsesia Musica” (Italy).
(2003) The “Premio Venezia”, reserved for the best graduated from conservatories in Italy at the theatre La Fenice in Venice.
(2003) Special Prize at the International Competition "Pecar" in Gorizia (Italy).
(1996) Special Prize at the International Competition "Marizza" in Trieste.
(1990) International Competition Mozart in Bologna.
Moreover :
In 1991 was appointed UNICEF Ambassador for artistic merit and represented Italy, together with Luciano Pavarotti, at the Gala World UNICEF "Danny Kay" in Amsterdam (Netherlands).
In 2003 he received the Medal of the President of the Italian Republic and the Silver Plaque of the Senate, Italy.
He has performed as a soloist with the following orchestras:
Orchestra Slovenicum of Ljubljana;
AFOS Foundation Toscanini conducted by Julian Kovatchev;
"Cantiere Musicale di Udine" directed by Paul Paroni;
"Virtuosi di Aquileia" directed by Alfredo Barchi;
Camerata Gigli di Recanati directed by Lorenzo Di Bella;
Philharmonische Chamber Orchestra directed by Christian Fitzner in Germany;
The Romanian Philharmonic Orchestra M. Jora Bacau directed by Emin Guven Yaslicam in Milan and directed by Ovidiu Balan in Varallo;
The Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tamas Vásáry in Pretoria (South Africa).
He has performed in a duet with world famed violinist Luigi Alberto Bianchi and participated in numerous solo recitals at important festivals and musical events: Salzburg Festival 2004 and 2008; Piano Festival "Giovani interpreti e grandi maestri” in the Teatro Verdi in Trieste; at the International Piano Festival "Mario Ghislandi" by Cream; the " Chopin Marathon " Auditorium Verdi in Milan organized by Maestro Abbado; at the International Piano Festival in Osimo; at the International Festival William Walton in Ischia; the concert for the Catholic Press of Italy and the Vatican, in Rome, always receiving high praise from the public and the press.
During his concert career, he performed in concerts in prestigious theatres in Italy (Teatro Malibran and Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Oratory of St. Philip Blacks in Bologna, Auditorium Verdi in Milan, Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna, Teatro Comunale di Monfalcone, Teatro Giovanni da Udine in Udine, Auditorium Verdi in Trieste, Conservatory of Rovigo, Castromediano Museum of Lecce, Auditorium Maximum of Rome, "Fazioli Concert Hall" Sacile, Sala Bossi of Bologna, Palermo Villa Whitaker, Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice, Sala Santa Maria delle Grazie in Mestre, Ajax room of the Municipality of Udine, Udine Palamostre Theatre, Museum of Rivoltella Trieste, Teatro Comunale di Imola) and abroad (Holland, Switzerland, France, Slovenia, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Spain, USA, South Africa.).
A number of his performances have been broadcast on national and international televisions: RAI 1, RAI 2, RAI 3, Channel 5, Tele Montecarlo, and abroad (U.S.A., Netherlands, Malta, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, South Africa). Other performances have been broadcasted on radio stations such as Rai Radio 3, Radio Pretoria and several American stations as well as in Germany and Spain.
He has recorded Four CDs with the prestigious American label Louisiana Centaur Records:
2015 - F. Liszt's Transcendental Etudes, (The whole series of the 12 Etudes).
2017 - 12 Piano Etudes from opus 10 and 12 Piano Etudes from opus 25 of F. Chopin’s Etudes.
2017 - Russian Music with music of S. Rachmaninov, P. I. Tchaikovsky, S. Skrjabin e S. Prokofiev repertoire.
2020 - « Soul Movies... » With some of his original compositions and interpretations of famous songs for the piano.
In July 2016, “Edizioni Musicali Wicky EM” of Milan published the book entitled “Sogni di suoni” (Dreams of Sounds) with 15 of his musical compositions, together with a CD with his own interpretation of the pieces.
Education
He graduated with honor at the Conservatorio "G. Rossini "of Pesaro in 2002 and then he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma at the Advanced International Piano Academy in Imola with Maestro Franco Scala . Later he completed his piano studies at the Accademia delle Marche "Beniamino Gigli" in Recanati with Maestro Gianluca Luisi and Maestro Lorenzo Di Bella.
In 2009 he studied with the Maestro Vincenzo Balzani in Milano. At the same time he studied experimental composition with Marco Di Bari and Remo Vinciguerra. In 2012 he got a Master degree in Music Composition for films at the Faculty of Humanities at Udine University and at the Conservatory J. Tomadini in Udine. Sebastian further developed his musical talents by participating in a series of masterclasses with very talented artists such as Lonquich, Lortie, Jasinskj, Howard, Dalberto, Lucchesini, Margulis, Berman, Berhoff, Kravchenko, Soriano, Balzani, Morales and Rivera.
In July 2012 he was invited to give a masterclass at the Colorado International Piano Academy, University of Northern Colorado (USA).
Dr. Yoonie Han (Korea / Hong Kong)
Praised for her "flowing tones, poetic phrasing and heavenly singing melodies"(Cincinnati Inquirer), and “musical imagination and feel for complex textures that drew vivid images” (Washington Post), South Korean pianist Yoonie Han has won top prizes in distinguished international competitions and the highest accolades for her elegant performances in major concert halls in the U.S. and around the world.
In 2009, Yoonie Han was honored with the Gawon Music Award as the “most brilliant pianist aged 17 to 31 of any nationality who possesses the most promising potential for global prominence.” She is the first-prize winner of the Washington International Piano Competition, Fulbright Concerto Competition, World Piano Competition, Kosciuszko Chopin Competition, Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Piano Competition, Juilliard’s Frederich Nordmann Piano Competition, Juilliard’s Chopin Piano Competition, Music Teachers’ National Association Piano Competition, and has garnered major prizes at the Helsinki Maj Lind International Piano Competition, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize, Concorso Pianistico Ettore Pozzoli Internaziole, Valencia-Paterna International Piano Competition, and Recontre International Piano Competitions. Following her 2001 grand-prize award in the Korea National Music Competition, the Korean Ministry of Culture named her its “Most Promising Young Artist.” She is the recipient of “Brava!” award given by the Italian Academy Foundation, as well as an award from London Keyboard Trust.
Having made her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at Seoul Arts Center at age 13, Ms. Han has since performed with the Berliner Symphoniker, Buffalo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Banff Festival Orchestra, Santa Cruz Symphony, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milan, Gangnam Symphony Orchestra of Korea, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, New Amsterdam Orchestra, Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, and Juilliard Symphony Orchestra. A graceful, sensitive and powerful recitalist, Yoonie Han has played at such celebrated venues as at the Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Frick Collection, Symphony Space, Tanglewood Festival, Bergamo Festival in Italy, Salle Cortot in Paris, and Sejong Performing Arts Center in Korea. In 2012-13, with the supports from Fulbright Foundation, she toured major Steinway Halls in the U.S. and Europe.
She has recorded three albums with the Steinway Records. The first album ‘Love and Longing’ (2014) was “Album of the week” on WQXR and made the Top 21 on the Billboard Classical Chart. The second album, “Goyescas,” (2017) was released to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer, Enrique Granados. The third album presents the complete ‘Le Rossignol Éperdu’ (2019) by Reynaldo Hahn. Her previous album ‘Romantic Piano’ (2013) was released on Concert Artists Guild. A devoted chamber musician, she’s a founder and pianist at Gloriosa Piano Trio. The trio’s debut album (2019) was released on the Centaur Records label.
Ms. Han received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, and her Doctorate from Stony Brook University.
She was an Assistant Professor of Piano and Artistic Events Coordinator at Bilkent University in Turkey in 2015-18. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Istanbul International Piano Festival and Steinway Award in Turkey. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Piano at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Yoonie Han is a Steinway Concert & Recording Artist.
Praised for her "flowing tones, poetic phrasing and heavenly singing melodies"(Cincinnati Inquirer), and “musical imagination and feel for complex textures that drew vivid images” (Washington Post), South Korean pianist Yoonie Han has won top prizes in distinguished international competitions and the highest accolades for her elegant performances in major concert halls in the U.S. and around the world.
In 2009, Yoonie Han was honored with the Gawon Music Award as the “most brilliant pianist aged 17 to 31 of any nationality who possesses the most promising potential for global prominence.” She is the first-prize winner of the Washington International Piano Competition, Fulbright Concerto Competition, World Piano Competition, Kosciuszko Chopin Competition, Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Piano Competition, Juilliard’s Frederich Nordmann Piano Competition, Juilliard’s Chopin Piano Competition, Music Teachers’ National Association Piano Competition, and has garnered major prizes at the Helsinki Maj Lind International Piano Competition, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize, Concorso Pianistico Ettore Pozzoli Internaziole, Valencia-Paterna International Piano Competition, and Recontre International Piano Competitions. Following her 2001 grand-prize award in the Korea National Music Competition, the Korean Ministry of Culture named her its “Most Promising Young Artist.” She is the recipient of “Brava!” award given by the Italian Academy Foundation, as well as an award from London Keyboard Trust.
Having made her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at Seoul Arts Center at age 13, Ms. Han has since performed with the Berliner Symphoniker, Buffalo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Banff Festival Orchestra, Santa Cruz Symphony, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milan, Gangnam Symphony Orchestra of Korea, Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, New Amsterdam Orchestra, Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey, and Juilliard Symphony Orchestra. A graceful, sensitive and powerful recitalist, Yoonie Han has played at such celebrated venues as at the Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Frick Collection, Symphony Space, Tanglewood Festival, Bergamo Festival in Italy, Salle Cortot in Paris, and Sejong Performing Arts Center in Korea. In 2012-13, with the supports from Fulbright Foundation, she toured major Steinway Halls in the U.S. and Europe.
She has recorded three albums with the Steinway Records. The first album ‘Love and Longing’ (2014) was “Album of the week” on WQXR and made the Top 21 on the Billboard Classical Chart. The second album, “Goyescas,” (2017) was released to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer, Enrique Granados. The third album presents the complete ‘Le Rossignol Éperdu’ (2019) by Reynaldo Hahn. Her previous album ‘Romantic Piano’ (2013) was released on Concert Artists Guild. A devoted chamber musician, she’s a founder and pianist at Gloriosa Piano Trio. The trio’s debut album (2019) was released on the Centaur Records label.
Ms. Han received her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School, and her Doctorate from Stony Brook University.
She was an Assistant Professor of Piano and Artistic Events Coordinator at Bilkent University in Turkey in 2015-18. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Istanbul International Piano Festival and Steinway Award in Turkey. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Piano at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Yoonie Han is a Steinway Concert & Recording Artist.
Dr. Angela Chan - Canada
Recognized as the great-grand student of Alfred Cortot (from the lineage of Frederyck Chopin), Dr. Angela Chan is an accomplished concert pianist who has performed extensively in Canada, Europe, the U.S.A. China and Hong Kong, and has been featured on the Discovery Channel (Canada), Global TV, CBC, CBS, MSNBC, the Australian Television Network, CJAD, CJOH, RTHK (Radio Television Hong Kong) and other media networks. Dr. Chan’s works have also been featured in Maclean’s Magazine, La Scena Musicale, Montreal Gazette and the National Post. Angela Chan holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance, Pedagogy and Education from Concordia University, Montreal, and she is the founder and Director of Lambda School of Music and Fine Arts, an internationally recognized institution for its fine quality and reputation. Dr. Chan is also head of the piano pedagogy division at Lambda School, providing professional and career development opportunities for piano teachers. Dr. Chan has a wealth of experiences in helping students achieve their maximum potential, and has groomed numerous child prodigies in her career. In her four decades of extensive music and psychological research, Dr. Chan has unraveled the mysteries of effective and efficient teaching and learning. As a consequence, within short periods of study with Dr. Chan, many of her students have demonstrated phenomenal progress.
Dr. Chan's students have won first prizes in national and international piano competitions and have been invited to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York, the Royal Albert Hall in London (United Kingdom), as well as in Amsterdam (Holland), Rome (Italy), Vienna and Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium), Bonn (Germany), China, Japan and Hong Kong. Dr. Chan's students have been highly successful under her guidance - they have been accepted by prestigious universities in the US and Canada, including the New England Conservatory, Peabody Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music and the Manhattan School of Music in New York, as well as McGill University in Canada. Dr. Chan's pedagogy students have become outstanding piano teachers, whose students have won international awards.
Dr. Chan is also the author of the new Lambda piano method series developed to help pianists progress at an accelerated pace. Dr. Chan’s book A Guide to Musicality - The Art and Science on her research and experiences with innovative pedagogical approaches has also been released in July 2020. Recognized internationally as an outstanding pedagogue, Dr. Chan has been invited to adjudicate a number of major international competitions in Canada, China, Europe and in the US.
Dr. Chan is also retired senior examiner and clinician of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Dr. Chan also serves as pedagogical consultant to the iScore Project – an online pedagogical platform co-developed by the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Concordia University and Queen’s University. Dr. Chan has lectured at Concordia University, and she also serves as artistic and pedagogical consultant for a number of music and arts organizations. She is also currently pedagogical consultant to an innovative pedagogical project in China in the provinces of Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Prof. Takahiro Hoshino - Japan
Pianist/Artist of the T&K Classics,PRICE ATTRACTIONS,USA FIERTÉ/FIERTÉ Piano Academy Associate Professor of UENO Gakuen University of Music Facorty of Tosei Gakuen SHOWA University of Music Guest Professor of Sapporo Conservatoire Invited Professor of Euro Music Festival & Academy,Talent Music Summer Courses & Festival Member of NPO Corporation International Piano Society（IOS） Corporation International Piano Society（IOS） Professor of Européen de Piano ,France
Born in Hokkaido,Japan. He has been familiar with opera and orchestra works since he was a child, and enjoys improvisational performances with a spatula as a motif. After working at Toho Gakuen College, studied abroad at the Hungarian National Liszt Academy as a Hungarian government-sponsored international student. The During that time, he won and won top prizes in international competitions such as Maria Canals International Special Medal（4th Prize）, Viotti-Valcesia International 2nd Prize, Cantu Piano Concerto International Classical Division 1st Prize & Audience Award, Master Players Award Grand Prize, TIM Roma, and Five Harp Awards, as well as Hungary and Poland. Invited to international music festivals in various parts of Europe such as Hungary and Switzerland, and performed with many orchestras in Japan and abroad. From 2021 to the following spring, which is the 20th anniversary of debut, Medici International,London 2nd Prize, Moscow International,Moscow 1st Prize and Special Award, Grand Maestro International ,Montreal 1st Prize and Platinum Award, World Music Award, Bruxelles,Classic Division Gold Award , Romantic Division Gold Award, Trinity International,Montreal 1st Prize, Platinum Award, North American Virtuoso International,USA Platinum Prize,Absolute 1st Prize, London International 2nd Prize ,Clara Schumann International,Bruxelles 1st Prize,London Classical Music 2nd Prize,UK International,Grand Prize,Absolute 1st Prize, FANTASTIC TECHNIQUE SPECIAL PRIZE, American International Music,Cleveland2023,2nd Prize NEW YORK CLASSICAL MUSIC 2023,1st Prize,Basel International Piano 2023,1st Prize,Special Jury Prize,Birmingham International Music,UK,1st Prize etc.
Winners of 54 International competitions in the professional category, including the Platinum Award, the 2022 International Music Festivals in Europe, Canada and Switzerland, the Musik Feline in Vienna, the recital at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and Italy. He has been invited as a professor to the "Talent Music Summer Courses & Festival" in Japan, expanding his field of international activity. In recent years, he has been transferred from Concert Imagine to T & K Classics (Takagi Klavier Group) as an exclusive artist, and has been performing with "Horowitz's Love Piano" Vintage NY Steinway CD75, as well as the Tokyo New City Orchestra Subscription Concert. , Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, Hungary MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Hungary Solnok City Symphony Orchestra, Polish Sdteca Symphony Orchestra, Lugano Chamber Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Orchestra, Romanian National Orchestra, etc.
He has studied under Hiroyasu Kawahara, Noriyuki Miyazawa, Etsuko Tazaki, Erick Heidsieck, György Nádor, and Ferenc Rados. So far, Beethoven from CD "LISZT-SCHUBERT" (AUCD-6), "Passion Kreisleriana" (AUCD-18), "LISZT I-Confrontation with the Inner Abyss-", T & K Entertainment (Nippon Columbia Marketing) Released 3 major sonatas "PASSION" and "STORY". It has been highly evaluated, such as being selected as a special edition by a record art magazine and a recommended edition by a contemporary music magazine. This fall, he released his latest CD album, "FANTASIE," an all-Chopin album, on the NYS label.
Official Web site : https://fierte115.wixsite.com/takahirohoshino
Takahiro Hoshino YouTube Channel : http://www.youtube.com/user/hoshinopiano
Prof. Philippe Chao (USA)
Assistant Professor of Viola at Texas Tech University, Philippe Chao enjoys an expansive career as an orchestral, solo and collaborative performer and a respected teacher and coach.
A tenured member of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, he has performed with the Pittsburgh, National, Detroit, Minnesota, and Baltimore Symphonies and was previously the Assistant Principal Violist of the Virginia Symphony. He is a longstanding member of the Post-Classical Ensemble and the Grand Teton Music Festival and is on the faculty of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.
Philippe has been featured as a concerto soloist with the Newark Symphony Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony, and the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra and has appeared as well as with the Fairfax Choral Society at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Other appearances have included concerto performances with the orchestras of Georgetown University, Catholic University, and George Mason University.
As a chamber musician and recitalist, he has performed with the renowned international artists James Buswell, Nathaniel Rosen, Simone Porter, Susan Platts, the Coull Quartet, and Julian Rachlin and with numerous chamber music societies including The Pressenda Chamber Players, Musica Aperta, the Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Music Series at the United States Holocaust Museum, and the Czech and Ukrainian Embassies' series. Other appearances have included performances at the Supreme Court, the Garth Newell Music Center, Music Mountain, and Oxford University, UK and recent NPR Broadcasts for Performance Today hosted by Fred Childs. He performed on Broadway in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's Tony-nominated musical, Bright Star and can be heard on Naxos' album featuring the music of Bernard Herrmann. As a member of the Lehner String Quartet he has premiered several new works for Vox Novus' Virtual Concert Hall Series.
In demand as a pedagogue, Philippe was invited to present a clinic at the recent 2022 Texas Music Educator’s Association Conference in San Antonio. He has served as an adjudicator and panelist for a number of competitions, the most recent being for the American Viola Society's 2021 Orchestral Excerpt Competition and the Virtual Concert Hall Series’ Sound Espressivo Competition. Philippe is a board member of the newly formed American Society for Musical Excellence. He previously held the Adjunct Professor of Viola positions at George Mason University, Washington Adventist University, and The Catholic University America, has been a faculty member of the American Festival for the Arts and the Eastern Music Festival and was a Guest Artist-Teacher for the State Department's Artist Exchange Program at the Kennedy Center.
Reflecting his continuing interest in exploring and expanding the viola repertoire, he has set and edited several works of Marco Anzoletti (1867-1929) in their premiere editions (GemsMusicPublications.com), has transcribed an accompanying second viola part to the Bach Cello Suites and Kreutzer Etudes (VlaTutti.com), premiered a new work (Centaurs for solo viola) dedicated to him by the acclaimed Russian composer, Sergey Akhunov at the American Viola Society 2021 Virtual Festival, and has recently commissioned a new work for solo viola from the celebrated composer, Adolphus Hailstork.
Earning degrees from the University of Minnesota and the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music, Mr. Chao also studied at the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies in Aldeborough, England and at the Cleveland Institute of Music. His mentors include the renowned pedagogues Roland and Almita Vamos, the Boston Symphony's Michael Zaretsky, international soloists Gérard Caussé and Donald McInnes, and the Cleveland Orchestra's former Principal Violist, Robert Vernon.
His strings are sponsored by D'addario.
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Prof. Alan Fraser (Serbia)
Canadian pianist, pedagogue and author Alan Fraser is best known for his books linking piano technique to the Feldenkrais Method. A student of pioneering pedagogue Phil Cohen in Montreal and the virtuoso Kemal Gekić in Yugoslavia, he is a trained Feldenkrais practitioner who has presented at numerous music conferences worldwide and published articles in most of the major piano journals. He has performed in North America, Russia, China, Yugoslavia and many European countries, and leads regular seminars at his Alan Fraser Piano Institute in many North American and European capitals. His latest publication is Pianimals, a new children’s method with Phil Cohen-Feldenkrais style exercises to quickly improve a young pianist’s technique and musicianship. |
Prof. Stephen Wong (Hong Kong, SAR)
Stephen Wong was trained at the Royal College of Music in London, the United Kingdom and received a Master of Music at the McGill University in Montreal. Wong was awarded the Jardine Matheson and McGill music faculty scholarships. Between 1995-1999, he taught piano, chamber music and was a vocal coach at McGill music faculty. He appeared as soloist with the McGill Symphony Orchestra, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and worked as a repetiteur for L’Opera de Montreal. Wong also performed in the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy, and in Asia including the Mainland, Macao and Taiwan. He is a much sought-after pianist for both solo and ensemble concerts. He has also been invited regularly to record for Radio 4, RTHK. Currently, he teaches at the music faculty of the HKAPA, Hong Kong Baptist University, School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Education University of Hong Kong. 2018 also marks the 11th year of his successful piano students’ concert “Music and Friends”. Apart from being a concert artist, he composes and recorded the music for the movie soundtrack of A Tale of Three Cities, 2015. He participates in theatre acting, dialect coaching and voice-over for movie productions.
Stephen Wong was trained at the Royal College of Music in London, the United Kingdom and received a Master of Music at the McGill University in Montreal. Wong was awarded the Jardine Matheson and McGill music faculty scholarships. Between 1995-1999, he taught piano, chamber music and was a vocal coach at McGill music faculty. He appeared as soloist with the McGill Symphony Orchestra, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and worked as a repetiteur for L’Opera de Montreal. Wong also performed in the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy, and in Asia including the Mainland, Macao and Taiwan. He is a much sought-after pianist for both solo and ensemble concerts. He has also been invited regularly to record for Radio 4, RTHK. Currently, he teaches at the music faculty of the HKAPA, Hong Kong Baptist University, School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Education University of Hong Kong. 2018 also marks the 11th year of his successful piano students’ concert “Music and Friends”. Apart from being a concert artist, he composes and recorded the music for the movie soundtrack of A Tale of Three Cities, 2015. He participates in theatre acting, dialect coaching and voice-over for movie productions.
2022 Grand Jury Members
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Prof. Avguste Antonov (France)
Born in Bulgaria, Avguste Antonov studied piano in Bulgaria (Dobrich), France (Ecole Normale de Paris, Conservatoire de Bordeaux Jacques Thibaud) and the United States (2000: University of Missouri-Kansas City; 2001-2004: University of Kansas; 2006-2008: Texas Christian University). Pianist Avguste Antonov is at home in all repertoire, with a special interest for the 20th and 21st century music. He has performed World and USA premieres at venues across North America and over the years he has worked with composers Carter Pann, Gregory Hutter, Michael Colgrass, Raina Murnak, Matthew Lewis, Till Meyn, Matthew Saunders, Robert Rollin, William Vollinger and others. Avguste Antonov has performed recitals all over the United States, including in Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee . He has been featured as soloist with various ensembles including the San Jose State University Wind Symphony, the San Jose Wind Symphony, the University City Symphony, the Alton Symphony Orchestra, the Tulsa Camerata, the Lakeland Community Orchestra, the Jewish Community Orchestra-Portland and the South Kansas Symphony. Concertos performed include Schumann Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff 2nd, McDowell 2nd, Liszt 2nd, Ravel in G, Gershwin in F, Gershwin "Rhapsody in Blue", Carter Pann "Concerto Logic" and Matthew Saunders "Piano Concerto". In addition to performing, Avguste Antonov is active as lecturer and has presented lectures for the Carrollton Music Teachers Association, Frisco Music Teachers Association, Kansas Music Teachers Association, Oklahoma Music Teachers Association and Wisconsin Music Teachers Association. He is an adjudicator for many international music competitions. In 2021, Avguste Antonov was named on the advisory board of the Sound Expressivo Global Competition. Previous seasons highlights include a recital at the Bulgarian Ambassador Residence (Washington, DC) the performance of Carter Pann "Concerto Logic" with the San Jose State University Wind Ensemble, a live performance for the Kansas Public Radio, the World and US Premiere of Matthew Saunders "Piano Concerto" with the University City Symphony (University City, MO) and the Lakeland Community Orchestra (Kirtland, OH). Since April 2019 Avguste Antonov resides in France. During the year 2019-2020, he was piano professor at the school of music "Couleur Musique" (Bordeaux). Since September 2020, he is professor of piano and accompaniment at the Conservatoire de Châteaubriant. |
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Prof. Jorge Chamine (France)
Of Spanish and Portuguese descent, Chaminé was born in Porto. He began his musical studies (piano, voice, cello, guitar, choral and orchestra conducting) at an early age. After studying law at Coimbra University, he decided to become a singer and received a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation to further his studies in Madrid, Paris, Munich, and in New York City with personalities like Lola Rodriguez Aragon, Teresa Berganza and Hans Hotter. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra and has also performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and the Ensemble Intercontemporain among others. In 1988, he won the Menuhin Foundation Award which led him to perform internationally under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin. He has appeared with Claudio Scimone, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Plácido Domingo, Michel Corboz, and Ros Marbà, and appeared in opera performances and concerts alongside Mirella Freni, Montserrat Caballé and Teresa Berganza. He is equally at home in the English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese languages and repertory. He is a regular performer of tango, boleros, gypsy songs, fado and the songs of Vinicius de Moraes and Jobim—the music and languages of his own origins. He has recorded for Lyrinx, RCA, Harmonia Mundi, Naïve, ADDA, Sons Croisés/Exodos and BMG. Chaminé has won a number of honours, prizes and awards. He is frequently invited as a guest teacher and gives master classes in a number of music academies in Europe, U.S., Canada and Brazil. He is at the origin of a workshop Sons Croisés for musicians of all disciplines which is held regularly at the Spanish College in Paris (Colegio de España). More than 200 musicians from 47 countries worked with him in these Workshops. He is president-Artistic Director of the CIMA Festival in Monte Argentario, Tuscany. He is also vice-president of the Georges Bizet Association. He was nominated Music Ambassador of the organisation Music in ME (Music in Middle East) at the UNESCO in May 2005. Since then he has also been a member of the Board of Directors of Music in ME International and president of Music in ME France. He created and is the Artistic Director of the Festival Ibériades and the Artistic Director of the Festival de Bougival. He received from Federico Mayor the Human Rights Medal of the Unesco. Lately, Jorge Chaminé became guest teacher of the University of Stanford (International Program), and with the sustain of the EU he created a project Music4Rom, for the recognition of the contribution of Rom music in the classical music.. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation. Since 2015 he is the founder and president of the CEM www.centreeuropeendemusique.fr. On 31 August 2018, Chaminé was nominated "Officier" Ordre des Arts et Lettres of the French government. |