Jury

Founding director, piano, chamber music  teacher at the “Music Academy FORTE”  (www.musicacademy.be ). Founding director, piano, chamber music  teacher and tutor professor of piano at the Brussels International Music Academy  (www.brima.be). Founder, artistic director, president and jury member of International Competition for young pianists “Merci, Maestro!”  (www.mercimaestro.be). 

Jury member at many International piano competitions, member of EPTA, and ballet pianist.

Also working for a number of leading companies as a pianist: Pasodos Dance Company (Palma Dance Center, Mallorca); Astana Ballet (Kazakhstan); L’Hivernal de la dance (Liege, Belgium), etc.

For a number of years has performed as a main pianist at the Royal Ballet of Flanders (Antwerp, Belgium); Brussels International Ballet School (Brussels, Belgium); Royal Ballet school in Antwerp; Rosas, P.A.R.T.S. et Yantra in Brussels;  Studio Bejart (Brussels, Belgium); piano accompanist at a High school of music (Kiev, Ukraine).

Received Diplomas with distinction in Piano/Accompaniment/Chamber music/Psycho-pedagogy from three conservatories: National Conservatory Tchaikovsky (Kiev, Ukraine), Royal Conservatory of Liége (Belgique), Royal Conservatoire of Brussels (Belgium).

From 1989 up till now Lyudmyla Zakopets has been working as a piano teacher in Lviv State Music Lyceum named after Solomiya Krushelnytska.She graduated Chernivtsi Music College in 1984 (class by Prasol M.I) and Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine (class by prof.Vitte N.M.) in 1989 with honors.Lyudmyla Zakopets has been coordinator and professor of international piano forum "Beshchady bez kordoniv" in Ukraine. Thanks to creative cooperation with Ya.Dzhevietskyi and Ya. Ostrovskyi near 300 young pianists every year for 20 years have performed on the Forum stage and took part in workshops of provident educators.Lyudmyla Zakopets is an organizator and director of the first international young pianist competition "Feurich-virtuos" in Lviv and “Bechstein”.Over the years of teaching, the achievements are: 90 prizewinners of international and national competitions, 40 performances with symphonic and chamber orchestras in Ukraine , Germany, Poland, Slowenijas. Many of Lyudmyla Zakopets' students continued the studies in Music Academies in Ukraine (Lviv, Kyiv) Poland (Krakow, Bydgosz) Austria (Graz) Spain (Barcelona).Lyudmyla was invited to "Dora Schwarzberg summer international music school"as a teacher, offen conducts master classes in Ukraine and abroad.Also worked as a member of jury of international and Ukrainian competitions.Lyudmyla is awarded with diploma by Ministry of Culture and "Achievement Medal" of Ukrainian and from Poland.

Professor of piano at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel–Aviv. Artistic director of “Stretto international piano competition” in Tel-Aviv. Previously artistic director of Scherzo international piano competition.Pianist and piano teacher, graduated from the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kiev, Ukraine (class of Aza Roshina). She constantly teaches around the globe in different master classes, frequently judging at  various international competitions and giving lectures about her unique teaching experience.

Pascale teaches orchestral and choral conducting in Academie Ekeren.Pascale Van Os studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with Levente Kende, Heidi Hendrickx and Nikolaas Kende and studied the violin as a secondary instrument at the conservatory with Dirk Verelst, Vegard Nilsen and Guido De Neve.From September 2010 Pascale was admitted to the master's programme in choral conducting with Luc Anthonis and Geert Hendrix and the master's programme in orchestral conducting with Ivo Venkov and Koen Kessels at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp. In 2013 she graduated with great distinction for choral conducting (2013) and orchestral conducting (2014).In 2021-22 Pascale Van Os was the Assistant Conductor for the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (Gergely Madaras). As a conductor she is associated with the Flemish Chamber Philharmonic, Virago Symphonic Orchestra, Stringendo, Symphonic Orchestra Artemis,...She conducted concerts with Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, KLK Symphony Orchestra and Lviv Philharmonic (Ukraine), Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgaria), Orchestre de Picardie (France), Elblag Chamber Orchestra (Poland),...In addition, she has worked with various other choirs and orchestras such as Bachwerk, Kempens Symfonisch Orkest, the Ghent Singers, Jong Symfonisch Antwerpen,... and she has been selected by À Cœur Joie (Régionale de Bruxelles) to perform Verdi's Requiem in Bozar (Brussels) in 2022.In August 2023 she won the 1st prize, orchestra prize and audience prize at the International Conducting Competition Opéra de Baugé.In December 2022 she was awarded with a honorable mention at the “VIENNA NEW YEAR’S CONCERT” International Music Competition 2022 and in July 2023 she won the 2nd prize in the New York Classical Music Competition 2023.In November 2021 she received the Award Ernest van der Eycken as an upcoming conductor.In December 2011 she won the conductor's competition organised by Klara and she conducted the Belgian Chamber Philharmonic, broadcast live on Klara. With the Vocal Ensemble Caloroso she won the 2nd prize in the category chamber choir at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 2013 in Wales and the Prize of the Ministry of Culture at the Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions 2016 in Poland.She was admitted to masterclasses in orchestral conducting with Kristiina Poska, Robin Engelen, Romolo Gessi, Lior Shambadal, Giancarlo Andretta and Konrad Von Abel, Jessica Cottis, Mark Shanahan, Richard Hetherington, Michalis Economou and conducted Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, the Collective, the Berliner Symphoniker, l'Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the Philharmonic Mihail Jora in Bacau, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Ensemble Chroma the Lviv Philharmonic and Athens Philharmonia Orchestra. She followed masterclasses in choral conducting with Vic Nees and Michael Scheck, among others.

Professor of violin, chamber music  at the F. Chopin State Music School, the Music School No. 2 (1st level) in Wrocław and at the K. Szymanowski State Music School (1st and 2nd level) in Wrocław, where for many years she was the Head of the first level of the string instruments and guitar section.

Graduated from the State Conservatory of Antonina Nieżdanowa in Odessa, in the violin class of Aleksander Pavlov.

For many years - member of the 1st violins in the orchestra of the Lower Silesian Opera in Wrocław. Co-founded the Wrocław String Quartet, with which performed in Poland and Europe. Juror of various national and international violin competitions. Co-founder of the Lower Silesian Society of F. Chopin in Wrocław, where she held the position of the vice-president for 9 years.

Twice she received an individual award from the Director of the Artistic Education Center for a special contribution to the development of artistic education in Poland. Was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit and the Silver Medal by the President of the Republic of Poland.

Alice is teaching the violin at the Kunsthumaniora Brussel and the LUCA school of Arts in Leuven.Alice graduated from the Universität der Künste in Berlin where she studied in the violin class of Mark Gothoni and in the chamber music class of the Artemis Quartet. Before that she studied at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel with Philippe Graffin. She feels particularly grateful to the teachers Alain Meulemans and Erik Sluys who accompanied her from her first steps with the violin to the conservatory. Throughout her studies, Alice also worked with many renowned teachers during masterclasses and festivals: Les Rencontres Musicales Internationales d’Enghien with Philippe Graffin, Priya Mitchell, Amy Norrington, David Waterman and Miriam Fried, IMS Prussia Cove (England) with Andras Keller, Bartok Seminar in Szombathely (Hungary) with Barnabas Kelemen, Savonlinna Music Academy (Finland) with Mark Gothoni, the Festival Resonances with Antje Weithaas and Yellow Barn with Donald Weilerstein and members of the Doric and Belcea String Quartet.Having played over 70 chamber music and solo concerts in the previous season, Alice Van Leuven is a sought after violinist currently based in Brussels. The highlights of the season included the release in Flagey of the Alfama Quartet’s newest album “so Far so Close”, a solo role in the new production “Kruistocht” of the Flemish Opera and the Yellow Barn festival in Vermont. In 2021, she was selected as one of the “Twintigers” (promising Twentysomethings) from radio Klara, the Flemish radio for classical music.The Alfama Quartet appointed Alice as their new first violinist in September 2021. The quartet is active since 2005 and critically acclaimed in Belgium and abroad. Their new album “so Far so Close” that was released by the label Cypres in February 2023 is devoted to the music of Mendelssohn and Schumann but also includes a brand new quartet from the Belgian composer Patrick Leterme. Alice is also a founding member of Trio Aries that won the chamber music competition Supernova Classics in February 2020. The piano trio performed at the Klara Festival in Bozar and had the honor to play the 2021 Spring Concert of the Royal Palace of Brussels. Their debut album “Awakening”, recorded in deSingel (Antwerp), has been released in November 2021 and very well received by the national and international press. Alice’s recordings have been broadcasted on RbbKultur, France Musique, Klara and Musiq3 and she has made appearances on various Belgian television channels.Despite her young age, Alice appeared already on several renowned international chamber music festivals such as Yellow Barn, Festival Resonances, Klara Festival, Festival van Vlaanderen, Midi-Minimes, Festival de musique de Dinard, Festival de musique de l’orangerie de Sceaux, Festival en Poitou, Festival Racinotes etc. She has performed alongside Aleksandar Madžar, Alasdair Beatson, Gilbert Kalish, Liza Ferschtman, Sini Simonen, Philippe Graffin, Bogdan Božović, Gregor Sigl, Lilli Maijalla, Malin Broman, Timothy Ridout, Pauline Sachse, Vincent Hepp, Amy Norrington, Ivan Karizna, Justus Grimm, Marie Hallynck, David Waterman, Martijn Vinck, Luise Buchberger and Toon Fret.Composer Frederik Neyrinck dedicated his piece "Echo de Cleves" for solo violin to Alice, which she premiered in the Henry Leboeuf hall in Bozar (Brussels) in June 2020. This led to a second collaboration for Frederik’s opera “Kruistocht” in which Alice played a solo part on the stage of “Opera Ballet Vlaanderen”. As a soloist, Alice performed with the orchestra of the Brussels Conservatory (KCB), Sinfonietta and l'Orchestre de Chambre de la Néthen. She is laureate of different competitions like Belfius Classics where she received a first prize both in the violin category as in the chamber music category. She was finalist of the Young Belgian Talent competition, edition 2015.Alice enjoyed much touring with different Belgian and German small-sized orchestras or ensembles like Het Collectief, concerts in the Muziekgebouw aan ’t Ij and Tivoli Vredenburg Utrecht ; Hofkapelle Weimar South America tour in 2018 ; Kammeracademie Potsdam on tour in Germany, concerts (among others) at the Rheingau Musikfestival and in the Berliner Philharmonie ; Le Concert Olympique with concerts in the Berliner Philarmonie and the Elbphilarmonie as well as the Orchester im Treppenhaus in Hannover. She was invited for the Pacific Music Festival (edition 2019) that was founded by Leonard Bernstein and that takes place every year in Japan with artistic director Valery Gergiev.

President of TYM COMPETITION and TYM FESTIVAL.Raffaele Ficuciello, born in 1998, graduated at the Conservatory in Salerno, Giuseppe Martucci, with Maestro Salvatore Lombardi and after he is in the process of obtaining the graduation at the Conservatory in Avellino, Domenico Cimarosa, with Maestro Roberto Maggio. He studied for three years the annual courses held at the Falaut Association by Maestro Jean Claude Gerard as an active student. In 2019 he attended the course at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena with Patrick Gallois, where he performed the Karl Stamitz concert as a soloist in the academy hall. He partecipated to many masterclasses with: Larrieu, Gerard, Bruneel, Finco, Oliva, Loi, Evangelisti, Taballione, Fassbender, Macalli, Mario Caroli, Pretto, Manco, Marasco, Francesconi etc.He is attending the annual chamber music course in flute and piano training with maestro Vito Venezia at the Nocerina musical academy. He played in concerts as a soloist and in chamber ensembles at the Italian Consulate of Culture in Paris, the Philharmonic Hall of the Sinfonietta Vidin, Vratsa and Montana in Bulgaria, Conservatory of Sofia NMA, the Verdi Theater in Salerno, St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, the Feltrinelli in Naples, the American Church in Paris, the Euterpe León Hall (Spain), Montligeon Cathedral - Mamers (France), San Carlo Theater Foundation in Naples, Reggia di Carditello, Amalfi Cathedral; he participated in the music day at the Salerno social center in the years 2016 - 17 - 18, Castello della Leonessa in Montemiletto , Circolo Unione Pagani, Villa de Marco Montella.He is the winner of more than 25 international and national competitions both as a soloist and in chamber music, City of Lamezia Terme, Sala Consilina, Eboli, Campagna, Nocera Inferiore, Baronissi, Sapri, Angri, Scafati, Caserta, Cava de' Tirreni, Auletta, Pertosa.He recorded 5 CDs with the Alfonsiana di Pagani ensemble (SA).

Professor of vocal at the Royal Conservatory of Liege.

Trained in the performing arts at the Ghent Opera Studio and a graduate of the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music in singing and flute, Belgian soprano Sabine Conzen is recognised as a sensitive artist and musician with a voice of rich, colourful timbre.

Member of the jury in national and international competitions, he teaches in master classes in Italy and Europe and he is full professor of guitar at Conservatory in Frosinone. He is actually the Didactic Director of the Civica Scuola delle Arti, Music Academy in Rome, where he is also teacher of the Post Degree Master. He also takes part in the artistic programming of the Associazione Fabrica Harmonica, working on Symphonic and Chamber Music Seasons, Summer Festivals and other events.

Stefano Palamidessi was born in Rome in 1960; he got the guitar diploma at “S.Cecilia” Conservatory, studying at the same time composition and Musical Disciplines at the Bologna University. While winning a plenty national and international guitar contests (among them the "Mauro Giuliani", "Fernando Sor", "Emilio Pujol", "Nicola Fago", "Lagonegro" for contemporary music, "Città di Mondovì", "Città di Ancona" contests), at 20 he starts the concert career as soloist, with orchestra and in ensembles, playing through Europe, Africa and Asia. He collaborates with prestigious soloists, like Aldo Redditi, Renato Bruson, Camillo Grasso, Claudia Antonelli, Raffaele Mallozzi, Marco Fornaciari, Vadim Brodsky, Giuseppe Nova, Franco Mezzena, Massimiliano Pitocco and many others.

He regularly gives concerts in prestigious halls and Festivals: Como Music Autumn, Rendano Theatre of Cosenza, Auditorium Conciliazione, Auditorium Parco della Musica and Ghione Theatre of Rome, Teatro delle Erbe of Milan, Piccinni Theatre of Bari, Fermo Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Lublijana Festival, Belgrado University, Zagabria Conservatory, Palais Wittgenstein of Dusseldorf, Cordoba Guitar Festival, Tychy Guitar Festival, Bath Festival, Santo Tirso Festival, Israel Guitar Festival, Tsavta Hall of Tel Aviv, Rebecca Crown Auditorium of Jerusalem, Guitar Festivals of Rome, Ascoli, Milan, Torino, Berlin, Paris, Palencia, Stockholm, Barcelona, Siracusa, Wien, Parma and many others.

Recordings and live performances by him have been broadcast by the three TV and radio networks of the RAI, by TeleMontecarlo, Vatican Radio and the national radio and TV broadcasting stations in Yugoslavia, Germany, France, Poland, Holland and Israel. As a member of Concentus Guitar Trio, he has recorded six CD’s for Nuova Era, Ribot Classic, EdiPan and Rivo Alto. The last chamber music CD issues include the CD “Out of Classic” with the 360° Guitar Duo and the CD “Guitalian Live” with the Guitalian Quartet. Again with the Guitalian Quartet a new interesting CD has recently been published by NY label Bridge Records, including Italian contemporary works devoted to the quartet (Sollima, Nicotra, Jappelli, Schiavone, etc).

He recorded a CD as soloist for Niccolò label, including a selection of the didactic works by Fernando Sor. Again as soloist his recent important issue is the complete Fantasias by Sor in three CD's for Brilliant Classic: again for this label Stefano is going to record the complete solo works by Eduardo Sainz de la Maza.