Claudio Monteverdi Choral Competition 18-21 February 2025

Jury 2017

Andrea Angelini – Italy

President of the Jury

Born in Bologna, Italy, Andrea Angelini began his piano studies as a child, at the Rimini Lettimi School. He later earned a Doctorate of Music at Ferrara’s Frescobaldi Conservatory. After earning a Master in Choral Conducting he studied music therapy with Professor Cremaschi of Milan University. His interests led him to the choral field, and he earned a Bachelor studying at the International Art Academy in Rome with Fulvio Angius. He also studied organ at Pesaro’s Conservatory of Music. Finally he got his PHD in Choral Music at the Cesena Conservatoire of Music. He is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the professional group Musica Ficta Vocal Ensemble that frequently performs in important Festivals in Italy and abroad. For many years, Andrea Angelini has conducted concerts with the choir Carla Amori, in Italy and abroad. Named Director of the Rimini Community Choir, Alessandro Grandi, he led this choir in several performances, including in important venues such as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome – where he was able to personally meet Pope John Paul II – and in Milan’s Cathedral. He has also conducted the Belarusian National Chamber Choir, the Lithuanian Jauna Muzika Choir, the Latvian Ave Sol, the Ukrainian Ave Musica and the Tudor Consort from New Zealand. Dr. Angelini is the Artistic Director of the Choral Festival Voci nei Chiostri held annually in Rimini each spring. He has been member of the Jury at many International Choir’s Competitions in Italy, Europe and Asia. He frequently leads choral workshops in Italy and abroad. Recently his Masterclass about the “Venetian Renaissance choral music” has been presented to the students of the prestigious Liszt Music Academy of Budapest and in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) for the Young Choral Academy. He has led similar workshops in Romania, Russia, Belarus, Moldavia and China too. He is the artistic director and one of the tutors at the Rimini International Choral Workshop, where he teaches with Peter Phillips of the Tallis Scholars. Mr. Angelini is also the artistic director of the Rimini International Choral Competition, of the Queen of the Adriatic Sea Choral Festival and Competition, of the Claudio Monteverdi Choral Competition and of the Liviu Borlan Choral Festival, Baia Mare, Romania as well as associate artistic director of Florence Choral‘s international festivals. He is the Chief Editor of the International Choral Bulletin (ICB), the membership magazine of the IFCM (International Federation for Choral Music). He has written numerous transcriptions and arrangements for choirs and chamber ensembles. His transcription of Faure’s Requiem is published by Gelber Hund Verlag of Berlin. For the American CanticaNOVA Publication, he has prepared transcriptions of important Renaissance Motets. He has published his composition with Eurarte and Ferrimontana. Andrea is the President of AERCO, the Association of Choirs of the Emilia Romagna Region.

 

Jürgen Partaj – Austria

Member of the Jury

Jürgen Partaj was born in Vienna into a family of music enthusiasts and so came into early contact with the Austrian choral scene. He studied violin with Eva Bru and attended master classes with Christian Altenburger and Ernst Kovacic. Initially he was active purely in the field of classical music in solo, chamber music and orchestral projects but his concert activity gradually shifted towards crossover. His musical career is complemented by performances with Oscar winner Glen Hansard, concerts as a guest musician in various international performing groups, several CD productions, broadcasts on international TV and radio stations as well as the musical direction at festivals and theatre productions, among others in the framework of the Wiener Festwochen. Besides his musical activities Jürgen Partaj graduated in law with a focus on arts law and founded a music agency in 2000 that specialized in international orchestral and choral tour management. Jürgen Partaj had the opportunity to work with outstanding musicians such as Elina Garanca, Annette Dasch, Julian Rachlin, Joe Zawinul, Rebekka Bakken, Al Jarreau, Randy Newman, Lalo Schifrin and with choral conductors such as Erwin Ortner, Robert Page and Simon Carrington. Jürgen Partaj was founder and director of the contemporary music festival at Schloss Ebelsberg before he founded the “Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival” in 2007 together with the Association Via Musica – a festival for youth choirs and youth orchestras from all over the world. As intendant and artistic director, he annually creates over 100 music events in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. The festival annually offers concerts, competitions, workshops and intercultural exchange events for over 1,000 participants, among others in the Musikverein (Golden Hall), the Konzerthaus, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the Imperial Palace, the Vienna City Hall and the University of Music as well as in Prague’s Smetana Hall. With the establishment and the artistic direction of the youth choir “Neue Wiener Stimmen” in 2010 Jürgen Partaj was able to make a lasting impression in his hometown. Despite its short existence the Neue Wiener Stimmen can already look back on tours in Austria and abroad, CD and DVD recordings, performances in the most important concert venues in Vienna and at the opening of the Life Ball. Performances of “Fledermaus” at the EXPO 2015 in Milan, a production at the Wiener Schauspielhaus and acclaimed projects with the RSO Vienna, the Max Steiner Orchestra and the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra round off the diverse activities of the Neue Wiener Stimmen.  Jürgen Partaj was nominated for cultural manager of the year in the German-speaking countries in 2013. He is working with the Austrian Composers Society and is much sought after as a jury member of international music competitions.

 

Leonardo Sagliocca – Italy

Member of the Jury

Leonardo Sagliocca is an italian bass-baritone. He was born in Florence. After an audition with the world famous baritone Gino Bechi, he was encouraged by him to begin the Opera singing career and began singing studies. After that, Leonardo Sagliocca continued his formation in the University of Music of Florence, the “Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini” under the scottish soprano Kate Lafferty Gamberucci. He finalized his preparation with two great baritones like Rolando Panerai and Leo Nucci. In 1998, he won the international competition “William Walton – the actor-singer”, sponsored by The Prince of Wales, Charles. During this Master Class he was invited for a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music of London. He performed as soloist in the seasons of Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto, Sagra Musicale Umbra, Festival Puccini di Torre del Lago, Ravenna Festival, Nuova Cappella di Palazzo, Associazione Musicale Lucchese, Amici della Musica di Firenze, Centro Busoni, Festival Internazionale di San Gimignano, Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Centro Internazionale di Musica Antica di Roma, Orchestra della Toscana, Estate Regina, South Bank Centre, Jeszienny Salon Muszyczny, Szceczin, Musiksommer Loisachtal. He performed with conductors such as Salvatore Accardo, Claudio Scimone, Alberto Veronesi, Lu Jia, James Lockhart, Massimo De Bernart, Jeffrey Tate, Claudio Desderi, Filippo Maria Bressan, Herbert Handt, Elisabetta Maschio, Giuseppe Lanzetta, Federico Maria Sardelli, Giovan Battista Varoli, Carlomoreno Volpini. He has also performed many recitals with piano players, small vocal groups, small orchestras and big orchestras in cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Munchen, Frankfurt, Koln, Kassel, Sczeczin, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Zurich, Lugano and in countries like New Zealand, United States and regularly in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Niigata). He cooperated as talent scout, teacher and soloist singer with the “Maggio Fiorentino Formazione”, the formation agency of the main theater in Florence and one of the more historical and important festivals in Italy, the “Maggio Musicale Fiorentino”. He gave regularly masterclasses in China, Russia, South Korea, Poland. He recorded for Tactus, Bongiovanni, Kicco Classic, Clavis, Brilliant Classics. He is also invited as member of the Jury in important Festivals Saint Petersburg, Bratislava, Tallinn, Haarlem, Prague, Kaunas, Venice, Sopot, Daugavpils. In September 2016 he founded, together with Andrea Angelini, a new series of Music Festivals in Florence. The new Organization, named “Florence Choral” (www.florencechoral.com), produce every year four International Festivals for choirs and orchestras, dedicated and related to the most importants personalities of the Florentine Renaissance: Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Lorenzo De’ Medici and Andrea Del Verrocchio.

 

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