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Meet the Jury Panel
Marcel Zidani
is a pianist, author, teacher, and composer. He studied piano under the direction of Royal Academy Vice-Principal Mark Racz and, more recently, under the guidance of Professor Philip Martin, studying both piano and composition. Leslie Howard nominated Marcel's composition Butterflies from his Life Cycle CD for the British Composer Awards. His music is frequently played on radio stations including BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, Radio Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and more. Radio 3 shows have described Marcel as a 'Musical Gem' and likened his compositional style to Chopin, Liszt and Satie. He is the author of Hey Presto, a unique and fully comprehensive piano method for older beginners and adults, focusing on the sustain pedal's early use. His popular pieces from the newest book Away from the Grade are also included on the repertoire list of the Around the Globe Piano Music Festival. Marcel has performed extensively at music festivals throughout the UK and giving concerts locally and in the Midlands. In May 2018, Marcel performed and recorded his compositions live at Hay Festival in conjunction with BBC Hereford and Worcester. He has given masterclasses and adjudicated for music competitions, including at the Birmingham Conservatoire and has regularly adjudicated for the Rotary Young Musician of the Year competitions at local and regional finals. Read more about Marcel Zidani: https://www.marcelzidani.com/
Read more about Marcel Zidani: https://www.marcelzidani.com/
Dante Santiago Anzolini
Dante Santiago Anzolini is a conductor, composer and pianist who has been an enthusiastic supporter of modern music for his entire career. He studied orchestral conducting at Yale and violin, viola, piano with Oubiña de Castro, and composition with Gandini, both at the Gilardo Gilardi Conservatory in La Plata, Argentina. He has conducted orchestras, operas and ballets in Europe (Bonn, Bern, Linz, Palermo, Torino among many other cities) the United States (Metropolitan Opera and Washington National Opera), South America and South Africa, including many world premieres. He has been collaborating with Philip Glass as a performer and conductor since the 1990s, and is currently working on a premiere of Glass's opera "The Voyage" at the new Klaipeda State Music Theatre in Lithuania. His first symphony "Faust" received great accolades in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in December 2019. He is currently working on his second symphony, a violin concerto, and variations for piano based on "Cinema Paradiso". Other works include many solo piano pieces, a violin sonata, suite for solo violoncello, and a trio for piano, viola and oboe, as well as the first transcriptions in history of Schoenberg's Variations op. 31 and Verklaerte Nacht. He has a long history of supporting efforts in youth music making, having been the music director of the MIT Symphony Orchestra (1998-2006) and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Guayaquil (2018-2020). He is currently organizing a youth orchestra project in the Galapagos Islands (Music For The Planet, Galapagos).
Read more about Mr Santiago Anzolini: Dante Santiago Anzolini - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
Sanja Ratković
Sanja Drakulic Ratkovic, a Serbian-American concert pianist and instructor, initiated her musical journey in Belgrade, Serbia. She honed her skills at Moscow's Central Music School and P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, excelling as a pianist, chamber musician, and educator. She holds dual Master's degrees, one from Belgrade University. Her performances have spanned the globe, including countries like Russia, USA, Canada, and Mexico. With experience at Belgrade University and her own studio in Mountain Lakes, NJ, she has taught, recorded, and judged piano competitions, while establishing her piano studio "Musical Mind & Soul" in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2013.
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Tim Richards
Tim Richards, initially trained in classical piano by EPTA founder Carola Grindea, ventured into self-taught jazz and blues influenced by his father's vintage record collection featuring Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt, and Louis Armstrong. Since the early 1980s, he has been a notable figure in the jazz realm, performing across Europe with ensembles like SPIRIT LEVEL, GREAT SPIRIT, and the TIM RICHARDS TRIO. With over a dozen albums to his credit, his 2015 work 'Telegraph Hill' was praised by The Observer. A prominent jazz educator, he authored acclaimed books such as 'Improvising Blues Piano' (1997) and 'Exploring Jazz Piano' (2005) while conducting workshops and courses globally. Graduating with a Composition Master's from Trinity College of Music in 2008, Tim Richards continues to teach jazz piano and lead musical endeavors at various institutions.
Read more about Tim Richards: http://www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk/
Marina Petrov
is a classical pianist and piano pedagogue specialising in Prevention of Occupational Injuries in Pianists. In addition, she has contributed articles to EPTA and ISSTIP journals as well as holding seminars, masterclasses and workshops on related subjects at various universities and music colleges in London and Cork.Since settling in London in 1989, she performed solo recitals as well as chamber music and accompanying opera singers in major concert halls across the UK and London, including Regent Hall, St John's at Smith Square as well as other music institutions. Further to performing and teaching career, the versatile Mrs Petrov is also Co-Founder and Managing Director of Around the Globe Music & Arts and AGPMF Piano Competition as well as Executive Editor of Around the Globe Music Magazine. As a child prodigy, she has won many national piano competitions in former Yugoslavia that followed by tours, media appearances including TV and Radio Belgrade shows. She has also won a national grant to study further at the renowned Moscow Music Conservatoire, in 1979. Marina's talents are renowned in the British press including The Times and she is listed in International Who's Who in Music since 1992. Read more about Marina Petrov: https://www.marinapetrov.co.uk/my-students-blog
Read more about Marina Petrov: https://www.marinapetrov.co.uk/my-students-blog
Olja Jacobs
Serbian pianist Olja Jacobs began her studies in Belgrade with Marina Petrov. Her studies brought her to the UK where she attended The Purcell School for Young Musicians with full scholarship under the tutelage of Christopher Elton. She went on to receive her bachelor degree from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she studied with Paul Berkowitz and Hilary Coates. She enjoys a diverse and multifaceted career as both concert pianist and music educator. As a teacher, Olja has been on the piano and chamber music faculty at the Trinity College of Music and Dance Junior Department in London, as well as Head of the Senior Piano Department at Bedales School. An avid chamber musician and initiative of her own collaborative projects, Jacobs runs intensive week long masterclasses every summer alongside other eminent musicians. A musician of wide interests, Olja is a member of the London Baroque Ensemble. As a member on the board of the Belgrade Music Festival, Olja enjoys an active role in Belgrade’s music scene.
Maya Jordan
She holds a Masters Degree of Music Academy in Belgrade and a PG Certificate from the London College of Music. A winner of numerous prizes, she has performed throughout the former Yugoslavia, Italy, Cyprus, France, Germany and England and recorded for various Radio and TV programmes. Maya's performing career has extended through her interest in bringing music and artists of different countries together. Maya has been co-founder of the project 'Sounds of the Balkans' and Artistic Director of numerous events and projects, promoting Serbian culture and encouraging artists of different origins to work together. For many years she was a Secretary of the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe. At present Maya is a Secretary of The Serbian Council of Great Britain and has been involved in numerous charity projects (including 'Magic & Toys', 'Ada Art') in aid of Serbian people and children. She is also a Director of the Serbian Month in Great Britain and co-founder / Director of the Around the Globe Music & Arts.
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Miloš Milivojević
After his studies in Serbia, acclaimed accordionist Miloš received a full scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music, where he achieved a historic feat by becoming the first accordionist to win the RAM Club Prize. He also earned the prestigious Derek Butler London Prize at the Wigmore Hall. Miloš has premiered numerous compositions and performed with esteemed ensembles like the London Mozart Players, Russian Virtuosi, and London Sinfonietta. His collaborations span various genres, from classical to tango, and he has appeared on platforms like BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. An Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, Miloš exclusively performs on Pigini Accordions, with his debut solo CD "Accord for Life" available on the Nimbus label. Read more about Miloš Milivojević: https://new.milosmilivojevic.com/
Read more about Miloš Milivojević: https://new.milosmilivojevic.com/
Djordje Gajić
Djordje Gajic, a Serbian accordionist, began his musical journey at six, ultimately graduating from the Russian Academy of Music in 1993 with a Master of Music degree and the Honorary Title of Solo Performer. He pursued postgraduate studies at the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, becoming Assistant to Professor Yuri Dranga. Djordje has won numerous international accordion competitions and received awards leading to broadcasts on BBC, RTS Serbia, RTR Russia, and RAI Italy. He has performed with esteemed orchestras and ensembles worldwide and regularly presents recitals in Europe, USA, Australia, China, and beyond. Djordje is a dedicated educator holding a position at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, giving masterclasses and co-founding the International Summer School and Competitions in Serbia. He has also contributed to accordion syllabi and led international accordion summer schools.
Marcus Davidson
Marcus is currently focusing on music which reflects sounds from nature, often working with recordings in his compositions. He has special interests in organ, dance, vocal and electro-acoustic music. He was a chorister at Worcester Cathedral and read Music at Birmingham University and received a master’s in composition at City University, London, studying with Rhian Samuel. In May 2024, The Bristol Ensemble premiered Felefantasi, a string quintet based on the sounds and playing technique of the Hardingfele (Norwegian folk fiddle) at the Red Lodge, Bristol, UK.In 2022, NyNorsk Messingkvintet (New Norwegian brass quintet) premiered his piece Let There Be Light (for brass quintet and samples) at Bergen Kirkeautunnale (church music festival).Voice (UK based vocal ensemble) premiered new pieces at 3 Choirs Festival, Hereford and BBC Radio 3 in 2022. He regularly writes for Voice, who included his compositions on their albums Musical Harmony 2013 and Patterns of Love 2015 and Hildegard Portraits 2022 for SOMM Recordings. Marcus featured at the Bergen Kirkeautunnale 2020 with his concert Sacred Space, where his works were performed by Tabula Rasa vocal ensemble and organist Anders Eidsten Dahl, including the premier of Oh Great Spirit. His work The Passing, which includes space recordings, was broadcast by Radio Deutschland for the CTM12 festival Berlin and is now released by Touch. Marcus featured in the Bergen Festspillene 2012 (International Music Festival) with Bee Symphony, a collaboration with sound recordist Chris Watson, where recordings of honey bees are fused with human song. It premiered at Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank in London 2009. Marcus is a member of Spire, the Organ based project by Touch and has performed at festivals throughout Europe, notably Kontraste Festival, Austria in 2013, Bergen Kirkeautunnale festival 2013, Spitalfield Music Festival, London in 2012, and the CTM12 Festival, Berlin in 2012. http://www.marcusdavidson.net/
Read more about Marcus Davidson: http://www.marcusdavidson.net/
Marcus Davidson
Alexander Karpeyev
The Paris-based, Russian pianist Alexander Karpeyev studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Vera Gornostayeva and Alexander Mndoyants and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama under Joan Havill. He earned a performance practice doctoral degree from City, University of London in 2014, focusing on the Edna Iles Medtner Collection at the British Library. As a soloist and chamber musician, Alexander has performed across Russia, Europe, North America, Japan, and Algiers. He is the winner of the Dudley International Piano Competition, recipient of the Norah Sande Award, and has been awarded a Silver Medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians. His recordings are available on Chandos Records, SOMM Recordings, and Claudio Records. For more information, visit www.akarpeyev.com.