Jury
Judicael Perroy
France
Judicaël Perroy has become widely known as an extraordinary virtuoso classical guitarist and musician with several prizes to his credit. In 1997 he captured the prestigious first prize of the 15th Guitar Foundation of America International Competition and Convention awarding him tour of the United States and Canada with more than sixty concerts and master classes. In between his North American tour that year, he gave several concerts in France where his performances were broadcast live on France-Musique followed by extensive recital tours throughout the world. He currently resides in Paris while he enjoys teaching at the Pôle Sup’ 93, Lille’s apPSEA(Association de préfiguration du Pôle supérieur d’enseignements artistiques) Nord-Pas-de-Calais and the Ecole Nationale de Musique d’Aulnay-sous-Bois a position he has held since 2004 while traveling and concertizing around the world.
Florian Palier
Austria
The Austrian guitarist, Florian Palier, grew up in a family of musicians, discovering
his passion and love for music at a very early age. He first studied with his father,
Johann Palier, later with Macro Diaz Tamayo and finally, with Álvaro Pierri at the
University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna where he graduated with
distinction in 2015. As an interpreter, composer and improviser it is his special
passion to combine different musical worlds – his biggest influences are Olivier
Messiaen, Toru Takemitsu und Allan Holdsworth.
George Vassilev
Bulgaria/Switzerland
Considered as guitarist with unique artistry, musical approach and mastery on his instrument, George Vassilev was born in Bulgaria in 1966. He started his guitar studies with Lijuben Haralambiev in Varna. As a soloist, G. Vassilev has been invited to collaborate with concerts managers such as The Springboard Concert Trust, LACCS and IMG Artists in U.K., “Georg Horthagel’s Konzertdirektion” in Germany and has performed with orchestras, such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Italy, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the St. Petersburg Hermitage Chamber Orchestra, the Sofia State Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Danish Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and others.
Atanas Ourkouzounov
Bulgaria/France
Atanas Ourkouzounov is one of most interesting personalities in the Bulgarian contemporary music. Guitar player and composer with a rich musical background, he is considered one of the main authors in the domain of the new generation’s music for guitar. Ourkouzounov has written over 80 works for guitar – solos, duos, trios, quartets, instrumental ensembles, and two concerti – a number of which have won important prizes, and a majority of which have been published by leading publishers (Doberman-Yppan , Henry Lemoine).
Stefan Trifan
Romania
One of the most prominent guitar teachers in Romania, Stefan Trifan, born in the small town of Roman, started playing the violin at age 6. He discovered the classical guitar by the age of 15 and began studying it professionally at the Ionel Țiganus class in the Fine Arts College in Piatra Neamț. In 1997, he began attending the newly formed classical guitar class of Constantin Andrei at the „Gheorghe Dima“ Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca, where he graduated from in 2003. In 2005 he received his Master’s Degree at the same institute and the Philosophy Doctor of Musical Arts title with “Summa Cum Laude” in 2012, under the guidance of prof. Pavel Puscas.
Stefan Skrilecz
Austria
Born in Graz, Austria, Stefan Skrilecz studied at the University of Music Graz with
Prof. Dr. Leo Witoszynskyj. Soon after finishing his studies, he started to teach at the
Johann-Joseph-Fux-Conservatory, where he is head of the department of plucked
instruments. He also lectures teaching practice for the University of Music Graz.
His students received first prices at national and international competitions.
Stefan Skrilecz performed at various concerts with solo guitar, orchester and chamber
music, made a broadcasting recording with the Duo SteVo (Eva Maria Tockner, Flute)
and a CD with the DUO WIST (William Chien, Saxophon, Taiwan). Recently many
concerts and performances with various formations in Austria, France, Czech
Republic, Croatia and Taiwan.
Rossen Balkanski
Bulgaria
Rossen Balkanski was born in 1968. In 1995 he was admitted at the State Academy of Music in Sofia in the guitar class of Emil Saev. He worked as a teacher of guitar at a music school and as a teacher of classical guitar at the State Academy of Music. He had an intensive concert activity, giving solo concerts and concerts together with famous Bulgarian performers such as Professor Yossif Radionov or Professor Angel Stankov. He wrote lots of works for guitar, some of which were performed in concert and at competitions in Bulgaria and all over Europe. He composed chamber music for ensembles with guitar and others, as well as arrangements of classical works for the guitar orchestra Orpheus, conducted by Stefan Dimitrov, of which he had been soloist from the very beginning.
Darko Bageski
North Macedonia
Darko Bageski gained music education in Skopje, (professor Jane Pen), Zagreb (prof Xhevdet Sahatxhija) and graduated at Higher School of Music “Franz Liszt” in Weimar, Germany (prof. Jurgen Roste). His education continued at postgraduate studies at the National Conservatory of Music in Thessaloniki, Greece, in the class of prof. Gerhard Reichenbach, and a master’s degree under prof. Costas Cotsiolis.
He has performed many concerts and recitals in Germany, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Sweden and the USA, and has participated in seminars and master classes with world-renowned guitarist (A. Desiderio, L. Yang, A. Assad, TM Pering, E. Bitetti, Z.Krajisnik, C.Marchione, N.Koshkin, Z.Dukić …)
He also acts as a soloist with many chamber orchestras as well as with the North Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra. Among many awards, he also received award from Association of Music and Ballet pedagogues North Macedonia for successful years of work in the field of pedagogy.
He is a president and founder of the Association of classical guitarists of North Macedonia and art festival director of “Tremolo Guitar Fest” in Skopje. Currently, he works as a guitar professor at the Faculty of Music Arts in Skopje.
Stolina Dobreva
Bulgaria
Stolina Dobreva (Phd) was born in 1970 in Bourgas, Bulgaria. She finished the National School of Music “Lyubomir Pipkov” in Sofia, Bulgaria and graduated guitar and pedagogy in the “Staatliche Hochschule für Musik”, Freiburg, Germany in the class of Professor Sonja Prunnbauer with excellent success. Stolina had won second and third prizes at the National Guitar Competition in Chirpan in 1985 and 1987, third prize at the International Guitar Competition in Hof, Germany, and third prize at the First National Competition “Apolonia” – Sozopol, Bulgaria. She participated in master classes of Alvaro Pieri, Robert Brightmore, Carlo Domeniconi, Alexander Frauchi etc.
Milena Valcheva
Bulgaria
Milena Maneva-Valcheva was born in the city of Dobrich where she completed her secondary education and where she commenced her artistic and teaching career. In the year 1991 she graduated from the Academy of Music and Dance Arts – Plovdiv, with a Music Pedagogy major. In 2010 she earned a Doctor of Arts degree from the New Bulgarian University – Sofia. Since the autumn of 1991 and currently she has been working as a guitar teacher in the Dobrin Petkov National School of Music and Dance – Plovdiv. Since 1988 she has actively performed in a duo with her husband Valentin Valchev, giving concerts in Bulgaria, Denmark, England, Germany, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, France, Belgium, Turkey, Cyprus, Switzerland.
Sevdalin Stefanov
Bulgaria
Boyan Doychev
Bulgaria
First musical steps at mid school “Marin Drinov” in Stanimir’s Dikov guitar class (Varna).
Graduated in national, music school “Dobri Hristov” 1998-2007 in guitar classes of Liuben Haralambiev, Sevdalin Stefanov and Neli Nedeva.
2007-2013 graduated bachelor in National Musical Academy “Pancho Vladigerov” (Sofia) in Rossen Balkanski’s guitar class. Boyan is a laureate of a number of guitar competitions. Played with orchestra:
J.Rodrigo – Aranjuez
Rossen Balkanski – Fantasia Concertante ( Concert for 3 guitars and orchestra)