Meet Your Adjudicators

Izaskun Erdocia began her Flute study with Elisabeth
Podolak. In 1986 she was admitted in the Conservatorio Superior de Música de San Sebastián and graduated in 1992 with distinction and several prizes. The same year she was awarded with a scholarship
from the Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa to study in the class of Jo Hagen, Principal Flute of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, at the Rotterdam Conservatorium where
she graduated after obtaining her Teacher Diploma, Orchestral Studies Diploma and Performance Diploma
with Distinction. In 1993 Erdocia won the 1st Prize of the National Flute Competition “Manuel Garijo” in Spain. She attended masterclasses of Aurele Nicolet, Harrie
Starreveld, Peter Lloyd and Jacques Zoon. As a
founding member of the baroque ensemble Conjunto Hemiola in Spain, she has been invited to perform at
prestigious festivals like the “Bach Festival” and the “Quincena Musical” in San Sebastián, Spain.
  In Hong Kong, Erdocia has been performing as
freelancer with orchestras like the Hong Kong
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Macau Chamber Orchestra, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-fields under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner, and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under Yuri Temirkanov. She has also appeared in festivals like the International Society
of Contemporary Music (ISCM) World Music Days,
Musicarama and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. From
1998 to 2004 she was the Principal Flute of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Currently she is a lecturer at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist
University and the University of Hong Kong. She is also an Overseas Consultant of the Macau Youth Orchestra and the flute coach of the Greater Bay Area Youth
Symphony Orchestra.

Chinese violist Yu Sun has established himself as one of the leading violists of his generation through distinguished appointments with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras. He has served as Principal Violist of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

Beginning in September 2026, Sun will join the Vienna State Opera Orchestra (Wiener Staatsoper Orchester) as Principal Violist and, concurrently, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming the first Chinese musician in the history of the orchestra to hold a principal position.

Sun studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music before continuing his education at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, where he studied with the internationally renowned violist Tabea Zimmermann. Under her guidance, he developed a distinctive artistic voice characterized by refined musicianship, technical excellence, and stylistic versatility.

As a sought-after orchestral musician and chamber performer, Yu Sun continues to perform on major international stages while contributing to the development of viola performance and fostering cultural exchange through music.

David Francis Urrows (余樂詩), composer, conductor, organist, and musicologist, has served on the faculties of Hong Kong Baptist University, the Academy for Performing Arts, Boston University, the University of Massachusetts, and Eastern Mediterranean University. He led the Hong Kong Bach Choir (1989-91), the Cecilian Singers (1997-2000), and been guest conductor of Vox Antiqua in the 2022 and 2023 Hymnos Festivals. Urrows was educated at New York University, Brandeis University, the University of Edinburgh, and Boston University where he received his doctorate in 1987. From 1976 to 1984 he studied privately with American composer Randall Thompson. Works of his many genres–choral pieces, orchestral works, compositions for vocal and instrumental soloists, music for chamber ensembles, and scores for the theater–have been performed in the United States, Europe, Great Britain and Asia. He currently lives in Metro Manila, where he continues his writing and composing and serves as organist at Holy Trinity Church, Forbes Park.

Asia’s leading operatic bass and vocal coach, with 35 years of experience, offers a unique combination of professional expertise in voice, drama, and motivational psychology for corporate clients. Based in Hong Kong, he has frequently been a welcome guest at corporate and international events and with performance organizations worldwide. Dr. Anthony performs in six languages, has lived in seven countries, and has taught over 1,500 individuals from more than 50 countries worldwide.

Dr. Anthony has performed 60 opera roles on stage in Europe, America, and Asia, including many leading bass roles, working as an opera singer in Germany, and as soloist with opera companies and orchestras in the USA, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, including The HK Philharmonic Orchestra, The HK Sinfonietta, Opera Hong Kong, and The HK Academy of Performing Arts.

He has also appeared in numerous radio and television programs in France, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, including CNBC, as a performer or expert on vocal performance issues, training TV-anchors on CNN and Chinese National TV in Beijing.

During his career, he has been the first prize winner of 5 vocal competitions, including The Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions and The Carmel Grand Prize and he has performed with fellow artists in film, television, and the world’s major opera houses, including Maria Ewing, Giacomo Aragall, Helga Dernesch, Josephine Barstow, Victor Borge, Doc Severinsen, and John Raitt.

He graduated with distinction in opera performance from the University of Vienna and holds Master’s and Doctorate Degrees from the University of California and Johns Hopkins University, both in Vocal Performance, as well as degrees in motivational psychology and education from the University of Oslo. After holding professorships at HKAPA, The Peabody Institute, and Wayne State University in USA, he founded The Music & Drama Institute in Hong Kong in 2000.

Corporate clients include the LGT Bank of Liechtenstein, Rolls Royce, Bulgari, Bentley Motors, Cathay Pacific, UBS, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Li & Fung, The Government Pension Fund of Norway, Great Eagle Holdings Ltd, Mission Hills Golf Club, Forbes Magazine, the Goethe Institute, the Consulates or Business Chambers of America, Canada, Oman, Norway, Denmark, and Austria.

Dr. Anthony has served as Chairman of the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce, Vice-President of The Johns Hopkins Club, and as a Member of the Advisory Board of the Richard Ivey School of Business in Asia.

In 2025, he received the Sino Phil Asia International Peace Prize as a Laureate in Arts and Culture, representing Norway.

Vincenzo Cipriani graduated with full marks in organ, organ composition and piano at the “N.Piccinni Conservatory” of Bari and in jazz music at the Conservatory of Monopoli; At the “E.R.Duni Conservatory of Matera he teaches the following subjects at the first and second academic courses: piano jazz, ear training, rhythm of contemporary music, rhythmic and sung musical reading.
He played his original compositions during poetical literature reading with actors such as Giancarlo Giannini, Michele Mirabella, Silvia D’Amico e Alessandro Haber.

Helena Li received her early vocal training from renowned Chinese tenor Professor Yang Yan. She later pursued advanced studies in France, earning a degree in Vocal Performance from the Conservatoire de Strasbourg in 2003. During this period, she studied under distinguished baritone Malcolm Walker and was the only international student in his class to receive a scholarship.

Subsequently, she was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where she studied under French

Półtorak pursued his higher education at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, where he studied solo violin under Professor Irena Żarnowska (the longstanding concertmaster of the Pomeranian Philharmonic). He later expanded his expertise at the same academy, graduating from the viola class of Professor Jan Paruzel. He made his professional debut on the stage of the Pomeranian Philharmonic and as a member of the renowned Capella Bydgostiensis chamber orchestra. Professional Orchestral and Chamber Career Since 2009, he has been a permanent member of the Kalisz Philharmonic, where he initially served as the principal of the second violin section and currently holds the position of Principal Violist.

First Prize Winner in the 2018 American Prize Conducting Competition, Prize Winner and Career Encouragement Citation of  The 2019 American Prize in Conducting, and National Award Finalists of the 2019 American Prize Ernst Bacon Memorial Award for the Performance of American Music. Pamornpan Komolpamorn has been appointed as a resident conductor of the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra since 2020. She also serves as a Director of Orchestras and Instructor of Conducting at Mahidol University's College of Music in Thailand. Pamornpan is also the Founder and Music Director of Amass Chamber Ensemble and is committed to performing diverse music by various composers and from various periods, from early to contemporary. Pamornpan's repertoire is wide-ranging and encompasses orchestral, wind, operatic, chamber, early music, and contemporary genres. She has conducted wind bands, orchestras, and chamber ensembles across the world, such as in Italy, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Taipei, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, and the United States [New York, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Maryland]. She is the artistic director of the Thailand International Wind Symphony Competition (TIWSC).

Pamornpan has appeared as a guest conductor for ensembles, such as the Nuova Orchestra AdM in Udine, Italy (to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the world premiere of the opera 'Il Tramonto' by Ottorino Respighi), Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra (South Korea), National University of Singapore Symphony Orchestra and National University of Singapore Wind Symphony at NUS Arts Festival (Singapore), Illinois State University, Dallas Winds, Thailand International Composition Festival, AMIS Honor Band, Thailand New Music and Arts Symposium Ensemble (TACETi Ensemble), the Yala City Municipality Youth Orchestra, Dr. Sax Chamber Orchestra, Unity Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Winds, Pesante String Chamber, Bangkok Silpakorn Wind Orchestra (she was appointed as a residence conductor), Bangkok Youth Wind Orchestra, and Thailand Philharmonic Pop Orchestra, Project Unity Orchestra. She has conducted such widely-acclaimed soloists, such as Javon Jackson, Delfeayo Marsalis, Pekka Pylkkänen, Ettore Causa, Steven Mead, Steve Rosse, David Childs, Paul Luxenberg, and Misa Mead.

Artem has studied and collaborated with renowned maestros, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Alexandr Rudin, Natalia Shakhovskaya, Stefan Popov, Rocco Filippini, and many others. He is a laureate of numerous national and international competitions, notably the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition.

Highly sought after internationally, Artem was invited to China to perform the national premieres of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concertos No. 1 and No. 2, as well as Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony-Concerto for cello and orchestra. Performing alongside top-tier orchestras in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tsingtao, and other major cities, he inscribed his name in the history of these masterworks as the first to perform them in China.

In addition to his cello career, Artem is an accomplished conductor who has studied and collaborated with Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Maurice Peress (assistant to Leonard Bernstein), and other esteemed artists. He is the founder, chief conductor, and music director of the NEO PHILHARMONICA. As a guest conductor, he has led prominent orchestras worldwide, partnering with leading soloists such as Vadim Repin, Julian Lloyd Webber, Ilya Grubert, and Giovanni Sollima.

Artem remains highly active as a solo cellist and has recorded more than ten CDs. Several contemporary composers, including Richard Harvey, Dany Howard, Teresa Brenette, Lidia Aures, and Joe Lee, have dedicated musical compositions to him.

Also a distinguished composer, Artem won the Grand Prize for his original score to the film Get Away at the DOKER International Documentary Film Festival.

Camille Poon joined the Hong Kong Sinfonietta as a violinist in 2018. Previously, she was a principal player of the violin section in the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Japan. She also played in Owensboro Symphony Orchestra during her stay in the USA. Having earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music at the Chinese University of Hong Kong under the tutelage of renowned violinist Ms Jue Yao, Poon furthered her studies at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University Bloomington with Professor Kevork Mardirossian and received her Master of Music in Violin Performance.
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She started learning the violin at the age of six, and has been a recipient of numerous scholarships and competition awards, including Third Prize at the 14th Osaka International Music Competition and prizes at the 1st Alice & Eleonore SchoenfeldInternational String Competition Chamber Division. She has performed as a soloist with various orchestras in Hong Kong, and is a frequent performer in masterclasses of world-renowned musicians including Kyung Sun Lee, Glenn Dicterow, Earl Carlyss, Lewis Kaplan, Alissa Margulis and Daniel Gaede.

Anastasiia Talapatska is a pianist, accompanist, and music educator with over 17 years of experience in professional arts education.

She serves as a faculty member at the Dnipro Professional Art and Culture College (Ukraine), where she prepares students for concerts, competitions, and formal academic assessments, including final examinations conducted with external examination panels.

Her pedagogical work focuses on the comprehensive development of young musicians, integrating technical training, musical interpretation, and performance practice across a wide range of ages and ability levels. She has contributed to the preparation of students for competitive performance environments, both throughpiano instruction and her extensive work as an accompanist.

As an accompanist, she collaborates closely with vocalists, instrumentalists, choirs, and conducting students, supporting a wide range of educational and performance activities.

She is also expanding her international teaching perspective through involvement in music education within the UK secondary school system, gaining insight into different pedagogical approaches and cultural contexts.

Her professional approach is defined by clarity of musical standards, objectivity in evaluation, and a strong commitment to developing confident and artistically aware performers

Enico Kin-chi LUK was born in Hong Kong, China. He has appeared as soloist with numerous renowned orchestras and choirs, which include the Bach Collegium Utrecht, Praetorius Blokfluitensemble Leiden in the Netherlands, Hong Kong Voices, Hong Kong Youth Choir, Hong Kong Singfest Choir, the Cecilian Singers and Hong Kong Chamber Choir in Hong Kong. Among his concert appearances, Luk has worked with worldly reputed conductors like Baroque Maestro Ryo Terakado, Norbert Kunst, Jos van Veldhoven as well as Peter Dijkstra. He also worked as a countertenor chorister of the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra Choir in the Netherlands.

He is currently an adjunct faculty member in the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Music Institute as well as the Hong Kong International Institute of Music, where he also serves as a member of the examination jury. Luk holds a postgraduate performance diploma from the Royal Conservatoire in the Netherlands and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the Hong Kong Baptist University. He has studied with Chan Siu Kwan, Michael Chance, Gerda van Zelm, Kees-jan de Koning and has taken courses by Andreas Scholl in Neuwied-Engers, Germany. Apart from teaching and performing, Luk enjoys his role as a classical music programme host at RTHK Radio 4 as well.

Jay is a pianist and teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is an active soloist and accompanist with international performance experience. He holds a bachelor degree in music as a piano major at Utah Valley University, where he studied with Dr. Hsiang John Tu, Dr. Koji Attwood, and Dr. Hilary Demske. Having earned his Masters and Doctor of Musical Art Degree in piano performance from LSU with Dr. Michael Gurt.
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Jay has studied chamber music with Dr. Cheung Chau and accompanied the vocal studio of Serena Kanig. He has also been involved with the Utah Valley University Piano Competition. Jay was invited to perform at the Grumo Festival in Milan and Rome Italy, performing solo and chamber music across Europe.

Pianist Eli Sunghyun Kim is an internationally active pianist recognized for her artistic excellence and scholarly achievements. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Seoul National University on scholarship, followed by a Master of Music degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she received the prestigious Artistic Excellence Award Scholarship. She is currently a DMA Candidate in Piano Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, where she has been supported by a full scholarship and the Langford Fellowship.

Throughout her doctoral studies, Eli Sunghyun Kim has been recognized for both academic excellence and artistic distinction. She is a current recipient of the Korean Honor Scholarship by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United States and the Seoul National University Alumni Association of Chicago Scholarship. She was also selected as the Grand Prize recipient of the Youngsan Cultural Foundation's Professional Artists Development Project in South Korea, through which she presented a sponsored solo recital in recognition of her outstanding artistic accomplishments.

An award-winning pianist, Eli Sunghyun Kim has received top prizes in numerous international competitions across Asia, Europe, and North America. Her performances have taken her to distinguished institutions and concert venues including Harvard University, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Musikverein in Vienna, Musicasa in Tokyo, and TT Music Space in Taipei.
In South Korea, Eli Sunghyun Kim has appeared as a soloist and guest artist for the Youngsan Cultural Foundation, the Gangnam Foundation for Arts and Culture, and the Songpa Cultural Foundation. She has also presented solo recitals and concert performances at many of the country's leading venues, including Lotte Concert Hall, Universal Arts Center, Dream Forest Arts Center, Youngsan Art Hall, Youngsan Yangjae Hall, TLI Art Center, Cosmos Arts Hall, Seocho Arts Center, Conchino Concrete Concert Hall, Praum Instrument Museum Concert Hall, and Salon de Musique.

Alongside her active performing career, Eli Sunghyun Kim is dedicated to artistic research and the advancement of piano performance. Through her work as a performer, scholar, educator, and adjudicator, she continues to contribute to the international classical music community with both artistic insight and academic depth.

Kwong Lennie began her violin studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, where she earned an Advanced Diploma in Violin Performance. She furthered her studies at the Rotterdam Conservatorium (Codarts) in the Netherlands and the L’École Normale de Musique de Paris in France, where she obtained postgraduate performance diplomas.

Upon completing her studies in Europe, she served as a 1st violinist with the New European Philharmonic Orchestra. She currently resides in Hong Kong and works as a guest lecturer in violin performance for the Music Office and the Hong Kong International Institute of Music, where she serves as an examination juror. Kwong is also the conductor of the Hong Kong Music Institute Chamber Orchestra.

Vladyslava is an Ukrainian classical pianist whose musical journey began at the age of five, shaped by the rigorous traditions of the Soviet classical school. At fifteen, she moved to Kyiv to continue her studies at the R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music, later beginning her career as a solo resident pianist immediately after graduation.

Her international path started in Turkey with residencies in Bodrum (2014) and Antalya (2015), followed by her first Middle Eastern engagement at ShangriLa Doha in 2015. She then spent nearly two years as a resident pianist at Four Seasons Bahrain, a defining chapter in her artistic development.

Since 2018, Vladyslava has been based in Dubai, performing at some of the region’s most prestigious hotels, including Madinat Jumeirah, St. Regis Doha, Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah, Rixos Premium, Hyatt Regency, and the Jetex VIP Terminal. She later returned to Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach as a resident pianist and is currently performing at The RitzCarlton, DIFC.

Svjatoslav Korolev is a Danish-born Russian-Armenian pianist whose career spans solo recitals, collaborative performance, and international competition.
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He holds a Master of Music from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, a Bachelor of Music from HfM Carl Maria von Weber Dresden, and advanced studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Wong Hung Pok is dedicated to local string education, having earned a Master of Music in String Pedagogy with outstanding results from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
During his studies, he was awarded a full tuition waiver and stipend, serving as a Teaching Assistant to support the university's teaching and academic activities, while also performing as the principal cellist of the university orchestra.

Classical pianist Chloe Chung, currently based in New York, maintains a dynamic career spanning performance and education across the United States. Currently a Doctor of Musical Arts Candidate in Piano Performance at State University of New York at Stony Brook, she studies with renowned pianist Gilbert Kalish on a full scholarship, and works closely with the Emerson String Quartet for chamber music. As a dedicated educator, she serves as an undergraduate instructor at SUNY, teaching performance, chamber music, and musicianship. Her recent highlights include leading a masterclass for the undergraduate piano department, coaching collegiate chamber ensembles, and performing as a guest artist at the Rite of Spring Music Festival in New York. Awarded J Spanier Classical Piano Fellowship and Jacobs Fellowship, Chung earned her Master of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music Indiana University, where she studied with Arnaldo Cohen and served as a pre-college faculty member. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Chung began her study in the HKAPA Junior Music program with Karen Sung, and soon holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts upon graduation from the Diocesan Girls’ School, under the tutelage of Eleanor Wong, with the support of Chan Ho Choi Enchanting Music Scholarship and Cecil Leong Scholarship. A bronze medalist of the 20th International Chopin Piano Competition in Asia, winner of the 18th Hong Kong — Asia Piano Open Competition, as well as the runner-up of the 81st Steinway & Sons International Piano Competition, Chung has appeared in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Staller Center for the Arts (New York), Pyatt Hall (Vancouver), Auer Hall (Indiana) and Shenzhen Concert Hall. Her performances have taken her internationally to Vienna, Salzburg, New York City, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Vancouver, South Africa, Japan, Taiwan, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Chung is also an active participant in music festivals in Europe and United Stated, where she has worked with distinguished pianists including Arie Vardi, Jerome Lowenthal, Julian Martin, Douglas Humpherys, Boris Slutsky, Arthur Greene, Anna Malikova, Markus Schirmer, and Peter Lang.