Adjudicators

RAGNAR RASMUSSEN, NORWAY (CHAIR OF THE ADJUDICATION PANEL)

Ragnar Rasmussen is Full Professor in Choir Conducting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tromsø, Norway and artistic director/conductor of the Mimas Chamber Choir, Tromsø, Norway and the international chamber choir ‘Utopia & Reality’.

In 2007/08 Ragnar was guest professor at the Academy of Music, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. In 2008-10 he was conductor of the Norwegian National Youth Choir and in 2010 he was conductor of the World Youth Choir.

He works frequently with professional choirs and orchestras, and gives masterclasses for choral conductors throughout Europe. He has been awarded numerous awards in Norway and abroad, and has been appointed a member of the Norwegian Association for Composers.

PETER BROADBENT, UK

Peter Broadbent is one of Britain’s leading choral conductors, known for his consistent commitment to contemporary music. In 1988 he formed the Joyful Company of Singers, which rapidly established itself as one of Europe’s leading chamber choirs, giving concerts throughout Europe and the US. JCS has recorded 22 CDs as well as many TV and lm soundtracks, including the music that can be heard at London’s latest attraction, the Shard.

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Peter has conducted many of the leading London orchestras, the BBC Singers, and professional choirs and orchestras in Ireland and Hungary. He adjudicates at international choral competitions throughout Europe and the UK, and gives seminars and masterclasses in the UK, Europe, South Africa, South-East Asia, the US and Canada. He is Director of Training for the Association of British Choral Directors and he was also awarded the ‘Pro Cultura Hungarica’ Medal by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Hungary in recognition of his contribution to Anglo-Hungarian relations.

DAVID LAWRENCE, UK

David Lawrence is one of the UK’s most versatile conductors, working with orchestras, symphony choruses and national youth choirs. In 2010 he was shortlisted for a Gramophone Award for his conducting and he currently holds the Guinness World Record for conducting the UK’s largest choir - 6,846 singers! David’s work has taken him to Singapore, Colombia, Canada, the United States, India and throughout Europe, and since 2005 he has worked regularly in Australia. His positive and engaging manner makes him a popular guest conductor, and he is an experienced and respected trainer of choral conductors. He teaches regularly alongside Ghislaine Morgan in Portugal, and for the company Artsworks he delivers management training and team-building workshops through the media of singing and conducting.

David has a particular passion for working with young people and is the CBSO’s City of Birmingham Young Voices regular conductor. He has adjudicated at international choral festivals as well as for the BBC Choir of the Year and Young Musician of the Year competitions. He conducts for BBC Television’s ‘Songs of Praise’ and directed ‘The People’s Chorus’ for BBC Four. As a guest chorusmaster for Netherlands Radio Choir, he has worked with Stockhausen, John Adams, Kenneth Montgomery and Frans Brüggen.

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