Jury
Petr Kolař
Petr Kolař
He studied at Brno Conservatory from 1982 to 1988. He studied an organ play under the management of prof. V. Bělský and later prof. Z. Nováček. After his final exams he studied at JAMU in Brno in the class of prof. A. Veselá. During his studies he actively participated in prof. M. Haselblöck’s interpretation courses in Lübeck, and later with S. Heller and M. Radulescu in Vienna. He was successful in several organ competitions (1986 Opava II. prize, 1988 Brno II. prize, 1989 Prague Spring III. prize, 1991 Deventer I. prize).
After graduating in 1993 he began teaching organ play and improvisation at the Department of Spiritual Music at JAMU in Brno. Since 2000 he is a lecturer at Brno Conservatory. He regularly cooperates with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra and with other choirs and ensembles. He solo performs at home and abroad too (Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, France, Luxemburg, Finland, Malta, Vatican, China).
Throughout his musical career he has been working with choirs. In the years 1995 - 2002 he is the choirmaster of the National Theater in Brno. In 2001 he becomes the choirmaster of the Brno Philharmonic Choir “Beseda brněnská” and the conductor of the Orchestra of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. In 2014 he establishes the Magnificat Singing Association.
He has made several recordings. The latest CD he released is the recording of the original version of the Czech Christmas Mass "Hej, mistře" by Jakub Jan Ryba and “Missa pastovalis in D” by Jan Antonín Koželuha. He develops cooperation in the field of spiritual music with musicians of important Central European temples (Salzburg Dome, Nikolaikirche Leipzig, Bratislava Dome, Olomouc Cathedral).
In the years 1990 - 1997 he worked as a director of the choir and as an organist in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Brno. Since 1998 he has been the director of the choir and organist in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. During the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in Brno in 2009, he led the musical ceremonial worship at the local airport.
Krzysztof Lukas
Krzysztof Lukas has maintained an active concert career for over thirty years. He has performed in numerous European countries, as well as in North Africa and Asia. Among his most notable appearances are concerts in Vienna (St. Stephen’s Cathedral, ORF Radiokulturhaus, including a live broadcast on ORF 1), London (Westminster Cathedral, The Temple Church, Manoukian Cultural Center), Nuremberg (Meistersingerhalle), Bologna (Basilica of St. Anthony), Yokohama (Minato Mirai Hall), Tokyo (Lilia Hall), Seoul (Kyungdung Church, Elim Arts Center), Moscow (Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul), Algiers (Notre Dame d’Afrique), and Bratislava (Slovak Radio Concert Hall, live broadcast). He has also appeared in numerous concert series in Geneva, Rome, Rimini, Kaliningrad, Stuttgart, Helsinki, Budapest, Warsaw, Kraków, Leżajsk, Oliwa, Kamień Pomorski, and others.
He has made recordings for radio and television broadcasters in Poland, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Slovakia. He regularly conducts courses and seminars on the interpretation of organ music in Europe and Asia, and serves as a juror in national and international organ competitions (including Gdańsk, Poznań, Rumia, Ostrava, and Bibione).
He is Professor at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, where he teaches organ and serves as Head of the Department of Organ and Church Music. For many years, he has also been engaged in the field of mental preparation for public performance.
He graduated from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, where he studied organ under Professor Julian Gembalski (1998), and from the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart, studying with Professor Jon Laukvik, where he obtained the diplomas “Künstlerische Ausbildung” (2001) and “Solistenklasse” (2004). He further developed his skills through numerous masterclasses with many of Europe’s most distinguished organists. Particularly significant were his encounters with Ton Koopman and Guy Bovet, with whom he also pursued private studies.
Pavel Svoboda
Pavel Svoboda is a laureate of the Prague Spring International Competition, the Bach-Wettbewerb Leipzig and the Petr Eben International Organ Competition in Opava. Pavel began studying organ interpretation at the Pardubice Conservatory (Josef Rafaja, Václav Rabas). He graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Jaroslav Tůma and did an internship at the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Leo van Doeselaar. He completed his doctoral studies at the Prague HAMU with a dissertation focused on contemporary Czech organ pieces. He has performed at many festivals around the world, including the USA, Colombia, China and others. He recorded a CD with the masterpieces of Johann Sebastian Bach on the famous Silbermann organ in Rötha near Leipzig. He focuses on the protection of historical organs, has organized concerts and charity projects. Since 2020, he has been the director of the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic, and is also interested in cultural policy. He is a member of the commissions of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, and was the chairman of the cultural committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic in 2021-2025. He is involved in teaching young talented organists, specifically at the Pardubice Conservatory and the HAMU in Prague, where he was appointed associate professor in 2025.
Balázs Szabó
Balázs Szabó began his musical studies at the age of 15, graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and went on to continue his studies in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. During his studys his most important mentor was Prof. Dr. Christoph Bossert, he also concluded the only existing International Master for OrganExperts in Rome and Trossingen, finally 2015 he recived the Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology in Utrecht. He won first Prizes at renowned international organ competitions: St. Maurice (2007 CH), Biarritz (2009 FR), Nürnberg ION (DE) and 2nd prizes in Chartres (2014 FR), Wiesbaden (2009 DE) and Heidelberg (2008 DE). 2010 he received the City of Miskolc Standard of Excellence Award, the Junior Prima Prize and in 2015 the Múzsa-Award. Since 2011 he holds a teaching position at the Liszt Academy of Music and at the Béla Bartók conservatory in Budapest.
Balázs Szabó is a renowned specialist for Max Regers music, in 2016 both his new release double CD, featuring all seven choral-fantasias and his gap filling publication received high acclaim.
Balázs Szabó was appointed University professor from March 1 at the MDW , the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. The university is one of the world's oldest, largest and best known universities in the performing arts of music. Balázs Szabó is the successor of Martin Haselböck in this prestigious position.
Marek Štrbák
Marek Štrbák was born in Spišská Nová Ves. From 1992 to 1998, he studied church music and piano at the Košice Conservatory in the class of Professor Emília Dzemjanová. Under her guidance, he performed at numerous organ events and festivals across Slovakia and successfully represented his school at competitions for Slovak conservatories.
Between 1998 and 2004, he completed his studies in concert organ performance at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna under Professor Michael Radulescu, where he was awarded the University Prize for the best graduate in his field. During his time in Vienna, he also served as organist at the Sacré Cœur church and the Schönbrunn Palace Chapel.
From 2004 to 2008, he furthered his education at the Conservatoire National de Région in Strasbourg within the “cycle de spécialisation” under Professor Christophe Mantoux, while simultaneously studying in the solo class at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart under Professor Ludger Lohmann. Until 2009, he also worked as organist and choir director at the Martinskirche in Filderstadt.
He participated in masterclasses led by renowned European pedagogues and performers, including Jon Laukvik, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Edgar Krapp, Thierry Escaich, Bernard Foccroulle, Jean Wolfs, Hans-Ola Ericsson, and others. He is a laureate of several significant international and national competitions (notably the absolute winner of the International Petr Eben Organ Competition in Opava in 2002).
From 2009 to 2014, he completed his doctoral studies at the Department of Music, Faculty of Education, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. From 2015 to 2019, he pursued artistic doctoral studies at the Department of Keyboard Instruments, Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava, under Professor Ján Vladimír Michalko.
He currently teaches at the Academy of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, and the Private Conservatory in Nitra. He is among the most sought-after solo and chamber musicians and maintains an extensive concert career both at home and abroad. He regularly collaborates with the Slovak Philharmonic, the Slovak Philharmonic Choir, and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. His repertoire encompasses an exceptionally wide range of works from all stylistic periods up to the present day. Slovak organ compositions hold a special place in it, many of which he has premiered.