Jury
Michel Bouvard(chair)
Over the past thirty years, Michel Bouvard has enjoyed a remarkable dual career as a concert artist and professor of organ. Internationally recognized as one of the most captivating French interpreters, he is regularly invited to perform on the most beautiful historic organs throughout Europe, as well as in the great concert halls of Asia and prominent venues in North America. He has given more than 1000 concerts in more than 25 countries.
Michel Bouvard is indebted to his grandfather, organist and composer Jean Bouvard, a student of Louis Vierne, for inspiring him in his vocation. Michel received his early training at the Paris Conservatory (musicianship classes), studying organ and improvisation in the class of André Isoir. He also studied with the renowned organists of St. Severin in Paris: Jean Boyer, Francis Chapelet and Michel Chapuis. In 1983, he marked the inception of his career by winning the first prize in the international organ competition of Toulouse. Called by Xavier Darasse to succeed him in the direction of the organ class at the Toulouse Conservatory in 1985, he pursued Darasse’s vision of partnership and collaboration with the city and region by organizing concerts, organ tours, masterclasses and the international organ competition alongside colleague Jan Willem Jansen. These efforts culminated in 1996 in the creation of the international organ festival Toulouse les Orgues.
Michel Bouvard served as a professor of organ at the CNSM of Paris from 1995 to 2021, alongside his colleague and friend Olivier Latry. Together they developed an original pedagogical collaboration that has attracted students from all over the world to Paris. In 2013, he was invited to join the organ faculty of the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, New York, where he served as a professor in residence for the fall semester. He completed teaching residencies at Yale University in November 2015, and at the National University of the Arts in Tokyo in 2016.
Michel Bouvard has held the position of titular organist of the renowned Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Romanesque Basilica of St. Sernin in Toulouse since 1996. In 2010, he was appointed one of the four principal organists of the Chapel Royal at the Château in Versailles.
Andrzej Białko
Andrzej Białko graduated from the Academy of Music in Kraków, where he studied organ with Joachim Grubich. He received first prizes in the International Organ Competition in Rome (1981) and the National Organ Competition In Bydgoszcz-Gdańsk (1985). He took part in most Polish organ festivals and performed also in most European countries, as well as in Lebanon and the Americas.
Andrzej Białko has been active as a teacher, serving as a professor at the Organ Department at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków and the Władysław Żeleński State School of Music in Kraków. His Kraków and Wrocław performance of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach in the jubilee year 2000, as well as his Kraków series “Ars organ”, an anthology of organ music of the 16th–20th centuries in 20 concerts, have won great acclaim. His diverse and ever-expanding repertoire embraces all styles, including complete organ works of Buxtehude, Bruhns, Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Franck, Liszt and Brahms. Many of his recordings have made significant contributions to the archives of the Polish Radio (Channel 2). He has recorded 30 CDs.
The Minister of Art and Culture awarded him the silver (2006) and gold (2020) medals “Gloria Artis”. Between 2016 and 2020, Andrzej Białko served as Vice Rector at the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Musić. Since 2020, he has held the positions of Head of the Organ Department and Director of the Doctoral School.
Eva Bublová
Eva Bublová, an accomplished organist and harpsichordist, pursued her organ studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under the tutelage of Jaroslav Tůma. She then continued at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon (France), studying under Jean Boyer.
She won several international organ competitions, including the Prague Spring in 1999 and the Gottfried Silbermann International Organ Competition in Freiberg (Germany) in 2001. In 2002, she was a finalist in the Royal Bank Calgary International Organ Festival and Competition.
Eva Bublová has performed in Europe, Japan and Canada, and recorded her music with the Czech, Slovak and Luxembourgish radios. Notably, she released an organ CD titled “Les Fresques” and authored a harpsichord publication titled “The Names of Compositions by Clavecinists”, showcasing her translation skills.
Having dedicated 20 years to a French parish in Prague and 16 years to the academic parish of the Most Holy Salvator, Bublová also taught organ and harpsichord at the Conservatory in České Budějovice and Teplice.
Currently, she holds the position of professor of organ at the Prague Conservatory.
Wolfgang Kogert
Wolfgang Kogert is an organist at the Vienna Hofburgkapelle, curator of the organ at the ORF RadioKulturhaus Vienna and teacher of organ at the Mozarteum University Salzburg.
In 2006, he won the 1st prize at the Musica Antiqua Bruges organ competition. In 2013, he became an Artist in Residence at the Cité des Arts in Paris. He regularly collaborates with contemporary composers, including Friedrich Cerha, Jean-Pierre Leguay and Younghi Pagh-Paan, and leading orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Beyond his performance career, Wolfgang Kogert is actively involved in the field, contributing articles to journals and consulting for organ-building projects. His concert activities span a wide range of venues, including prestigious events like Bachfest Leipzig, orgel-mixturen at Sankt Peter Köln and Hildebrandt-Tage in Naumburg. He has performed at various international stages, including Tokyo, Paris, Moscow, Riga, Brussels, and other prominent locations.
Petr Kolař
From 1982 to 1988, Petr Kolař pursued organ studies at the Brno Conservatory under the guidance of Vratislav Bělský and later Zdeněk Nováček. He continued his academic journey at the JAMU in Brno under the mentorship of Professor Alena Veselá. During his studies, he attended numerous courses and garnered attention with his achievements in organ competitions (2nd place in Opava 1986, 2nd place in Brno 1988, 3rd place in the Prague Spring 1989, 1st place in Deventer 1991 Deventer).
From 1993 to 2000, he served as a lecturer in organ playing and improvisation at the Department of Sacred Music at the JAMU in Brno. Since 2000, he has been teaching organ and improvisation at the Conservatory and JAMU in Brno. Petr Kolař collaborates with the Brno Philharmonic, various chamber ensembles and choirs, and gives solo performances at home and abroad.
Throughout his musical career, Petr Kolař has worked with many choirs. Between 1995 and 2002, he served at the National Theatre in Brno as the choirmaster of the Choral Society, directing over 20 operettas and musicals. In 2001, he assumed the role of choirmaster for the Brno Philharmonic Choir “Beseda brněnská” and became the conductor of the Orchestra of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. In 2014, he established the Brno Cathedral Choir MAGNIFICAT. He has been a member of the Musica Sacra praesidium since 2000 and has contributed to several CDs and television recordings. From 1990 to 1997, he held the positions of choir director and organist at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Old Brno. Since 1998, he has been the choir director and organist at the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Brno. His noteworthy achievements include conducting the music at the papal service during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Brno in 2009.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to sacred music, he was honoured with the Medal of St. Cyril and Methodius in 2013. Further acclaim followed in 2019 when he received the Johann-Wenzel-Stamitz Prize Award from the Esslingen Arts Association.
Bernadetta Šuňavská
During her studies in Bratislava, Freiburg and Stuttgart, Bernadetta Šuňavská has ascended to the pinnacle of the performing arts.
In addition to acquiring numerous certificates and awards in international organ competitions across Europe, she captivates audiences with her originality, virtuosity, sensitivity, and unwavering artistic profile. Recognized as a highly acclaimed organ virtuoso, she is the epitome of professionalism, delivering unforgettable and vibrant renditions of organ compositions that elicit enthusiastic reactions from audiences.
Her excellence extends beyond traditional organ performances, garnering praise in the professional press for her transcriptions of orchestral works and premieres of contemporary compositions. She recently commanded the stage at the Philharmonic in Essen, Germany, presenting Niccolò Castiglioni’s monumental piece “Sinfonie guerriere et amorose”.
In addition to organ and piano, Bernadetta has also studied historical instruments and the harpsichord. This diverse musical background enables her to interpret works spanning all styles, reaching back to the Middle Ages.
Her recorded performances and CDs, released through labels like Naxos, Organum Classics and Südwestrundfunk, showcase her artistry. Bernadetta regularly collaborates with Slovak Radio and Television, as well as Czech Radio. She is also a sought-after guest on the concert stages of major international festivals.
Erwin Wiersinga
Erwin Wiersinga studied at the Conservatory in Groningen under Wim van Beek and earned the Performer’s Diploma in organ with distinction. He also obtained the Performer's Diploma in piano. He taught organ at the Universität der Künste in Berlin from 1997 to 2019 and has been teaching at the Prins Claus Conservatoire in Groningen since 2009.
In 2014, he was appointed as titular organist at the famous Arp Schnitger organ in Groningen alongside Leo van Doeselaar. Erwin regularly gives concerts in the Netherlands and other European countries, and has performed in Korea, China, Japan and the USA. He has produced radio and award-winning CD recordings on important historical organs in Germany, Holland and Belgium.
In 2006, Erwin was a soloist at the Berliner Staatsoper in the opera Doktor Faust under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. He is active in various professional orchestras, and since 2007, he has frequently played with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, working with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Ricardo Chailly, Ivan Fischer and others. In 2016, he performed at the American premiere of Theatrum Bestiarium by Detlef Glanert with the Concertgebouw Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York.
As a guest professor, Erwin has been invited to teach at several European conservatories, as well as in Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul.