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JURY 2027
Jurors, panelists, workshop leaders, speakers, and professors 2027
T. J. Harper is a specialist in Choral Music Performance, Choral Pedagogy and Methodology, Conducting, and Vocal Performance. He is the Chair of Choral Studies at the University of Akron. Choirs under his direction have performed at annual conferences for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the California Music Education Association (CASMEC), and the Rhode Island Music Educators Association (RIMEA). Dr. Harper maintains an active schedule in the US and abroad as a guest conductor, clinician, and jury member. He has published extensively in the ACDA Choral Journal, the IFCM Choral Bulletin, the NAfME Online Choral Forum with articles focused on choral music, choral pedagogy, and international choral exchange.
Dr. Harper held positions as Board Member for the International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM), the past Chair of the ACDA Standing Committee on International Activities, and the Director of the ACDA International Conductors Exchange Program. He was the President of the Rhode Island Music Educators Association (RIMEA) and the President of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.
Dr. Harper received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California where he graduated with honors. He received the Master of Arts in Choral Conducting from California State University, Northridge and the Bachelor of Arts degree and Choral Conducting from California State University, Fresno. He taught in the California public school system for six years and was honored for excellence in teaching in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. As a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, NAfME, ACDA, Chorus America, NCCO and IFCM, Dr. Harper is an advocate for the promotion of undergraduate and graduate music education and choral music in the public schools.
Daniel R. Afonso Jr. has been the director of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Choir since its founding in 2001 and has prepared several choral works with the ensemble. He is also the Coordinator of Vocal and Choral Studies at California State University, Stanislaus. Afonso holds a Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.) from the University of Rio de Janeiro (UNI-Rio), a Master of Music in Choral Conducting (M.M.) from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a Doctor of Music in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy (D.M.A.) from the University of Iowa. Dr. Afonso is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and has studied choral conducting with Carlos Alberto Figueiredo, Cees Rotteveel, Eph Ehly, and William Hatcher.
Dr. Afonso has performed with choral groups in Brazil, the United States, and Europe, and previously taught music at the Brazilian Conservatory of Music, the University of Rio de Janeiro (UNI-Rio), and Doane College in Nebraska. In 1988, he won first prize and the award for best performance of a work by Villa-Lobos at the Villa-Lobos Choral Singing Competition, a national choral competition sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro. Dr. Afonso is deeply committed to the performance of contemporary music and has commissioned and premiered numerous new choral works in recent years, including several of his own compositions, as well as works by young composition students. He made his New York debut in 2012, conducting Mozart's Requiem with members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Choir and students from California State University, Stanislaus, at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
He is also a composer, arranger, and editor of choral music, and his choral works have been published by earthsongs, Colla Voce, and Alliance Music Publications. He was composer-in-residence with the San Francisco Choral Artists during the 2014-2015 season and has also written works for the Los Angeles Children's Choir, the Los Angeles Gay Men's Choir, and other ensembles in the United States and abroad. He has made numerous arrangements for the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, including a new version of "The Star-Spangled Banner" for choir and orchestra, which premiered at the opening concert of the 2015-16 season. Dr. Afonso is widely recognized for his research and performance of Brazilian choral music and continues to frequently offer workshops and lectures on the Latin American choral repertoire.
Ambrož Čopi (born 1973) studied composition under the tutelage of Dane Škerl, Uroš Rojko, and piano at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He is recognized as a composer, conductor, lecturer, and the artistic director of the International Youth Choirs Choral Festival Aegis Carminis in Koper. Presently, he is a leader of choral activities at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana (KGBL) and teaches at the Artistic High School in Koper..
From the inception of his teaching career, he has fostered his students' creativity in choral music, emerging as a mentor to Slovenia's youngest generation of composers. Through his leadership, new compositions have been inspired and performed worlwide.
His original compositions, recorded on five CDs, regularly grace stages worldwide. Published predominantly by Astrum Music Publisher, with select works featured by Sulasol, TICF and Hinshaw Music.
Čopi has guided numerous Slovenian choirs to remarkable achievements in both national (15 gold plaques) and international competitions (29 first places). He was manytimes awarded for outstanding performances and as best conductor. Presently, he conducts the KGBL Chamber Choir and the University of Primorska Academic Choir, both esteemed among Slovenia's premier choral ensembles. In 2014, he was honored with the Gallus Plaque, Slovenia's highest recognition in the realm of musical endeavor, alongside the prestigious national award, the Prešeren Fund Prize, Mrian Kozina Prize and Republic of Slovenia Prize for Education..
He is regulary invited to act as a jury member at choral competitions worldwide, he actively engages in choral music seminars and masterclasses for conductors and composers alike, offering his expertise as a lecturer.
He is a graduate of the "Carlos López Buchardo" National Conservatory of Music and the "Juan José Castro" Provincial Conservatory of Music.
He has participated in various advanced courses with national and international teachers.
He has led workshops in his specialty throughout the country for the choral programs of the National Ministry of Culture.
He is the principal conductor of the LAGUN ONAK Choral Association, with whom he has performed most of the works in the symphonic-choral repertoire.
In 2006, he founded the CAMARA XXI Vocal Ensemble, with whom he is constantly promoting contemporary choral music. They have performed in venues such as the Teatro Colón, the San Juan Auditorium, the CCK-Palacio Libertad, the Usina del Arte, the National Music Center, etc. He has won prizes in various national and international competitions, including the San Juan Canta competition and the Tolosa Choral Competition (Basque Country).
He is the director of the Choir of the Faculty of Law at the University of Buenos Aires.
He also works as a Professor at the Astor Piazzolla Conservatory in the City of Buenos Aires.
Jan Schumacher (*1980) has been University Music Director and Honorary Professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main since 2015. Additionally, since 2024, he has been the Artistic Director of the Frankfurter Singakademie and, since 1999, the conductor of the Camerata Musica Limburg.
With his ensembles, he explores a wide range of repertoire, from Gregorian chant to world premieres and jazz, from symphonic orchestras to big band, as well as vocal and electronic improvisation. Regular recordings for HR, SWR, ORF, RTÉ, EBU, and Deutschlandradio, along with numerous CD productions, document his work. Camerata Musica Limburg is also a first-prize winner of prestigious national and international competitions and a guest at major music festivals.
After studying music education in Mainz, Jan studied conducting with Wolfgang Schäfer in Frankfurt. From a young age, he was shaped by the fascination of making music together, which he experienced as a child and adolescent (musical training with the Limburger Domsingknaben and in the Rheinland-Pfalz State Youth Choir). This continues to drive his diverse activities until today. Between 2009 and 2025, Jan taught as a lecturer, instructor, and professor at various universities. His extensive teaching experience led to the publication „Dirigieren. Proben. Singen“ by Carus Verlag. Additionally, Jan has edited 20 choral collections with major choral music publishers (Bärenreiter, Carus, Helbling, OUP, Peters).
Jan is a sought-after guest conductor, juror and seminar leader for choirs, orchestras, and conductors both nationally and internationally. Invitations lead him to many European countries, Argentina, Panama, Venezuela, USA, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, China and The Philippines.
For many years, Jan was a member of the board and music commission of the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat. Since 2019, he has been the chair of the Choral Advisory Board of the German Music Council, making him the artistic director and jury chair of the German Choral Competition. Since 2020, he has also been one of the vice-presidents of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM). Jan is appointed jury-president for three editions of the prestigious International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, starting in 2027.
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Email: [email protected]
Phone & WhatsApp: +54 9 264 452 5301
Pasaje Cervantes 1625 norte
5400 San Juan, Argentina
Privacy policy