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JSFest competition


Jury members

Chairperson Maria Tuturilova, harp
The young harpist Mag. Maria Tuturilova is one of the new leading harpists on the current concert scene. As further recognition of her excellent skills, she has been officially listed in the encyclopedia “Who is Who Austria” since 2009 and has been awarded Austrian citizenship since December 2010.
Born in Sofia/ Bulgaria, she began her musical education at the age of 7 with the piano and later at the age of 11 with the harp.
International award-winning Harpist and teacher Mag. Maria Tuturilova holds 4 master's degree with distinction from the State Music Academy "Prof. P. Vladigerov” (2000): harp in the class of Prof. Malina Christova (student of the legendary Prof. Vera Dulova in Moscow), conducting, music pedagogy, piano and organ. 1999-2001 postgraduate degree for harp at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in the class of Univ. Prof. A. Blovsky-Miller (member of the Vienna State Opera). Completed numerous harp master classes in Europe (A. Fontaine, C. Popova, Prof. E. Witsenburg, A. Schinozaki, C. Michel, I. Moretti, I. I. Roncea, P. Tassini, J. Molnar, etc.).
As a concert harpist and harp teacher Mag. Maria Tuturilova has won prizes (Grand Prix and 1st prize) at over 55 international competitions and festivals for harp (Sofia, Beograd, Moscow, Munich, Italy, Argentina, Slovenia, Ireland, Spain, USA, Hong Kong, etc). Some of her students are also prize winners of various international competitions.
Mag. Tuturilova has received the following scholarships and other awards: International Foundation "Open Society Soros", Zonta International, Herbert von Karajan Center & Thyll-Dürr Foundation, Live Music Now “Yehudi Menuhin”, etc. Golden Badge for Achievements from the National Society “Mati Bolgaria”, Ministry of Culture of Republic Bulgaria, World Harp Congress Scholarship, etc.
Numerous CD recordings and film music (Ennio Morricone), TV and Radio live broadcasts, etc. Solo recitals, chamber music concerts. Regular soloist with "SOFIA SOLOISTS" Chamber Ensemble, chamber orchestra "EPOCH", chamber orchestra "TEMPI CONCERTATI", State Academic Symphonic Orchestra, Men's Choir "GUSLA", Sofia Women's Chamber Choir "Vassil Arnaoudov", etc. Orchestra concerts (Principal Harpist: 1st Private Orchestra for Film Music, New Symphonic Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic, ELO Electric Light Orchestra, Keyo Wagner Society Orchestra Tokyo, etc.) in Europe & USA, World Harp Congress, etc. under Maestros R. Milanov, E. Tabakov, P. Djurov, E. Morricone, K, Jarvi, A. Previn, M. Jurowski, D. Russell Davies, P. Boulez, etc.
2002-2008 solo harpist of the Vienna city hall, 2008-2010 solo pianist & harpist Imperial Riding School. Since 2003 regular substitute for the Tonkünstler Orchestra Lower Austria, RSO, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Vienna State Opera, Children's Opera and Philharmonie, Volksoper, Chamber Opera, etc.

Alexander Maistrenko, clarinet
Alexander Maistrenko was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the family of a musician - bass clarinetist and saxophonist of the Leningrad Radio and TV Orchestra. His first clarinet teacher was his father. After studying at a music school with an associate professor of the Institute of Culture Ph.D. G.Kupisok, Alexander entered the music college in the class of the Mariinsky Theater clarinetist Associate Professor N. Kiryukhin. After graduating from college, he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the class of Professor P. Sukhanov, who was his father's teacher.
During his studies, Alexander became a diploma and winner at International competitions and entered the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra Klassika as a soloist, where he was the principal clarinetist for 15 years. Over the years, he has toured numerous countries in Europe, Japan, Korea, USA and Canada, taught master classes in Japan and Korea, and performed сhamber and solo concerts in Finland.
Alexander has repeatedly performed Mozart's Clarinet Concerto with the orchestra, and performed in chamber concerts of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. In 1995 he performed clarinet solo in Cavaradossi's Aria from Puccini's Tosca at the Placido Domingo Gala Concert in Turku (Finland).
Alexander has also been a guest soloist at the Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky Theaters, the St. Petersburg Ballet Theater, and the Conservatory Music Theater.
Alexander Maistrenko is a regular participant of the St. Petersburg Autumn International Festival, where he performs solo, in an ensemble and with an orchestra, and is the first performer of many works by contemporary composers, some of which are dedicated to him.
Now Alexander Maistrenko is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Music at Herzen University, where he teaches clarinet and saxophone to students from various countries. He is the author of the monograph Clarinet and Saxophone in Russia and many articles on the history of musical art on wind instruments.

Vadim Grigoriev, percussion
Grigoriev Vadim Olegovich was born in 1971. After graduating from the ten-year school at the Conservatory in 1990, he entered the Conservatory of St. Petersburg. He studied there in the class of associate professor Mikhailov A. A. in the period 1990-1995. In 1992-1999 he worked in the Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Capella. In 1999-2001 he worked in the Mikhailovsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. Since 2000, he has been a member of the "Four Quarters" percussion ensemble. Since 2005, he has been teaching percussion instruments at music schools in St. Petersburg. Since 2020, he has been teaching percussion instruments at the V. A. Gavrilin.

Lin Weidong, percussion
Lin Weidong Teacher of Western Percussion, School of Arts, Sun Yat-sen University Director of the Percussion Society in Chinese Musicians Association Adams®.
Lin Weidong was born in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province in 1997. He has studied piano for ten years since he was a child. He learned from Lai Chunli, an expert of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Grading Examination Committee, and Huang Lu, from piano department of Fujian Vocational College of Art. After that, he engaged in percussion. Successively learned with: Li Liguang (deceased), percussionist of Fujian Symphony Orchestra; Lin Xinyuan, percussion teacher of Fujian Arts School; Yang Ruwen, percussion professor of Shanghai Conservatory of Music; Li Yajuan, percussion professor of Xinghai Conservatory of Music; Jin Jiguang, president of the Chinese Music Association Percussion Society; Liu Heng, Minister of Percussionin National Centre for the Performing Arts; Li Biao, professor of the Hans Eisler School of Music in Germany and Professor of the Central Conservatory of Music. In 2014, he was admitted to the Percussion major of the Orchestra Department of the Central Conservatory of Music with honors, and studied by Li Biao, the internationally renowned percussion soloist, conductor, percussion professor at the Hans Eisler Conservatory of Music in Germany, director of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, and doctoral tutor of percussion at the Central Conservatory of Music. In 2016, he won the gold medal in the pentathlon professional group of the 11th China National Percussion Competition, the second place in multi percussion, the first place in vibraphone, the first place in marimba, and the first place in timpani.
From 2014 to 2021, he joined the Li Biao Youth Percussion Group as the main member; in school, he served as the principal of the percussion department of the China Youth Symphony Orchestra; in the same year, he performed percussion solo concerts in the Concert Hall of the Central Conservatory of Music and the Jiuritai Concert Hall. Later he appeared in "Music Weekly", "People's Music Magazine" and other publications. He has completed a number of excellent concerts with China Philharmonic Orchestra, National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Central Conservatory of Music, Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, Dunshan Symphonic Wind Orchestra, etc.. In 2017, he entered the Graduate School of the Central Conservatory of Music for further studies with the qualification to be exempted from examination. In November, he participated in the Chinese Chamber Opera Promotion Program, which was praised by many composers and directors. In December, he served as a percussion lecturer of the Art Education course of the National Centre for the Performing Arts. In 2018, with the invitation of Fujian Grand Theater, as a soloist, he performed Lin Weidong's percussion solo concert together with conductor Li Biao, Professor Liang Danan, violin doctoral tutor of the Central Conservatory of Music, and Fujian Symphony Orchestra, which was widely praised by the industry and reported by many media. In April 2019, he was invited to perform in the 3rd Art Season Percussion Concert of Capital Normal University. From 2019 to 2020, he won the Central Conservatory of Music Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Zhao Ji Percussion Scholarship —— the only scholarship set up for percussion in China.
Lin Weidong is committed to the development and promotion of new Chinese percussion works, has premiered and recorded many new works. Lin Weidong's new solo work "Shadow Puppet" and the large-scale mixed chamber music work Asian Copper in September were respectively selected for the Beijing Culture and Art Fund-funded project and the Moscow Art Talents Composition Collection; In China's "Yanhuang Cup" Percussion Composition Competition, the 2019 debut percussion quintet "Vector II" won the Composition Award, the solo work the Trace of Shadow won the Composition Award and the Best Performance Award; in 2021, he held two academic concerts "Minimalism in Percussion I&II" at the Central Conservatory of Music, which are well received by the industry. He published the paper "Percussion Works and Their Interpretation under Minimalism" in combination with practice, which was selected as an excellent paper of the Central Conservatory of Music. As a percussion soloist, Lin Weidong is active in major concerts and public welfare performances. He has played in the National Grand Theater, Beijing Zhongshan Concert Hall, Beijing Concert Hall, Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, Central Conservatory of Music Concert Hall, Jiu Ri Tai Concert Hall, Shanghai Concert Hall, Fujian Grand Theater, Jinan Grand Theater, Guangzhou Grand Theater, Tianjin Grand Theater, etc. In the process of study and practice, he has participated in nearly 100 performances of solo, ensemble, modern new works, symphonic classical music, chamber music, etc.; in terms of teaching, influenced by Wang Yue, percussionist of the China Philharmonic Orchestra and associate professor of percussion at Capital Normal University, he followed to study percussion teaching and became a professional percussion teacher, with a lot of experience in playing and teaching. Lin Weidong is still striving to become a better musician and teacher, and will continue to learn more knowledge to enrich himself and leave more beautiful music moments.

Borislava Taneva, piano
Borislava Taneva is a pianist-performer, a composer, a pedagogue, a chamber musician, an organiser of musical events. Her active participation in the contemporary cultural life in Bulgaria and abroad defines her as a successful, multispectral musician.
She was born in Sofia in the family of distinguished musicians and started her musical education at a very early age. She completed her master’s degree in piano and composition at the National Music Academy “Pancho Vladigerov” in Sofia. There are some other world famous professors like Jacob Lateiner,Germaine Mounier, Vera Gornostaeva and Ludwig Hoffmann who also played a role in her development as a performer. Borislava Taneva has been a laureate of national and international piano, chamber music and composition competitions in Bulgaria, Italy, Japan, Greece, etc. She has performed multiple recitals in Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, Italy, Brasil, Switzerland, Lithuania, Israel, France, Norway, Macedonia, Spain, etc. After her graduation Borislava Taneva started work as an assistant professor in the Piano Department of the Performance Faculty of the National Music Academy /NMA/ in Sofia. Currently she is a piano and pedagogical practice professor at NMA in Sofia and vice rector of the Academy.
In 2012 a Doctor's degree (PHD) was conferred on Borislava Taneva. For several years she had great success, teaching Interpretation of Contemporary Music in Athens.She gives masterclasses and delivers seminars on various topics at music colleges and academies in Greece, Swiss, France, USA, Luxembourg, Brasil, Spain, USA, Singapore, Norway, Italy etc. Prof. Taneva has appeared as a jury member in many national and international piano competitions in Greece, France, Vienna, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Serbia etc. Her students have been awarded with numerous of prizes from national and international forums and competitions. She is the author of several opuses of piano pieces for beginners, edited by MUSICA FERRUM in London. She is the founder and a member of the Swiss-Bulgarian Association of Culture – SBAC, based in Geneva. B. Taneva was awarded with special prizes for her contribution to Bulgarian culture.

Darinka Todorov, piano
I work as a pianist, professor, accompanist and chamber musician, performing mostly classical music. As a piano professor I work almost 37 years at music school "Stanislav Binički" - Belgrade.
During a long career, as chamber musician, I cooperated with musicians from Sweden, Finland, Serbia etc. On International piano competition in Novi Sad (Serbia), and other domestic competitions I was a jury member. In National theatre - Belgrade I was working on opera "Salome" and cooperating with German conductor Johanes Harneit. For about 15 years, Svetozar Vujic - double bass, and I perform and play together, as a chamber duo "DiS". Among other concerts, we had recitals in Belgrade -Serbia, on BASS CONGRES 2016. - PRAGUE, BASS CONGRES 2018. - LUCCA - ITALY, at ISB Convention 2019. - Bloomington - USA. Our most recent concert was at 10.03.2021. - Historical musem - Belgrade - online streaming.
