Jury
Artistic Director and Conductor of the Salt Lake Choral Artists in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Brady R. Allred has developed “an international reputation for excellence.” Under his direction the Salt Lake Choral Artists, a community choral organization of seven choirs and over 350 singers, has achieved critical acclaim for their innovative concerts and Summer Choral Institute program. His choirs have won top prizes in Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, and have been featured at National Conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and the World Choral Symposium. Because of his energy and vision, Dr. Allred was selected by The Salt Lake Tribune as one of Utah’s Top 25 Cultural Power Brokers.
Prior to his full-time appointment as Artistic Director of SLCA, Dr. Allred was Director of Choral Studies at the University of Utah, Conductor of the Butler Symphony Orchestra, Director of Choral Activities at Duquesne University, and Conductor of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh. He has been a guest conductor for the Schumann Chamber Orchestra in Italy, the Wroclaw Philharmonic in Poland, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He has performed with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and has served on international juries in thirteen countries throughout Europe, Asia, and South America.
Dr. Allred earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting degrees from the Eastman School of Music, and his undergraduate degree in Theory/Composition and Flute Performance from Brigham Young University.
Studied at the Lithuanian State Music Conservatoire (now Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy) in the choral conducting class. From 1988 to 1992 he was invited to the Lithuanian State Conservatory chamber choir (led by A.Krogertas, T.Šumskas, Č.Radžiūnas), with whom has won many international prizes. From 1986 to 1989 he worked, as choirmaster, with the choir “Sakalas” (leader L. Abaris). Since 1989 he works, as choral conducting teacher, at the Kaunas ‘Juozas Gruodis’ Conservatory. In 1992 he founded the church chamber choir ‘Cantate Domino’. In 1992 he founded the International Choral Music Festival and Competition ‘Cantate Domino’. Since 1998 he gives lectures at the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy, Kaunas Faculty; actually he gives lectures at the Vytautas Magnus University Music Academy. Since 2006 Rolandas Daugėla gives conducting lectures at the ‘Juozas Naujalis’ Music Gymnasium and ‘Aleksandras Kačanauskas’ Musical School. The choirs of these schools have participated in more than 50 international competitions and festivals in Lithuania and abroad winning the highest awards and prizes. Rolandas Daugėla is a member of many unions. Since 1998 he is the chief conductor of the ‘World Lithuanian Song Celebrations’. Since 2006 he has been a member of the jury in many choral competitions in Lithuania and abroad. In 1998 the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania provided Mr. Daugėla with the 1st degree ‘S.Šimkus’ award for his musical activity and for the promotion of Lithuanian choral music. Rolandas Daugėla is the winner of the 2007 ‘Culture and Art scholarship’. In 2008 Rolandas Daugėla was nominated for the ‘Golden bird’ and was also winner of the ‘Authentic music’ award. In 2011 he was awarded for merit by the city of Kaunas mayor Jonas Vileišis with a ‘brass medal’.
Artistic Director of SICF/Conductor, SYC Ensemble Singers
A professional choir director, Jennifer is best known for her work with the Singapore Youth Choir (now the SYC Ensemble Singers), which she has directed since 1986. Her training as a composer at the Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) has led her to explore and re-define the choral idiom through her work with the SYC and in the Singapore school choir scene. She is also Artistic Director of the Young Musicians’ Society (YMS), which runs the First Aid for Choirs and Conductors workshop series as well as the Kodaly Seminar Asia for music pedagogues and choir conductors in collaboration with the Kodaly Institute of the Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest, Hungary).
Jennifer was Artistic Director of the Asia South Pacific Symposium on Choral Music (Singapore, 2001) and on the Artistic Committee for the 7th World Symposium on Choral Music (Kyoto, 2005). An elected Board member of the International Federation for Choral Music, Jennifer helps coordinate the Asia Pacific Working Committee as well as the Asia Pacific Youth Choir.
Jennifer has chaired and spoken on panels at conferences in Singapore, Sweden, Estonia and Denmark, and was principal lecturer at the 2008 Lithuanian Conductors Summer Academy, hosted by the Lithuanian Choral Union and the Ministry of Culture. She has taught choral conducting and pedagogy at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and is on faculty at the Kodaly Seminar Asia where she teaches conducting and leads the Morning Sing.
Jennifer has been on competition juries in Austria, Germany, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, China and Indonesia; and represents Singapore on the World Choir Council. She recently served on jury at the 7th World Choir Games (Cincinnati, USA) and the 11th China International Choral Festival (Beijing, China).
In 2011, Jennifer was awarded for „Artistic Excellence” by the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore. She is an inaugural recipient of Young Artist (Music) Award and in 2012, was conferred the Cultural Medallion, the nation’s highest arts accolade, by the President, Republic of Singapore, for her contribution in shaping Singapore’s cultural landscape.
Graduate of the music theory and choir conducting at the Gdańsk Music Academy. In youth member of the choir and conductor assistant in the Pueri Cantores Olivenses Boys’ And Men’s Choir, then a solo vocalist in the Polish Chamber Choir Schola Cantorum Gedanensis. Since 1992 a director of the Gdansk University Academic Choir. With this group he toured Poland and abroad performing in Austria, Kroatia, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, Italy, USA, South Korea and China. The laureate of many awards in the leading national and international choir competitions, individual conductor’s awards (Poland, Korea, Czech Republic), national distinctions, university and Pomeranian region awards: twice nomination – Pomeranian Artistic Award, laureate of the Mayor of Gdańsk’s Award in culture Splendor Gedanensis (2005).
As a conductor he led many orchestras: Polish Balic Philharmony, Koszalin Philharmony, Sinfonia Varsovia, Academic Orchestra of Gdansk Music Academy and Bremen University. He cooperated with world famous artists:: Krzysztof Penderecki, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Jannis Xenakis, Ennio Morricone, Jean Michelle Jarre. He has been a member of international and national juries for choral competitions. Since 2006 he is an artistic director of International Choir Festival Mundus Cantat Sopot.
Since 1987 he has been a lecturer at Gdansk Music Academy. In years 2005-2012 he was pro-vice chancellor of the Gdansk Music Academy dealing with students and artistic affairs. Since 2005 he is also the professor of University of Gdańsk.