Jury

Sakari Oramo, Chair of the Jury

Sakari Oramo is Chief Conductor of both the BBC Symphony and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic orchestras. A guest conductor at the highest international level and a prolific recording artist, his performances combine structural cohesion with authority, elegance and passionate delivery.

Jaakko Ilves

Violinist Jaakko Ilves studied at the Sibelius Academy and the Juilliard School in New York. He has performed widely in Finland, The Unites States and in the Nordic countries with his own revitals and as a chamber musician. Ilves represents the Sibelius family in the Sibelius Society and has held the position of lecturer in violin music at the Sibelius Academy for over 30 years.

Ilya Kaler

Ilya Kaler is the only violinist to win the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition, the Sibelius Competition and the Paganini Competition. Kaler is considered to be one of the most outstanding personalities of the violin today whose career ranges from that of a soloist and recording artist to chamber musician and professor.

Ida Kavafian

Ida Kavafian presently performs as a soloist, in recital, with her sister Ani, as guest with distinguished ensembles and as a faculty member at The Curtis Institute. She has premiered many new works, has toured and recorded with jazz greats Chick Corea and Wynton Marsalis as well as Fiddler/Composer Mark O’Connor.

Henning Kraggerud

Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud is Artistic Director of the Arctic Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. His extraordinary reach as an artist is a result of his versatility and passion for music, as well as the genuine quality to his playing and the beauty of his performances.

Lucie Robert

Violinist Lucie Robert has received enthusiastic praise from audiences and critics alike for the expressive lyricism and tonal beauty of her playing. Lauded in the The New York Times for her “melting tone” and “wonderfully supple approach to phrasing,” Ms. Robert carries on the great violin tradition of her teacher and mentor Josef Gingold.

Daniel Rowland

Daniel Rowland has established himself on the international scene as a highly versatile, communicative, charismatic and adventurous performer. Alongside his extensive career as a violinist, Roland is also the founder of the Stift International Music Festival in Twente in the eastern Netherlands and worked 12 years as the leader of the Brodsky Quartet. Currently Rowland teaches at the Royal College of Music in London.

Elina Vähälä

One of Finland's most acclaimed violinists internationally, Elina Vähälä appears regularly with all of the key Finnish orchestras as well being a guest of countless high-profile orchestras across the globe. She is professor at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and a founding member of the Violin Academy, a master class based educational project for highly talented young Finnish violinists.