Young Artist Competition

Chloé auvray

Chloé Auvray is a student at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and has worked with many orchestras and conductors such as the Orchestre de Paris with Daniel Harding, the Ensemble Intercontemporain with Philippe Manoury and Ondes Plurielles. Chloé has participated in different academies such as the Concertgebouworkest Young in Amsterdam and the Academy of the Orchestre National D’Ile-de-France. She has also been learning orchestral conducting in Adrian McDonnell’s class in Paris for three years. She has participated in masterclasses by leading flutists such as Mario Carolli, Kersten McCall, Julien Beaudiment, Mathilde Calderini, Vicent Lucas and Andrea Lieberknecht.

julita burzyńska

Julita Burzyńska is a Polish flutist currently pursuing a Master of Music at Royal Conservatory Antwerp in Belgium and at Fryderyk Chopin Music University Warsaw in Poland. She has performed as a soloist with Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Varmian-Masurian Philharmonic, Girls’ Choir “Cantabile”, among others. She has also played in orchestras such as CASCOphil- chamber orchestra of Belgium, International Lutoslawski Youth Orchestra and Antwerp Youth Orchestra. Currently, she holds a position of principal flute in Youth Orchestra Flanders. Julita has also won prizes in many competitions and has performed in various chamber music settings, while also being the co-founder of an international flute collective of a flute-related podcast featuring inspiring flutists, under the name Flute Space.

eva faganelj

Eva Faganelj started playing the flute at the age of seven at the Nova Gorica Music School, in Slovenia, with Professor Armando Mariutti. She has won several first prizes as a soloist at international competitions in Serbia, Italy, Croatia, among others. Eva also performed as a soloist with the Chamber String Orchestra of the Ljubljana Academy of Music under the direction of Professor Janez Podlesek. She also had the opportunity to record a competition program on RTV Slovenia, and is currently studying at the Universität der Künste in Berlin, with Prof. Christina Fassbender.

Larisa kotnik

Larisa Kotnik is currently studying abroad at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz (Austria), on concert and pedagogical studies in the class of Prof. Johanna Dömötör and Prof. Norbert Girlinger, where she is attending the fourth year of her Bachelor studies. She has attended many masterclasses by renowned flutists such as Sir James Galway, Lady Jeanne Galway, Emmanuel Pahud, among others. She has also participated in several national and international competitions in Slovenia, Italy, Serbia and Great Britain, where she has achieved the highest awards.

jan schmitz marcó

Spanish flutist Jan Schmitz Marcó, began his musical training at the age of eleven at the Estudi de Música with Prof. Robert Sirvent. In 2017, he started his Bachelor Studies with Prof. Antonio Nuez and Prof. Fernando Gómez Superior at the Conservaotrio de Música de Aragón, and continued his studies at RCSM Victoria Eugenia in Granada with Javier Castiblanque. Currently, he is pursuing his master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg with Pro. Mario Caroli. Jan is currently a member of the Spanish National Youth Orchestra. During the last academic year, he received the first prize at the  “Premio Ceuta Flauta” and the “Internationaler Bodensee Musikwettbewerb” in Germany.

matilde mazzoni

Italian flutist Matilde Mazzoni, began studying with maestro Andrea Oliva at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, where she entered the advanced courses in 2019.Currently, she is studying at Kunstuniversität in Graz (Austria) in the class of Matthieu Gauci- Ancelin. Matilde has won numerous competitions such as the Young Musician Competition, National and International Anemos Competition, among others Since 2021, she has collaborated with the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese as second flute and piccolo.

ginestra spadari

Ginestra Spadari currently studies at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève in the class of Professor Jacques Zoon. She has participated in several masterclasses given by flutists such as Andrea Oliva, Paolo Taballione, Claude Lefebvre, Peter-Lukas Graf, Silvia Careddu, Emily Beynon, among others. She has also participated in advanced courses taught by Trevor Wye in England. Ginestra is an active member of the Swiss youth orchestra, Schweizer Jugend Sinfonieorchester, while also being in the academy of ‘Teatro alla Scala’ in Milan.

shigetora yokoi

Japanese flutist Shigetora Yokoi, began playing the flute at the age of 14 under the guidance of Katsuko Matsuyama. He has won prizes in competitions such as the 24th Biwako International Flute Competition, International Lake Boden Music Competition and the 20th Friedrich Kuhlau International Flute Competition. He is currently enrolled in the Bachelor’s program at the Freiburg University of Music and studies under the guidance of Prof. Mario Caroli.

Young PERFORMER Competition

MALEA BLUUM

German flutist Malea Bluum, has been surrounded by music of all kinds. In 2017, already having played the piano for two years, she started to play the flute. Malea has won prizes in national and international competitions such as “Jugend Musiziert” , WESPE, the international online competition of the German Flute Society, among others.

ZLATINA DOSTINA

Born in Bulgaria, Zlatina Dostina began playing the flute at the age of 7. Currently she studies in the music school “Lubomir Pipkov” with Prof. Kremena Kabakchieva and Berten D’Hollander. Zlatina has won several first places at Bulgarian competitions and dreams of becoming a professional musician.

GRETA MANDLER

Greta Mandler has been awarded numerous prizes in solo and ensemble competitions at regional, state and national level. She was also accepted as a scholarship holder of the “Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben” and took part in the National Youth Orchestra’s winter work phase with concerts in Germany and Denmark. Greta has also won prizes in many competitions such as the 3rd International Online Competition for Young Flutists and the Karel Kunc Competition. She was the only woodwind player to receive an invitation to the competition “Concertino Praga – the 56th Antonin Dvorak International Radio Competition for Young Musicians 2022”, followed by several concerts with radio recordings by Czech Radio.

LENKE OLLÉ

Lenke Ollé is currently a student at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest. Her notable accomplishments include winning first prizes in prestigious national and international flute competitions such as the 10th National Jeney Zoltán Flute Competition, 12th Elek Tihamér National Flute Competition, London Classical Music Competition, among many others. In 2021-2022 and 2023-2024 she was awarded the Hungarian National Young Talent Scholarship.

MELODY SHEN

Melody Shen is currently studying with Carol Wincenc at the Juilliard Pre College. She has performed on major stages in New York, including Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and Lincoln Center, as well as venues in Italy, the Dominican Republic, Spain, and France. Melody has won prizes in competitions such the 2019 Suzanne Culley Competition, 2020 Little Mozarts International Competition, Alexander and Buono International Flute Competition held every 3 years, among many others. In summer 2023, she toured with NYO2 (National Youth Orchestra USA 2), and she was accepted for NYO-USA 2024. She is an invited young artist for Salon de Virtuosi’s 2023-2024 season.

 

TONKA TKALEC

Croatian flutistTonka Tkalec, began playing the flute in 2017 in the class of Prof. Melanija Gradečak. Tonka has performed several times as a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of the City of Varaždin. In 2023 she performed at the 53rd Varaždin Baroque Evenings and has won prizes in competitions such as the International Woodwind & Brass Competition Varaždin and the Izidor Bajić Novi Sad Festival.

MINNA EMILIA VÜRST

Estonian flutist Minna Emilia currently studies at Heino Eller’s music school in Tartu, Estonia. She plays in many orchestras, ensembles and has won several prizes at competitions in Estonia and abroad, such as the DGfF International Online Competition for Young Flutists, Dutch International Flute Competition, Stockholm International Music Competition, among others. She has participated in several masterclasses, with flutists such as Greiss-Armin, Julien Beaudiment, Christina Fassbender and Niamh Mckenna.