Championship 2019

Dr. David Means is Director of Choral Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, TX, conductor of the Valley Symphony Chorale, and founder/conductor of the professional choir, the Valley Choral Artists. Prior to coming to UTRGV, Dr. Means taught at the Grammy Award winning Fine Arts Academy of Westwood High School in Austin, TX , the University of Southern California, Christopher Newport University, Hill College and has more than twenty years’ experience successfully teaching public school choirs in Texas and California. He is active as a guest conductor, adjudicator and clinician, across Texas, the United States, Europe, Mexico, Canada and Japan. Recently he served on the prestigious jury of the Preveza International Choral Festival in Preveza, Greece, and has presented workshops in Hawaii, Minnesota, West Virginia and Texas. Means earned degrees from Howard Payne University, Baylor University and the University of Southern California.

LUDO CLAESEN Belgian composer, conductor, jurymember Ludo Claesen studied at the LUCA School of Arts ‘Lemmensinstituut’ in Leuven (B) and at the Flemish Royal Conservatory of Music in Antwerp (B). During his studies, he concentrated on percussion, harmony, conterpoint and fuge, composition, choir-and orchestra conducting. In 1987, he completed with honours a masterclass in orchestra conducting with the Limburg Symphony Orchestra of Maastricht (the Netherlands) given by Jan Eelkema (Den Haag). As a guestconductor, he worked with several groups : the Limburg Symphony Orchestra Maastricht ; the Flemish Symphony Orchestra ; the Philharmonic Orchestra of Dnepropetrovsk (Ukrain) ; the Philharmonic Chamber orchestra of Köln (Germany) ; the Promenade Orchestra of Amsterdam , the Flemish Radiochoir, the Bachchoir of Middelburg, the Choir of the Royal Flemish Opera and the Jeju Philharmonic Choir of South-Korea. Ludo Claesen teached for 36 years conterpoint , fuge and chambermusic at the LUCA School of Arts Leuven (B) . At the moment he is the mainteacher of Choralconducting-and singing at the Academy of Music in Maastricht (Holland) and the Conservatory Municipal of Hasselt (Belgium). He also conducts the Cathedralchoir of Hasselt ; the “Chamberchoir of Maastricht” and the Cappella Concinite Leuven.. He has guest-conducted or lectured and judged at many concert halls, churches, music festivals (International Choral Academy of Bruges; European Musicfestival for the Youth Neerpelt; National Choralcontest in Holland; Int. Choral contest in Baden-Austria..)) and conferences in Europe. He has also manifested himself as a composer. His compositional career has embraced both large and smale scale choral works, various orchestral and instrumental pieces. His larger choral works, Psalmus 112 (1993) , Missa pro nativitate Europae(1994),); Missa Ave Virga Jesse (2003); Syntagma (choir and percussionseptet – 2004); Cantico del Sole (2015); Cantata for Lent I(2016) – Canyata for Lent II (2017) have been performed many times in Belgium and Holland. His “Eurode-fantasy”, written for 2 orchestras, has been created on the World Music Contest Kerkrade-Holland (2005), conducted by himself. Some of his works were honored in Composition Contest in Brussels, Leeuwarden, Verona and Rom. A lot of sacred compositions you will find on his CD “Claesen meets Claesen” 2010. Many of his compositions are published by Euprint (Belgium), the Centre of Flemish Music Antwerp (Belgium), Edition Ferrimontana (Germany), De Haske (Holland), Iduna (Holland), Intrada (Holland) and Ascolta (Holland). www.claesenlmmi.be

Jasenka Ostojic is chief of the Department of Conducting, Harp and Percussion at the Music Academy in Zagreb. Leads Choir and Chamber Choir Academy of Music. With them achieved outstanding opera and vocal – instrumental projects. The projects have been praised by the public and critics at home and abroad, and cooperation with renowned artists (M. Horvat, V. Gergiev, R. Muti, etc.). As a conductor of choirs and orchestras she won a series of the highest national and international awards, including two European Grand Prix. She has performed at major festivals in Croatia and abroad (Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, United Kingdom and United States).She is a permanent conductor of the Zagreb boys since 1994. Under her mentorship numerous boys soloists performed in productions of the national opera and concert house. She was a member of professional juries jury in competitions conductors, orchestras and choirs in Croatia and abroad. She is a lecturer and seminar leader in Zagreb, Rijeka, Varazdin, Split, Pula, Rovinj and Opatija, and guest lecturer at universities in the United States, Poland, Austria and Slovenia. Artistic Director of is World Choir Festival on Musical, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Djordje Stanković graduated and mastered conducting at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in the class of prof. Darinka Matić Marović. He has been expertly trained by master class Angela Šure and Mladen Jagušt. In 2002 he participated in the Sixth World Symposium on Mineapolis (USA). In 2003 he was a UNESCO scholar at the baroque master class in France. On the basis of biography and video footage, he was chosen as conductor Denis Kini's assistant at the master class in New York. In 2005 he participated in the 7th World Symposium on Choir Music in Koto (Japan). Dordje Stankovic has conducted many Belgrade amateur and professional ensembles, and with them outstanding achievements. Participant is a jury at several international choir festivalas. One of the founders of the Zemun chamber orchestra. Since 2003 he has been engaged in Opera National Theater in Belgrade as assistant conductor and korepetitor. In December 2005, the Serbian Cultural and Educational Community awarded him the Golden Badge for Unselfish Contribution to the Development of Culture, under the auspices of the Ministry of Diaspora of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. In February 2006 he was appointed Head of the National Theater of Opera in Belgrade and today he is performing this function.

Born on 18.08.1951. in Tuzla where he completes elementary school, elementary music education (piano department), and then enrolls in the Middle Music School in Tuzla and completes the theoretical and pedagogical and piano departments. Theoretical-pedagogical department enrolled in the 1970s at the Sarajevo Academy of Music. The Department of Conducting and Postgraduate Studies ends in the class of prof. Teodor Romanic. He has conducted with orchestra of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Radio television Chamber Orchestra and was a frequent guest of the Mostar Symphony Orchestra. Arnautović is especially noted for the academic choir "Gaudeamus", with over 180 concerts and concerts both in Croatia and abroad (Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Morocco). As the backbone of the repertoire for the female hor "Gaudeamus" conductor Arnautovic made the stylization of the Bosnian folk songs. The affirmation of the traditional Bosnian-Herzegovinian poem through artistic work has, with Arnautovic's credit, become today's musical literature in the curriculum and has found its use in reproductive art around the world. Since 2018 he has been nominated for the Professor of Emeritus at the Sarajevo Academy of Music, at the Department of Conducting. During the years Arnautović has achieved a successful pedagogical activity, which is especially expressed in the teaching of the orchestra and choirs. The concerts of these ensembles each year cause special attention to the music public, because the repertoire contains complex works of world music literature. They have to emphasize the premier performances of works such as the Symphony Orienta composed by Josip Slavenski, the works of Didona and Enej, King Arthur, Henry Purcell and many other works, oratories and works for choir orchestras and soloists. He is a winner of high-level acknowledgments by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the FBiH and special recognition of the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Culture and Sport for Contributing to the Development of Music Culture of BiH (1997).

Jasmin Hasić, was born in Tuzla, where he finished elementary and secondary music school. Even in high school, he began to show interest in conducting the ensemble where he was still a student of prof. Cestmir Dušek's hearer had the opportunity to lead and direct the Choir of the Secondary Music School in Tuzla. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the Music Academy in Sarajevo at the Department of Music Theory and Pedagogy, where he graduated in 2008 with the highest grade. Along with the completion of this study in July 2008, he received admission at the Department of Conducting and continues his regular study at the oldest Higher Education Institution for Music in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conducting study is in the class phDr Reşad Arnautovic where he graduated in July 2012, and in that year he strted a postgraduate studies. In June 2014, Jasmin completes a master's degree at the Art Department for conducting a gala concert with a large orchestra and a chamber of the Academy of Music in Sarajevo, and acquires the title of the Master of Music Arts in the field of conducting. He was awarded with the special award of the University of Sarajevo, "Silver Bead of the University" as one of the best students of the Sarajevo Music Academy. Jasmin Hasic has formed and successfully led a Mixed choir University of "Zvonko Ceric" Tuzla. In May 2012, with the group of enthusiasts, Jasmin Hasić founded the City Art Society of "Lega Artis" Tuzla, where he became the president and conductor of the Mixed and Children's Choir "Lege Artis". For the 6th year of work in "Lege Artis" and conducting "Lege Artis" ensembles, maestro Hasić won a several number of international awards from serious choirs festivals and competitions. He is the creator of the International Choir Championship "Lega Artis".