International Choir Championship 2026

Sebastjan Vrhovnik is one of the most prominent Slovenian choral conductors. He currently leads the Mixed and Chamber Choir of the Ljubljana Music Society and collaborates on a project basis with the ARTPhonica choir from Austria. In October 2024, he took over the position of Artistic Director of the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir, as well as serving as an assistant to the Director of the Slovenian Philharmonic in the field of choral music. In addition to holding the position of Professor of Choral Conducting at the Academy of Music of the University of Ljubljana, he leads various choral conducting workshops in Slovenia and abroad, as well as being a member of professional juries at Slovenian and international festivals and competitions. Sebastjan Vrhovnik has appeared as a guest conductor with the RTV Slovenia Chamber Choir, the Opera Choir of the Slovene National Theatre Maribor, the ČarniCe Women’s Chamber Choir, the Slovenian Children’s Choir, the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir, the Carinthian State Youth Choir, the Croatian Radio and Television Choir, the DEKOR Chamber Choir and Grudnove Šmikle. For many years, he was the conductor and artistic director of the Mixed and Chamber Choir of the Ljubljana Academy of Music, the Obala Koper Mixed Choir, the Tone Tomšič Academic Choir of the University of Ljubljana, the Emil Adamič Teachers’ Choir of Slovenia, the Ecce Vocal Group and the Cantemus Kamnik Mixed Choir. With his choirs, Sebastjan Vrhovnik has recorded numerous CDs and achieved many first prizes and special awards at various national and international competitions. His concert activities are distinguished by his excellent knowledge of vocal technique and outstanding musicality, and his interpretations are marked by a unique suppleness and blending of choral sound.

Dr. Antoaneta Radočaj-Jerković is a conductor, singer, and university professor, and one of the most prominent choral conductors in Croatia, specializing particularly in working with young vocal choirs. She entered the world of choral music at the age of seventeen and has since worked as a conductor and artistic director of numerous vocal ensembles. She graduated with three university degrees: Choral Conducting, Singing, and Music Pedagogy, and earned her doctorate with a thesis in the field of choral pedagogy. She furthered her conducting studies abroad in Germany and the United States, attending prestigious music academies such as the Eastman School of Music and Westminster Choir College. She is employed at the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek, where she teaches as a full-time professor and holds the position of Vice Dean for Teaching and Students. She has received over thirty awards at national and international choir competitions, with the most notable including gold medals at international competitions in St. Petersburg (Russia), Llangollen (United Kingdom), Helsingborg (Sweden), Xiamen (China), Varna (Bulgaria), Sydney (Australia), and Gangneung (South Korea). She has been recognized with special awards for best young conductors at competitions in Sweden and Italy. In 2023, she was awarded the Croatian State Award "Ivan Filipović" for excellence in higher education and in 2016 received the City of Osijek's public recognition "City of Osijek Badge" for her significant contribution to musical culture and the arts. She has recorded for radio and television and released fourteen recordings, most notably the album Vocal Ensemble Brevis – Choral Journey Through the Centuries (Croatia Records, 2020). Notable albums also include: Brevis – The Most Beautiful Croatian Girls' Choirs (2010), Bruno Bjelinski: Droplets (2000), Adalbert Marković: Two Masses (2022), and Franjo Štefanović: The Forest Queen – Children's Opera (2022). Her recordings are featured on numerous compilation albums, many of which have become integral parts of the listening repertoire in music education. She achieved especially significant success with the Vocal Ensemble Brevis, with performances in some of the world's most prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York (USA), Sydney Opera House in Australia, and the Grand Philharmonic Hall and State Academic Capella in St. Petersburg (Russia). She has also prepared choirs and soloists for operas, operettas, and musicals performed by the Croatian National Theatre in Osijek and the Opera Pannonica of the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek, with notable titles such as Carmen, La Bohème, Tosca, The Little Dancer, The Countess Maritza, Ljubavni napitak (Love Potion), The Magic Flute, and Così fan tutte. Additionally, she has performed several distinguished solo roles in collaboration with the Croatian National Theatre in Osijek, singing as a soloist in operas such as Gianni Schicchi and The Little Dancer, as well as in operettas like Lijepa Helena and the musical The Man from Mannheim. She publishes and presents research works in the fields of music pedagogy and choral singing at scientific journals and conferences both domestically and internationally. She has authored two books: Singing in Music Education and Choral Singing in Education. She is a member of national and international jury panels at choral competitions and serves as the Croatian representative at the World Choir Council.

Csaba Kutnyánszky graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, he received diploma in theory of music and choral conducting. With a scholarship, he made researches at the University of Bologna in 1998. He has attended several master-courses. In 2005, he received his doctorate (DLA) degree at Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He conducts the Female Chamber Choir of Pécsvárad, and up to 2008 the Vox Medicata Mixed Choir of the Medical Faculty of the University of Pécs. With the latter one he won first prizes on five international contests. He founded the UniCum Laude Vocal Ensemble in 1994, which one he has given concerts in numerous Europian and Taiwanese festivals. He has produced several radio recordings with his ensembles (mostly in the Hungarian National Radio), and contributed as conductor or artistic director in eight CDs. In 2009 and 2010 he has been the leader of the choir conducting masterclass of the Renaissance and Baroque Days in Keszthely. In 2011, he was the chairman of the Artistic Committee of the 6th International Competition for Young Choral Conductors in Budapest. He was invited to take part in juries of international choir competitions such as the Kodály Choir Competition in Budapest, Debrecen International Choral Competition, „Valleys of Dawns” Festival (SR), KÓTA Composers’ Competition, Budapest; Competition for Young Conductors, Minsk (Belarus), Maria Radio Choir Competition (H), Lege Artis (Tuzla, BIH), Choir Festival and Competition, Sovata (RO), International Choir Competition, Zadar (HR), International Competition for Choir Conductors, Tbilisi (Gerogia). As full time professor he teaches choral conducting and conducting practice at Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, he is the head of the Orchestral and Choral Conducting Department, and the chariman of the Doctorate Committee. From 2011 he is the Vice Rector for Education at the Liszt Academy. He is a member of the Presidency of the Association of Hungarian Choirs and Orchestras (KÓTA), and the International Kodály Society (IKS). de mi prevedi