Established on the initiative of the Brussels International Music Academy with support of influential personalities in the world of music.
Nataliya Chepurenko (Belgium/Ukraine)
For Preselection, First and Final Rounds of the competition 2024
President of jury, founder, artistic director and founder of the competition “Merci, Maestro!”. Founder, director, piano & chamber music teacher of the “Brussels International Music Academy”.
Founder, artistic director, piano & chamber music teacher of the festival&masetarclasses “Music Academy FORTE”.
Master in Piano Performing, Teaching and Chamber Music graduated from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Kiev, Ukraine; the Royal Conservatory of Liege and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium.
Jury member at many International piano competitions, member of EPTA, and ballet pianist.
For several years main pianist of the Royal Ballet of Flanders and « Brussels International Ballet School », guest pianist at many international ballet companies. Jury member of several international competitions.
Olga Zdorenko (Italy/Ukraine)
For First & Final Rounds of the competition 2024
Professor of the Conservatoire of Frosinone (Rome). Artistic director of the musical association “Angelica Costantiniana” at Rome.
She won a lot of international contests such as “Carlo Zecchi” (Rome), “Classical Sanremo”, “Sulmona Award.” She won the constest “Walter Massaza” in Alessandria and she received the O.Messiaen special award.
In 2000 she graduated with the highest grades at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia and she became the chair of the piano department at the Conservatory Gesualdo da Venosa in Potenza (Italy, Basilicata.)
She worked with record labels such as Brilliant Classics, Diapason, Movie Sound, to produce her own CD. She is always invited at international festivals and she performed all around the world: France, Austria, Germany, Romania, Switzerland, Greece, Spain, Belgium and Australia.
Since 2015 she is the Lady of Malta’s Knights. She received a silver plaque from the President of the Italian Republic and the gold medal from the Italian Ministry of Culture for particular merits.
Diane Andersen (Belgium)
For Final Rounds of the competition 2024
Honorary professor of the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels, she is now conducting master classes in the universities of North and South America, Canada, Japan, China, Corea, Taiwan and Europe. Currently invited as member of the jury of international piano competitions. Member of the jury and the artistic commission of the world famous Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition Brussels.
Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden (Belgium)
For Final Rounds of the competition 2024
Honorary Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and currently at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.
Frequently performed in chamber music formation with musicians such as José Van Dam, Augustin Dumay, Miriam Fried, Silvia Marcovici, Gérard Caussé, Michaela Martin, Walter Boeykens, Frans Helmerson, the quartet Ysaÿe, the quartet Melos and the quartet Enesco.
Vanden Eynden was often a jury member in international competitions, primarily on the jury of the International Queen Elisabeth Competition. He was also artistic advisor for some festivals such as in Stavelot.
He built a solid career as an international soloist. At the same time he was a professor at the Royal Music Academy in Brussels and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. He was also artistic director of the Center européen de maîtrise pianistique Eduardo Del Pueyo.
Johan Schmidt (Belgium)
For Final Rounds of the competition 2024
Professor at the Royal Brussels Conservatory (Belgium) and Senzoku University in Tokyo, he regularly gives Master Classes in several European countries including Croatia (LAUS Academy), France (Académie d’été du Grand Nancy, Académie d’hiver du Grand Paris, Académie international d’été de Nice), Belgium (the international piano week in Wavre), and Luxembourg.
He also gives masterclasses in Asia including China (Qingdao University of Science & Technology), Shanghai, Japan (Sendai Piano Forum, Tokyo, Nagoya).
Yannick van de Velde (Belgium)
For First Round of the competition 2024
Professor of piano performance at the Conservatory Grand Duchee in Luxembourg and the Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt.
Finalist of the Busoni Competition in Bolzano, Italy (2015), “Prix d’Argent” and Public Prize in the Piano Campus Competition in Paris, and first prize in the Nany Phillepart Foundation Competition.
Performed across the world: the Philharmonie of Berlin, the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Lincoln Center in New York, Center of Fine Arts and studio 4 of Flagey in Brussels, Casa da Musica in Porto, Palacio de Festivales in Santander.
Tamara Kordzadze (Switzerland)
For Preselection of the competition 2024
Teaching at the Zurich Conservatory and her piano class counts over 53 Prizewinners of international and national piano competitions.
Founder and president of “Vivace” – an association that promotes and supports musically talented children and adults in Georgia.
Was co-founder, board member, and head of international relationships of the association „Youth Classics“ and „International Music Week Montepulciano“ from 2009 to 2014.
Leading two associations, successfully working on over 30 projects, and helping over 200 young musicians gave Tamara Kordzadze substantial experience and ultimately led to the „Unite Classics“ Association in order to make classical music accessible to a wider, new audience with innovative projects.
Tamara has been distinguished and has won prizes – including 1st prizes – at numerous national and international piano competitions.
Tatiana Kozlova (Israel)
For Preselection of the competition 2024
Professor of piano at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel–Aviv. Artistic director of “Stretto international piano competition” in Tel-Aviv. Previously artistic director of Scherzo international piano competition.
Teaches constantly around the globe in different master classes: Elena Cobb Star Music Festival, Musicfest Perugia, Carmel Klavier International Piano competition.
Master in Piano Performing, Teaching and Chamber Music graduated from Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kiev, Ukraine.
Touring career: performing at various international festivals and competition in Lithuania, Poland, Holland, Greece and Belgium.
Jury member in various piano competitions
Milana Chernyavska (Germany)
For Preselection of the competition 2024
Professor of Piano at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (Austria). She leads numerous international masterclasses worldwide.
A German artist with Ukrainian roots. Looking back at her impressive career, she established herself as one of the leading pianists and pedagogues of our times. Her critics agree with Alfred Brendel, who wrote that “Happiness was complete when one listened to Milana Chernyavska”. Since 2009 she is a piano professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria.
Milana Chernyavska is a sought-after teacher at international master classes as well as a jury member at various prestigious piano competitions, such as the ARD in Munich, the Busoni Competition, Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn, the Mozart Competition in Salzburg , the Santa Cecilia in Porto Competition or the Bluethner Goldaward in Vienna.
Yurii Kot (Ukraine)
For Preselection of the competition 2024
Honoured Artist of Ukraine, professor at the state P.I.Tchaikovsky Conservatory (now NMAU). Also, a graduate of the NMAU, class of Professor V.Kozlov.
A laureate of numerous national and international piano and piano duets competitions.
As a soloist and a soloist of symphony orchestras had concert tours in Europe, Asia and the USA, also made records for TV and radio.
Alongside with concert career Yurii Kot carries out educational activities at the piano department at National P.I.Tchaikovsky Music University of Arts, serves as a jury member at many International Competitions, gives master-classes in Serbia, Japan and Ukraine.
A laureate of National L.Revutsky Prize.
Herman De Vleeschhouwer (Belgium)
For Preselection of the competition 2024
Former director of the Academy for Music, Theater and Dance of Sint-Niklaas (Flanders); honorary president of VerDi, interest group for art education at policy level; former lecturer for Music Theory at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent; Delegationleader of the International Music school Seminar. Director of Musica Mundi School until Sept 2023.