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Judge

Anton Armstrong

USA | President of the Jury

Anton Armstrong, Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College, became the fourth conductor of the St. Olaf Choir in 1990 after ten years in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he served on the faculty of Calvin College and led the Calvin College Alumni Choir, the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus and the St. Cecilia Youth Chorale. He is a graduate of St. Olaf College and earned advanced degrees at the University of Illinois and Michigan State University. He is editor of a multicultural choral series for Earthsongs Publications and co-editor (with John Ferguson) of the revised St. Olaf Choral Series for Augsburg Fortress Publishers. In June 1998, he began his tenure as founding conductor of the Oregon Bach Festival Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy. During 2017-18 season, Dr. Armstrong will serve as Guest Conductor of the 2018 Jeju Island International Choir Festival and Symposium as well as serving as a member of the Choral Jury for the 1st Tokyo International Choir Competition. Since 1990, Anton Armstrong has served as Artistic Director of the St. Olaf Christmas Festival which features nearly 600 student musicians who are members of five St. Olaf Choral ensembles and the St. Olaf Orchestra. In January 2006, Baylor University selected Anton Armstrong from a field of 118 distinguished nominees to receive the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching. In March 2007 Anton Armstrong was the first recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the American Boychoir School and in October 2009 he received The Distinguished Alumni Award from Michigan State University. In June 2013 Dr. Armstrong received the Saltzman Award from the Oregon Bach Festival. The festival’s highest honor, the Saltzman Award is bestowed upon individuals who have provided exceptional levels of leadership to the organization. In the Fall of 2014, The St. Olaf Choir and Dr. Armstrong received a Regional Emmy for the PBS television program Christmas in Norway with The St. Olaf Choir.

Javier Busto

Spain

  • Graduated in Medicine by the University of Valladolid. He works as a family doctor between 1977 and 2013, year of his retirement.
  • Initiated into choral music by Maestro Erwin List.
  • Conductor of Ederki Choir in Valladolid, consisting of Basque students 1971-1976.
  • Founder-Conductor of Eskifaia Choir in Hondarribia 1978-1994.
  • Founder-Conductor of Kanta Cantemus Korua in Gipuzkoa 1995-2007.
  • Founder-Conductor of Aqua Lauda Korua in Gipuzkoa 2014.
  • His scores are being published in Basque Country, France, Germany, Japan, USA, United Kingdom and Sweden.
  • Invited at "4th World Symposium on Choral Music in Sydney, Australia, 1996”.
  • Golden badge in his hometown, Hondarribia 1999.
  • ”OrfeónDonostiarra& University of the Basque Country Award,2012”.
  • Invited at "8th World Choir Games - Riga (Latvia),2014".
  • Commission for a new composition entitled “Zeinongi” (Lyrics, JosuneLópez) by the choir “KUP Taldea" conducted by Gabriel Baltes, for the “11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, 2017".
  • Commission for a new composition entitled “PakearenKoloreak” (Lyrics, JosuneLópez) by the "11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona, 2017". Premiered by St. Jacobs Vokalensemble, conducted by Mikael Wedar.

Yalungerile

Inner Mongolia

Yalungerile was born in Inner Mongolia, and graduated from Department of Composition and Conducting of Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1987, where she learned from the conductor and educator, Prof. Ma Geshun. In 1988, she participated in Helmuth Rilling’s conducting masterclass in the US. The same year, she graduated from the Conducting Department of Central Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Profs. Yan Liangkun and Wu Lingfen. In 2015, she studied at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music as a visiting scholar, she collaborated with the China National Symphony Orchestra Choir and China Youth Symphony Orchestra to hold a graduation concert called "Carmina Burana", along with completing her Master’s thesis "On the Art of Mongolian Choir Music", making her China’s first conductor to receive a Master’s degree. Yalungerile is the vice president of the China Choral Music Association, a professor in the Conducting Department of China Conservatory of Music, the permanent conductor of the Inner Mongolian Youth Ethnic Choir, and the artistic director and conductor of the Inner Mongolia Youth Choir. As a conductor, she took choirs on tour and successfully held many concerts in countries including England, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, and Macao. Moreover, she has been to Europe several times on the adjudicating committees of international choral competitions, and she is also on the adjudicating committees of important Chinese choral competitions such as the Jin Zhong Jiang (Golden Bell Award) and CCTV’s Youth Singer Competition. Her exquisite choral conducting overflows with enthusiasm, sincerity, and grace, and has won her worldwide acclaim from famous conductors and music scholars.

Hankuy Lim

Korea

Dr. Hankuy Lim, the Artistic Director of Gwangju City Choir, was the music director of Namyangju City Choir (a professional choir) from 2006 to 2010. He was the guest conductor for many prominent professional choirs in Korea including the National Choir of Korea. He was also a guest conductor for professional orchestras. Also he was invited to numerous conducting workshops as a clinician in the United States, Singapore and Korea. He was a professor at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and Chugye University of Art. Since 2013 he has been an Artistic Director of Gwangju City Choir which consists of 46 full-time professional singers sponsored by Gwangju City govermemt. He is also teaching choral conducting and choral music in Seoul National University. As a Westminster Choir member, he has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Luke Orchestra and Spoleto Festival Orchestra with the likes of Kurt Mazur, Wolfgan Sawalish and Loren Mazel in renowned music halls such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and The Academy of Music. He was also the Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Singing City Choir under Joseph Flummerfelt from 1996 to 1998. As the assistant conductor, he prepared a choir for the Philadelphia Orchestra, in addition to holding many other concerts with the Philadelphia Singing City Choir. Hankuy Lim holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Seoul National University in Korea. He continued his vocal studies in Milan, Italy where he studied with renowned voice teachers. He went to the United States where he earned a Masters Degree in Choral Conducting from the Westminster Choir College, studying under Joseph Flummerfelt. He holds a Doctoral degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Memphis.

Bomi Kim

Korea

Bomi Kim, currently serving as an assistant professor of choral conducting & director of choral activities at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, has extinguish accomplishments as a conductor, a teacher, and an administrator. In 2012, she became the choir master of the Vienna Boys’ Choir not only as the first female, but also as the first Asian choir master in its rich history. She held the position until she moved back to Korea in 2016. She toured various countries with the Vienna Boy’s choir and conducted in numerous concert halls. She served as a main organist and a choir master at the Crosschurch (Kreuzkirche) in Regensburg and also worked as a music teacher at the Music School Regensburg. She was a member and music coach of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir from 2007 to 2015, and with same choir she worked as an opera choir master at the Theater an der Wien. Among significant career highlights, she won the Ortnerpreis which is awarded to the best choral conductor in Austria in 2013. She is currently a music director and a choir master of SAC THE LITTLE HARMONY which is consisted with three music groups (choir, orchestra and Korean traditional orchestra) at the Seoul Arts Center. She is also a music director/conductor of Musica Mia, The Singers, and Saemoonan Presbyterian Church Seraphim Choir in Seoul. She received her bachelor of music degree in choral conducting from Yonsei University. After studying church music at Regensburg in Bavaria, she moved to Vienna and received her master of music degree in choral conducting, vocal music and Gregorian chant from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. She also studied in a doctoral program at the University of Vienna where she majored in Gregorian chant and music theory.
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