The Jury

David Hill is widely respected as both a choral and orchestral conductor. His talent has been recognised by his appointments as Musical Director of The Bach Choir, Music Director of Leeds Philharmonic Society, Associate Guest conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of Yale Schola Cantorum, and International Chair in Choral Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music. He was Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers 2007–17.

He was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists at the remarkably young age of 17. Having been Organ Scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge, David Hill returned to hold the post of Director of Music 2004-2007. In March 2018, he was honoured with the prestigious Royal College of Organists medal.

David Hill has a broad-ranging discography covering Thomas Tallis to world premiere recordings. In 2019 David Hill was awarded an MBE for services to music.

Bine Bryndorf is Director of Music and Organist at Roskilde Cathedral west of Copenhagen, and Professor of Organ at London’s Royal Academy of Music.

After studies in Vienna she taught for four years as assistant to Michael Radulescu. In 1994 she moved back to Denmark and for 24 years she was Professor and later as Head of Department at The Royal Danish Academy of Music. In 2017 she chose to become a full time musician, as Organist at the famous 1610 Esaias Compenius organ at Frederiksborg Castle. 2020 she was appointed Director of Music in Roskilde, home of the 1654 Raphaëlis organ.

Bine Bryndorf is an acclaimed international soloist and is in great demand as a teacher and juror. In 2019 she became an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music and was awarded the Grand Frobenius Prize.

She has recorded organ works by Buxtehude, Scheidemann, Bruhns, Bach and the Danish composers Carl Nielsen and Niels la Cour.

Pieter van Dijk is City Organist, and organist of the Grote Sint Laurenskerk, in Alkmaar. He is Head of Organ Studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg. Together with Frank van Wijk, he is Artistic Director of Organ Festival Holland.

A pupil of Bert Matter at the Arnhem Conservatory, he furthered his studies with Gustav Leonhardt, Marie-Claire Alain and Jan Raas. His many recordings have included the prize-winning DVD ‘The Organs of the Laurenskerk’. In 2017 he commenced a complete Bach cycle for DMP Records.

Van Dijk has published articles about Weckmann, Sweelinck, Bach and the early20th-century German organist Karl Straube. He was an advisor behind the much-lauded reconstruction of the organ at Hamburg’s St Katharinenkirche, on which Bach famously performed.

As a performer and jury member, he has appeared throughout Europe as well as in the USA and Japan.

Rie Hiroe studied at Toho Gakuen School of Music and Tokyo University of the Arts. She received scholarships to continue studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover and the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart. She studied under Tsuguo Hirono, Masaaki Suzuki, Ulrich Bremsteller, and Ludger Lohmann. She was awarded numerous prizes, including both the Grand Prix and the Audience Prize at Grand Prix de Chartres1998.

She is now a recording artist and concert organist in Europe, USA, Korea and Japan.

She is Professor for Organ at Tokyo University of the Arts, Director of the Japan Association of Organists and a member of Japan Society of Organ and Organist at German Protestant Church Kreuzkirche Tokyo.

She is a regular jury member at international organ competitions.

Todd Wilson is Head of Organ at The Cleveland Institute of Music, and Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland.

He studied at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and The Eastman School of Music. He has won numerous competitions, including the Grand Prix de Chartres (France) and the Ft. Wayne Competition. He has been a featured performer at numerous conventions of the American Guild of Organists.

Todd Wilson performed in many major cities throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Orchestral appearances include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, members of the Atlanta Symphony, and the Nashville Symphony. He has recorded many critically acclaimed CDs on the Delos and JAV recording labels.

Todd Wilson has served on the juries of numerous national and international competitions.

In his innovative projects Franz Danksagmüller makes links between historical and contemporary music, between classical musical instruments and their modern electronic counterparts.

He has collaborated with scientists and a broad range of artists, including bass-baritone Klaus Mertens, composer Carla Scaletti and duduk player Gevorg Dabaghyan. His ‘comprovisations’ with saxophonist Bernd Ruf build bridges between baroque and contemporary music. He collaborated with Martin Haselböck in the musical theatre piece Just Call Me God, with John Malkovich in the leading role.

His latest projects combine his compositions with visualisations and film recordings.

He is Professor of Organ and Improvisation at the University of Music Lübeck, and a visiting professor at Xi´an Conservatory of Music and the Royal Academy of Music.

Jean-Baptiste Robin is Organist of the Palace of Versailles and Professor at Conservatoire in Versailles.

He performs widely, including at Walt Disney Concert Hall Los Angeles, Mariinsky Theater St Petersburg, National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing and Sejong Cultural Center Seoul. He has been Distinguished Artist in Residence at Yale University and Visiting Artist at Oberlin Conservatory, and is a regular professor at the International Summer Academy in Haarlem.

His compositions have been performed by the Orchestre National de France and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and by many organists around the world.

He studied at the National Superior Conservatory of Music in Paris, winning seven Premier Prix and two postgraduate diplomas. He studied organ with Marie-Claire Alain, Olivier Latry, Michel Bouvard and Louis Robilliard, and composition with George Benjamin at King’s College, London.