Gitte Marcusson, flute

Gitte Marcusson is a professor at the Royal College of Music, London and director of Music Education Vänersborg. After 5 years of study at The Royal Northern College of Music, she was a teacher at Chethams School of Music for 16 years and regularly guested with orchestras such as The National Symphony Orchestra and BBC Wales. She is a highly sought after teacher. Many of her students are active today as soloists and voice leaders in world orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the Scottish National Symphony Orchestra. Gitte has been a guest teacher at universities in London, Manchester, Cologne, Gothenburg and Oslo and is at the Wildacres Flute Retreat in North Carolina, USA.

Ingemar Roos, trombone

Was a member of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra for almost four decades and is much in demand as a trombone teacher and brass instructor all over the world, e g at the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and several US universities. He is professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and teaches at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg.

Randi Krogvold, flute

Randi Krogvold Lundqvist has a deep and versatile background as a musician and teacher, with a special focus on talent development. She is currently head of the wind department at Barratt Due Musikkinstitutt in Oslo and has for many years held the same position at Valdres sommersymfoni. Randi studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music, has worked in all the major Norwegian orchestras and performed at leading festivals in Norway and abroad.

Per Ivarsson, trumpet

Per Ivarsson is the Principal Trumpet of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and teaches at the Academy of Music and Drama, Gothenburg University. In 2015–2016 he served as Principal Trumpet of the Oslo Philharmonic and began his soloist diploma studies under professor Håkan Hardenberger in Malmö. After that he moved to Karlsruhe, where he had the opportunity to explore baroque repertoire on original instruments, as well as contemporary music with Ensemble Phoenix in Basel. On his return to Sweden, he was appointed Co-Principal Trumpet of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, and won his current position in Gothenburg a few years later.

Péter Nagy, piano

The first prize in the 1979 Hungarian Radio Competition launched pianist Péter Nagy into a remarkable international career at a young age. Nagy had been admitted at the age of eight to the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest and at the age of eleven he won the second prize of the International Concours in Usti nad Labem (Czechoslovakia). Nagy has been performing concertos and solo recitals all over the world and he is a highly valued chamber musician as well. Péter Nagy is also active as a teacher, holding positions as professor of piano at the Liszt Academy in Budapest and professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart.

Jonas Olsson, collaborative piano

Jonas Olsson has accompanied the Polstjärnepriset competitors since 2010 and works as a repetiteur at Norrlandsoperan in Umeå. He belongs to a new generation of versatile pianists and is much appreciated for his work as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. Jonas, who has studied with Hans Pålsson and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, is one of Scandinavia’s recognized experts on contemporary music and has collaborated with a long list of the world’s leading composers.

Lorenzo Soulès, piano and collaborative piano

The French pianist Lorenzo Soulès’ international career began in 2012, when he, aged 20, won 1^st prize in the prestigious Concours International de Genève. Since then he has been a regular guest at venues like the Royal Festival Hall in London, Tonhalle Zürich, National Concert Hall in Taipei, the Festival Messiaen au Pays de la Meije, the Aldeburgh Festival and the Klavierfestival Ruhr, where he has been involved in the festival’s Education Project since 2011. Born in Lyon, Lorenzo studied with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Tamara Stefanovich in Cologne, and between 2006 and 2009 also took lessons with Alicia de Larrocha, working on the complete Iberia cycle by Albeniz.

Marianna Shirinyan, piano

Polstjärnepriset welcomes the Armenian-born pianist Marianna Shirinyan as a member of the jury. She is one of the most creative and sought-after pianists in Europe today. Among others she has performed with symphony orchestras in Munich, Oslo, Helsinki and Copenhagen. Already at the age of 19 Marianna held a part-time position as a teacher at the Musikhochschule in Lübeck. Since 2015 she is professor at the Norwegian Academy of Musik and from summer 2020 she is co-artistic director of the Valdres Sommersymfoni in Norway. Marianna has received the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s award for her contribution to Danish music life.

Alf Richard Kraggerud, violin

Alf Richard Kraggerud is one of Europe’s most talked about talent developers. He works as a violin teacher and pro-rector at the Barratt Due Musikkinstitutt in Oslo, which trains young talents from primary school age all the way to soloist performances on the world’s most established concert stages.

Eszter Haffner, violin

Over the last 25 years, Eszter Haffner has captivated audiences worldwide with her distinctively rich sound, superb musicianship, and outstanding interpretations. She has established close relationships with many of the most prestigious conductors and orchestras. Always willing to expand her musical horizons, Eszter is also much sought after as a viola player.

Since 2002 she has been Professor of Violin at the KUG University of Music Graz, Austria, and since 2010, also at the Royal Academy of Music Copenhagen, Denmark. As a guest professor, she regularly taught at Royal College London, Liszt Academy Budapest, Aurora Stockholm, Sibelius Academy Helsinki, etc.

Kristoffer Dolatko, violin

Kristoffer Dolatko is a Polish violinist who, after moving to Denmark, became known for his extensive and successful educational work as a talent developer of young violinists and viola players. He has worked both at the music academy in Aarhus and at the city’s music school. Kristoffer also started his own private music school – Auerinstitutet and now works at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, an internationally sought-after boarding school. Dolatko has additional international assignments, including at the Astona summer academy, where he is assistant artistic director.

Maciej Rakowski, violin

Maciej Rakowski was born in Poland and studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. Having been associate leader of the English Chamber Orchestra for many years, he has worked with Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zukerman, Daniel Barenboim and Isaac Stern, among others. He has been a guest leader of many orchestras, including London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hallé Orchestra. As a teacher, Rakowski has had great success, with many students achieving international acclaim. He is now a professor at the Royal College of Music in London.

Terje Skomedal, violin

Originally from Sandnes in Norway, Terje studied at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo with Stephan Barratt-Due and Geir Inge Lotsberg, followed by a soloist diploma in Lucern with Giuliano Carmignola. Since 2008 he has been 2^nd violin section leader of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Terje is also an active chamber musician, regularly appearing at festivals in Norway and Sweden, as well as appearing with other orchestras, both as soloist and as concert master. He is also the playing leader of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra’s own baroque orchestra.

Laura Groenestein-Hendriks, viola

The Dutch violist Laura Groenestein-Hendriks holds a position in the viola section of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Already at a young age she won several prizes in The Netherlands.
During her master studies in The Hague, Laura got a position as principal viola in La orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago de Chile. After four years Laura moved back to Europe and since then she has been playing with a number of orchestras in Europe. Besides playing in GSO, Laura is teaching and she is an active chamber musician. Laura is a member of the Ensemble Caplet, a combination of harp, flute and string quartet. This ensemble mostly performs French repertoire and has been giving concerts all around Europe.

Judith Ingolfsson, violin

Violinist Judith Ingolfsson is recognized for her intense, commanding performances, uncompromising musical maturity, and charismatic performance style. Based in Berlin and Baltimore and enjoying a global career, she performs regularly as soloist, chamber musician and in recital. Judith Ingolfsson studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Jascha Brodsky, David Cerone and Donald Weilerstein. A Gold Medal winner at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 1998, Judith Ingolfsson was honored by National Public Radio as Debut Artist of the Year 1999. She is currently Professor of Violin at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, co-artistic director and founder of the Festival “Aigues-Vives en Musiques” in France and the International Bach Academy Eisenach in Germany.

Andreas Brantelid, cello

Andreas Brantelid won first prize in the 2006 Eurovision Young Musicians. In 2008-2011 he was BBC’s New Generation Artist and in 2015 he received the Carl Nielsen Prize in Copenhagen. Today Andreas is one of the most sought-after performing artists from Scandinavia, winning woldwide critical acclaim for his thought-provoking interpretations, uniquely colorful sound and engaging personality.

Martti Rousi, cello

Martti Rousi studied with Arto Noras at the Sibelius Academy and with Janos Starker at the Indiana University. In 1986 Rousi won the Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and has since then performed as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors all over the world. In 1995 he was appointed professor of cello at the Sibelius Academy, where his cello class is attracting talents from around the world. He is invited to do masterclasses in leading academies on all continents and frequently serves as a jury member for major competitions.

Jakob Koranyi, cello

Jakob Koranyi comes from Stockholm and started his musical studies early. He has been taught by, among others, Torleif Thedéen, Ralph Kirshbaum and Frans Helmersson.
Jakob has received several international prizes and awards and now tours as a chamber musician and soloist around the world and is seen as one of Europe’s most interesting young musicians. He has appeared as a soloist in Vienna, Cologne, Hamburg, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Barcelona. Jakob has also played at several festivals such as the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival.

Andreas Patrik Hansson, conductor

Andreas P Hansson is a “product” of Musikerutbildning Vänersborg and Polstjärnepriset. 2012 – 2015 he studied for Ulrich Kaatz in Vänersborg. Nowadays he studies at Norway’s Musikkhøgskole with Prof. Ole Kristian Ruud and is also one of two conductors selected for Opptakt, Norway’s elite initiative for young conducting talent. In connection with Opptakt, Andreas has conducted several of Norway’s professional symphony orchestras in both concerts and master classes, including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted the Gothenburg Symphony on several occasions, the first time at the age of 19. Andreas has participated in numerous master classes for many big names, including Neeme and Paavo Järvi, Vasily Petrenko, Christian Ehwald, Nicolás Pasquet, Mark Stringer and Atso Almila.