Jury

Described as a “supremely nuanced” (Gramophone), “remarkable baritone” (Opera News), Chris Thompson is an international artist noted for compelling performances on stage and in the concert hall. He has performed leading lyric baritone roles ranging from Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia to the title role in Elijah to Carl Magnus in A Little Night Music. A frequent recitalist, Chris’s numerous performances of Schubert’s Winterreise with acclaimed concert pianist Steven Spooner, have generated excitement throughout the country.

A strong advocate of new music, Chris made his Carnegie Hall debut singing Posh, a song cycle by composer Mohammed Fairouz. The premiere performance of MSU colleague Michael F. Murray’s song cycle, Neutral Tones, at the Parma New Music Festival was received enthusiastically. Chris has appeared in several world premieres including Guest from the Future (Lincoln Center), The Scrimshaw Violin (92nd Street Y), Box and Cox (University of Utah) and Hester Prynne at Death (Mercantile Library, NYC). In addition, Chris made his Off-Broadway debut in Fermat’s Last Tango. His performances have been featured on recording labels such as: Naxos, Original Cast Recordings, Albany Records, Koch-Schwann, and Novana Records.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Kansas, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London), Loyola University (New Orleans), and Kansas State University. Chris is a devoted teacher with successful singers winning competitions, singing at major summer programs, and performing leading roles as young professionals. He presently serves as Coordinator of Vocal Studies at Missouri State University and is past-president of Ozark NATS.

Pianist Jay Hershberger has played throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His domestic performances include the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Library of Congress. He has also been frequent guest artist at the Great Romantics Music Festival in Canada. In years past he performed in Europe, including the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in southern Italy and the South Bohemia Music Festival in the Czech Republic. Recent tours have included major cities in China, and at music festivals in Scotland and Italy.

He is a founding member of Excelsior! Trio, a chamber group that performs an eclectic mix of classical, folk, jazz, and fusion. Excelsior! Trio tours extensively in the US and in Europe. Jay is currently Professor of Piano at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. His undergraduate students regularly win competitions and have been accepted into prestigious graduate schools in piano performance and pedagogy, many with teaching assistantships.

An active adjudicator, Hershberger has judged for the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, the Phoenix Young Artist Competition, the San Angelo Symphony Sorantin Awards, the Lee Biennial Competition, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Young Artist Competition, and the Music Teachers National Association. He is the president of the American Liszt Society. His first compact disc recording, featuring works by Franz Liszt was featured on Michael Barone’s New Releases radio program on Minnesota Public Radio.

Massimiliano Baggio was born in Naples in 1961. He studied at the Conservatorio 'G. Verdi' of Milan where he graduated with full marks cum laude.

He continued his advanced musical studies with Sergio Fiorentino, attending master classes at Città di Castello with Antonio Ballista and at Fiesole with Maureen Jones and Dario de Rosa.

Since 1975, he has played in piano duo with Cristina Frosini performing in hundreds of concerts, orchestral recitals radio and television recordings for RAI and WDR, and recordings for Sarx Records. They are the only artists, in Italy, to have ever performed the complete works of Franz Schubert for piano four hands.Together they have won many international awards, including the 'Gian Battista Viotti International Music Competition 1982' in Vercelli and the 1986 International Competition 'Concorso Sergio Lorenzi' in Trieste. 

Currently they are playing for the most important musical societies in Italy including the 'Settimane Musicali di Stresa ', the' Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti 'in Rome, the' Festival dei due Mondi 'in Spoleto, the' Società dei Concerti 'and the' Grande Orchestra Sinfonica 'G. Verdi' in Milan, the 'GOG' in Genoa, the 'Unione Musicale' in Turin, the 'Amici della Musica' in Palermo, along with many others. Recently, they have played in Berlin, Stockholm, Seoul and USA.

In 1996 they made their debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan where they were again invited for a recital in 1999.

In 2000 the musical magazine 'Amadeus' published a CD in which they play music by Franz Schubert for piano duo.

Massimiliano Baggio is a professor at the Conservatorio of Milan, and regularly conducts advanced master classes for piano duo. Recently he has been invited by the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater of Vilnius, the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst of Stuttgart, the Iceland Academy of the Arts of Reykjavik, the Kansas University School of Music, the John J. Cali School of Music - Montclair State University, NJ, the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana of Lugano, the Conservatorio Superior de Musica de La Coruña, the Sunhwa Arts School and the Sungshin University of Seoul.

Since November 2016 he has been appointed Associate Dean of the Conservatorio 'G. Verdi' of Milan.

For nearly thirty years he has been responsible for the musical activities of the Società Umanitaria of Milan. In 2000 he conducted musical broadcasting programs for RAI RadioTre.

Paula Kosower, cellist, is an active performer and a dedicated teacher. She frequently plays with a wide variety of both chamber and symphonic ensembles. In recent seasons she has performed with Fulcrum Point New Music Project, for the MusicNOW series at Chicago Symphony Center, the Chicago Philharmonic Chamber Music Series, the Dame Myra Hess concert series, the Wheaton College Artist Series, International Chamber Artists concerts, and programs on WFMT 98.7. She frequently serves as a substitute player in the cello sections of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 

Ms. Kosower teaches applied lessons, cello pedagogy and orchestral repertoire classes and is an adjunct faculty member at several universities in the Chicago area including DePaul University School of Music and the University of Illinois-Chicago. She teaches private cello lessons for pre-college students at the Northwestern University Music Academy. During the summer season she frequently plays with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival, and for chamber music festivals such as Midsummer’s Music Festival in Wisconsin. She also has taught at regional chamber music camps organized by Midwest Young Artists, the Chicago Chamber Music Festival, and DePaul University School of Music. 

Described as a violinist with 'chops to burn, and rock solid musicianship' (The Whole Note, Toronto), Canadian violinist Véronique Mathieu enjoys an exciting career as a soloist, chamber musician, and music educator. An avid contemporary music performer, she has commissioned and premiered numerous works by American, Brazilian, and Canadian composers, and has worked with composers such as Pierre Boulez, Hanz Holliger, and Krzysztof Penderecki. Current projects include the commission of a large-scale solo violin work by Odawa First Nations composer Barbara Croall and 12 pedagogical pieces by 12 internationally renowned composers.

Véronique has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Shenyang Symphony Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Montreal Contemporary Ensemble, and the Orquestra Sinfonica de Indaiatuba.She recorded for the labels of Radio-Canada, Parma, Centrediscs, Naxos, and Pheromone, as well as the CD series New Music at Indiana University.

Véronique Mathieu holds the David L. Kaplan Chair in Music at the University of Saskatchewan where she serves as an Associate Professor of Violin. She previously served on the faculty at State University of New York in Buffalo, and the University of Kansas.

Named as one of the top 200 living guitarists by All About Jazz Magazine and a Rising Star in the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll, Charlie Ballantine is acclaimed as one of the finest and most versatile young guitarists on the scene today. JAZZ TIMES MAGAZINE hails his playing as “teeming with intricate grooves and maniacal precision his guitar work is both beautiful and complex” and VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE described his style by stating “Jazz, rock, and folk music peacefully coexist in Charlie Ballantine’s world.”

Equipped with an impressive body of original compositions on albums like “Vonnegut” and “Cold Coffee,” Ballantine also displays a great reverence for the jazz tradition through the inclusion of standards like “My One and Only Love,” “East of the Sun” and an entire double album dedicated to the music of Thelonious Monk released September 2021.

“In the vein of fellow guitarists like John Scofield, Bill Frisell and Julian Lage, Ballantine reconciles his educational background in jazz with the stylistic background of his instrument. He approaches the gratifying tonal and harmonic language of rock/roots with the groove, ambition and improvisational focus of a jazz musician.”

— JAZZIZ MAGAZINE

After graduating from the Jacobs School of Music under the direction of David Baker, Ballantine relocated to Indianapolis and quickly developed a name for himself with a string of high energy performances at clubs like the Jazz Kitchen and Chatterbox Jazz Club. After releasing two solo albums Ballantine was able to attain global recognition with his award winning third album “Life is Brief: The Music of Bob Dylan” which ALL ABOUT JAZZ named in their top ten jazz albums of the year.

“From the opening bars of ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’’ it is clear that something special is happening.”

— ALL ABOUT JAZZ

Although primarily a front man for his own projects with tours and frequent appearances throughout the US and Canada at venues and festivals such as the Detroit Jazz Festival, Indianapolis Jazz Festival, Rochester Jazz Festival, The Winnipeg International Jazz Festival and The Elkhart Jazz Festival, Ballantine also has an extensive list of side man credits having performed with names like Rob Dixon, Emmett Cohen, and Amanda Gardier helping to further solidify him as a creative force and put him in the highest of ranks as a performer.

“Befitting a guitarist from America's heartland, Charlie Ballantine mixes jazz, folk-rock, surf/instro, blues, pop, and country into a simmering pot of guitar sound and style.”

— Vintage Guitar Magazine

Gabriella Prisca Handoko, an award-winning Indonesian pianist, is a laureate of numerous international competitions, including silver medals at the Steinway Junior and Los Angeles International Liszt competitions, grand prize winner at the Ananda Sukarlan Award International Piano Competition, prize winner, Scholarship and Judges’ Distinction Awards at the American Protégé International Music Talent Competition, and first prize winners at the Malaysian Youth Music Festival. She has appeared in renowned stages, including the Carnegie Hall and Sydney Opera House.

Gabriella holds the Indonesian World Records Museum (MURI) as the youngest Indonesian pianist to have performed complete works by George Gershwin, including his renowned Rhapsody in Blue, and Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. Passionate about chamber music and cultural diplomacy, Gabriella received the 2024 Chamber Music Sidney Friedberg Prize and has engaged in collaborative projects and performances both in her home country and the United States. She has worked alongside the well-respected Indonesian pianist and composer, Ananda Sukarlan, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Culture to promote heritage sites in Indonesia to UNESCO.

Born and raised in Surabaya, Indonesia, Gabriella began her musical training under the guidance of Sienny Debora. She moved to the United States at the age of 17 to study with Ory Shihor at the Ory Shihor Institute. As a recipient of the 2025 Lillian Gutman Memorial Prize in Piano, she completed her Bachelor’s of Music degree in Piano Performance at the Peabody Institute under the mentorship of Steven Spooner.

Dynamic Chinese-American pianist Dr. Sarah Mei Li was born in Chengdu, China, into a musical family. She began studying piano at the age of five and later became an apprentice of renowned Chinese piano pedagogue Dan Zhaoyi. At the age of twelve, she was admitted to the Affiliated Middle School of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, where she pursued rigorous professional training in piano performance.

Following her graduation from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Dr. Li was awarded a full scholarship to Northern Illinois University in the United States, where she studied with distinguished American pianist William Goldenberg. After earning her master's degree in piano performance and developing a broad repertoire of virtuoso works, she continued her doctoral studies at the University of Kansas, where she earned the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree. Her piano studies included work with acclaimed American pianists and pedagogues Jack Weinrock and concert artist Steven Spooner, while her studies in piano pedagogy were guided by renowned American piano-methods specialist Scott McBride Smith.

Dr. Li is a laureate of five international piano competitions, having received major awards at prestigious events including the International IBLA Music Competition in Italy and the International Virtuoso Grand Prize Competition.

An active concert pianist and soloist, Dr. Li has performed at major venues throughout Asia, including Hong Kong Concert Hall, Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall, and Shenzhen Concert Hall. In the United States, she has been invited to perform as a soloist at distinguished venues and events including the World Conference on Women in Chicago, the Chicago Cultural Center, and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Together with distinguished chamber music collaborators, she has appeared in concert halls, universities, and educational institutions throughout the United States, earning recognition for her artistry and musical interpretation.

In addition to her performing career, Dr. Li is deeply committed to music education, artistic development, and the advancement of young musicians internationally. She has been invited to perform and present master classes in Mexico and has participated in the American Liszt Society National Festival. She is a member of the American Liszt Society and has served on the board of the KU American Liszt Society Chapter.

Dr. Sarah Mei Li is also the Director of the Global Music Excellence Awards, an international platform dedicated to recognizing and celebrating outstanding musical talent and artistic achievement. Through her leadership, she continues to foster international artistic exchange, provide performance opportunities for emerging musicians, and promote excellence in music education and performance on a global scale.