ARTISTIC PANEL

ARTISTIC PANELS

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

AVIP PRIATNA

Avip Priatna, Mag. Art., Indonesia’s foremost conductor, studied orchestral and choral conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW), Austria. He directs the renowned Batavia Madrigal Singers (BMS), which under his leadership have gained wide international recognition. Avip led both BMS and The Resonanz Children’s Choir to victory at the prestigious European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 2022 and 2018 respectively, setting a benchmark for choirs across Indonesia.

Regularly awarded Best Conductor and Best Song Interpreter on the global choral stage, Avip is also a highly sought-after jury member at major national and international competitions, including Maribor and Tolosa. In April 2026, he will serve as a jury member at the Final of The European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Maribor, further affirming his standing in the international choral community.

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to fostering cultural exchange between Indonesian and Austrian musicians, Avip was awarded Austria’s Decoration of Honor in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria, solidifying his legacy as a cultural bridge-builder. Following the success of PICF 2024, Avip has once again been entrusted to serve as Artistic Director of the PENABUR International Choir Festival (PICF), reaffirming international confidence in his artistic vision and leadership

Theodora Pavlovitch

Prof. Theodora Pavlovitch, PhD is choral conductor, music expert and pedagogue. Head of Department of Conducting and Composition at the National Academy of Music in Sofia and Chair of the General Assembly of the Academy until October,2024.

Conductor of Vassil Arnaoudov Sofia Chamber Choir and Classic FM Radio Choir in Bulgaria. Guest-conductor, lecturer and member of Juries at prestigious events in 28 European countries , USA, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Israel.

In 2007/2008 she conducted the World Youth Choir , honoured by UNESCO with the title Artist for Peace. She has also conducted concerts and masterclasses with many famous choirs such as The Youth Choir of Japan Choral Association JCA, Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Chamber Choir of the Moskow State Conservatory “P.I. Tchaikovsky” , choirs from Europe and Asia. Since 2012 Prof. Pavlovitch is Representative of Bulgaria in the World Choral Council and in 2021 she was appointed Honorary member of the Council..

For her achievements in music and the international choral life she has been awarded special prizes by the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM), the European Council of Scientific and Cultural societies, Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria ,the Union of Bulgarian Musicians , Classic FM Radio and many other professional institutions.

Nelson Kwei

Nelson Kwei is Singapore’s foremost choral director—an internationally recognized conductor, lecturer, adjudicator, arranger, and vocal clinician. A Fellow of the London College of Music, he holds a Licentiate from the Guildhall School of Music and an Advanced Post-Graduate Diploma in Choral Conducting from the Royal Academy of Music, which awarded him its prestigious Associateship in 2013. He holds Singapore’s record with over 255 gold, distinction, and championship titles, and led the NUS Choir to win the “Choir of the World – Pavarotti Trophy” in 2018.

He began conducting at age 10 and later led major school and university choirs, founding the Victoria Junior College Choir and the Varsity Choral Ensemble. In 1990, he made history when the VJC Choir became Singapore’s first school choir to win an international competition at the Welsh Eisteddfod. Since then, he has guided numerous choirs—including Victoria Chorale, Tampines Junior College Choir, Amadeus Choral Society, Victoria School Choir, Catholic High School Choir, and Dunman High School Choir—to top awards at major competitions across Europe, the U.S., and Asia. Nelson was Singapore’s first choral scholar, earning a government scholarship in 1990 for advanced conducting studies at the Royal Academy of Music. His national recognitions include the Singapore Youth Award (1993), Culture Award (1999), Ambassador of the Arts (2001), and the COMPASS Meritorious Award (2011). Internationally, he has received top conductor prizes in Germany, Prague, Italy, and Austria, and his choirs have won major titles at the World Choir Games and other leading festivals. He has been invited to prominent events such as the Taipei International Choral Festival and has given workshops and lectures across Asia. In 2023, he led the Singapore Choral Artists in a special showcase at the Xi’An Concert Hall in China. Nelson is currently the Artistic Director of the Singapore Choral Festival, A Voyage of Songs, Asia Cantate, and Jubilate – Festival of Choirs. He continues to teach, conduct, and adjudicate internationally, leading multiple award-winning school, university, and semi-professional choirs in Singapore.

Mark Anthony

Mark is currently a faculty member of the Conducting and Choral Ensemble Department of the University of the Philippines College of Music, where he earned his Master’s degree in ChoralConducting and his Bachelor’s degree in Piano.

In 2001, Mark succeeded Prof. Andrea O. Veneracion, founder of the Philippine Madrigal Singers and Philippine National Artist for Music, as choirmaster of the group. Since then, he has continuously led the choir to even greater heights by winning in several international choral competitions.

Known for his collaboration with emerging composers, innovative programming, and approachability, he is a much sought-after choral clinician, giving choral workshops all over the Philippines and around the world. He is also frequently invited as guest conductor and as an adjudicator in local and international choral competitions. In the Philippines, he regularly collaborates with the Philippine Choral Directors Association, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, for music and choral education programs. Nurturing young singers is his passion. He directs the Consortium of Voices, a choral society of young choristers and also conducts the Pansol Choir, a church-based community choir. He also serves as the Artistic Director of the Andrea O. Veneracion Sing Philippines Foundation, which spearheads choral music development initiatives. These include the Sing Philippines Youth Choir which he conducts, whose singers come from all over the country. Mark is also a piano accompanist, vocal coach, and a countertenor soloist.

Lorenzo Donati

Lorenzo Donati is a Composer, Conductor, and Violinist who studied in Arezzo, Florence, Fiesole, Siena (Accademia Chigiana), and Rome, studying composition with Ennio Morricone and conducting with Roberto Gabbiani.

As a composer, he won various first prizes from 1999 (Arezzo, Rome) through 2005 (Vittorio Veneto) and 2007 (Vittorio Veneto), and his works continue to be performed globally.

As a conductor, he won first prize at the “Mariele Ventre” Choir Conductors Competition in Bologna in 2007 and has led groups such as Insieme Vocale Vox Cordis (since 1997) and UT Insieme Vocale Consonante (since 2014), with whom he notably won the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in 2016. Since 2016, he has also been the conductor of the Coro della Cattedrale di Siena Guido Chigi Saracini and has conducted Eurochoir (2016 and 2017).

Donati also serves as a professor at the Conservatorio “B. Marcello” in Venice, teaches at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, and is active as an international jury member.

Ambroz Copi

Ambrož Čopi (born 1973) studied composition under the tutelage of Dane Škerl, Uroš Rojko, and piano at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He is recognized as a composer, conductor, lecturer, and the artistic director of the International Youth Choirs Choral Festival Aegis Carminis in Koper. Presently, he is a leader of choral activities at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana (KGBL) and teaches at the Artistic High School in Koper..

From the inception of his teaching career, he has fostered his students' creativity in choral music, emerging as a mentor to Slovenia's youngest generation of composers. Through his leadership, new compositions have been inspired and performed worlwide. His original compositions, recorded on five CDs, regularly grace stages worldwide. Published predominantly by Astrum Music Publisher, with select works featured by Sulasol, TICF and Hinshaw Music. Čopi has guided numerous Slovenian choirs to remarkable achievements in both national (15 gold plaques) and international competitions (29 first places). He was manytimes awarded for outstanding performances and as best conductor. Presently, he conducts the KGBL Chamber Choir and the University of Primorska Academic Choir, both esteemed among Slovenia's premier choral ensembles. In 2014, he was honored with the Gallus Plaque, Slovenia's highest recognition in the realm of musical endeavor, alongside the prestigious national award, the Prešeren Fund Prize, Mrian Kozina Prize and Republic of Slovenia Prize for Education.. He is regulary invited to act as a jury member at choral competitions worldwide, he actively engages in choral music seminars and masterclasses for conductors and composers alike, offering his expertise as a lecturer.

Josu Elberdin

Born in 1976 in Pasaia (Gipuzkoa, Spain), he started his musical studies at the Conservatory of Pasaia, Pasaia Musikal, where he obtained a degree as a teacher of piano and singing. He is also graduated in Social Education by UPV (Universidad del País Vasco).

Since 2000, he works as a Music teacher at the Musical School of Pasaia, and also works as an organist at Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Trintxerpe Church(Pasaia) since 1991.

He frequently serves as a clinician for both children and adult choir conducting workshops in Spain and abroad: Indonesia, Lithuania, France, Bulgary, or Colombia. He also acts as adjudicator at National and International choral and composition competitions. He is also Technical Director of the Ourencanto Choral Festival and member of the Technical Committee of the Tolosa International Choral Competition. Elberdin is worldly renowned for his compositions. He has won several composing awards and his works have been commissioned by prestigious choirs all over the world. He has also set compulsory scores for international choral contests such as the Tolosa International Choral Competition, Taipei International Choral Festival, Europa Cantat Junior, World Choral Simposium Argentina 2011 and Barcelona 2017, Quincena Musical de San Sebastián International Festival, Musikaste, and more. His music is mainly dedicated to children choirs and has often been performed as musical stories or tales, some of which are symphonic works. Though his works are mainly choral, Elberdin has also written a large number of symphonic works, pop-rock songs, and instrumental works.

Susanna Saw

Susanna Saw is an active music educator promoting music and choral education in Malaysia. She obtained her Master in Music Education (Choral Focus) from Westminster Choir College, U.S.A. She is currently a choir director at the Faculty of Music at the University of Malaya (UM), Akademi Seni Budaya Dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA) and the Adjunct Professor at the Taylor’s University.

In 2007, Susanna established the Young Choral Academy in Kuala Lumpur, a venue for choral lovers to learn more about vocal and choral education. She was instrumental in bringing the Kodály Teachers’ Training Course to the Southeast Asia region to improve the standards of classroom music teaching. She organised numerous events to promote music and choral education. During the pandemic, Susanna organized monthly Kodály Online Hangouts, bringing together music educators from around the world to learn, sing and stay connected. The hangout session is in the hybrid format now, keeping in touch with the active music educators globally. Susanna is also the Founder and Director of the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod (MCE), which organised various symposium, national and international choir festival since 2002. From 2007, Susanna has been regularly invited by INTERKULTUR, Germany, to be a member of the jury for the Asia Pacific and World Choir Games. She has been appointed a member of the Working Committee for the Asia-Pacific Choral Council, under the auspices of the International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM), as well as at the Asian Choral Association (ACA). Susanna is also an active speaker at various music education events, promoting effective music teaching in the 21st century. She is currently the Vice-President of the International Kodály Society, and the World Youth and Children Choral Artists’ Association. She is also serves on the Advisory Board of INTERKULTUR and CHORALSPACE, Germany.

Rainier Revireino

Rainier Revireino – studied voice and choral conducting with Avip Priatna whilst completing a degree in architecture at Parahyangan Catholic University.

Since his debut as a soloist singing Mozart’s Mass in C Minor in 1999, Rainier has performed not only oratorios, but also art song cycles such as Italinische Liederbuch (Wolf) and Songs and Dances of Death (Mussorgsky), and operas including Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) as Sarastro, Samson et Dalilah (Saint-Säens) as Abimelech and Carmen (Bizet) as Zuniga, to name a few. In 2012 he began his acting career in Indonesian musical theatre, starring in Sangkuriang, Suara Hati, Dien, Perempuan Dalam Remang, MAR and the most recent one Tumang, a re-imagination of a local folklore.

Rainier is a versatile musician who is also well known as the conductor and music director of PARAMABIRA (Bina Nusantara University Jakarta), and SEPTEM STELLARUM (St. Ursula School BSD), Both choirs have won several top prizes in both national and international choir competitions since 2008. In 2017, he joined The Resonanz Children’s Choir (TRCC) as artistic board and vocal coach. TRCC won the prestigious European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Maribor, Slovenia; and they became the first Indonesian choir that won the title. In 2024 he won two first prizes in competitions in Japan and Austria. Rainier is presently a voice teacher at Jakarta Conservatory of Music and The Resonanz Music Studio.

Luciana Dharmadi O.

Luciana Dharmadi Oendoen began her musical journey at the age of five, studying piano under Laura Himawan at YPM Music School Jakarta, and later receiving vocal and choral training from Avip Priatna.

Since 2013, she has been a coach of The Resonanz Children’s Choir (TRCC), with whom she has achieved numerous international accolades, including:

Overall Champion – 49th Tolosa Choral Contest (Spain, 2017)
Grand Prix Winner – European Grand Prix (Slovenia)
1st Prize Children’s Choir and Special Award in Conducting – 11th Bali International Choir Festival (2022)

Since 2017, she has also served as coach and conductor of the Shantell Vocal Ensemble, earning: 1st Prize Female Choirs – Cracovia Cantans (Poland, 2017) 1st Prize Folklore – Canco Mediterrania (2023) She is a member of the Batavia Madrigal Singers (BMS), which won the Grand Prix at the European Grand Prix (Tours, France, 2022) under the direction of Avip Priatna. At the national level, Luciana has coached the Maluku Tenggara contingent (Overall Champion of the Provincial Pesparani in 2011 & 2023) and is part of the coaching team for Maluku Province, which achieved Overall Champion at the National Pesparani 2023. In 2023, together with TRCC, she won the Category Winner for Children and Folk/Gospel and the Overall Champion at the 5th Leonardo Da Vinci International Choral Festival (Italy). Her latest achievement is Overall Champion at the Franz Schubert Choir Competition (Vienna, 2024).

Agastya Rama Listya

Agastya Rama Listya earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Theory and Composition from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta in 1992; his Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from Luther Seminary and St. Olaf College, Minnesota, in 2001; and his Doctorate in Ethnomusicology from the University of Otago, New Zealand, in 2018, with research focused on gong performance traditions from Rote Island. He studied composition under Suhastjarja, Slamet Abdul Syukur, Robert Walker, and Carolyn Jennings, and trained in choral conducting with Ester Gunawan, Martin Behrmann, Robert Scholz, and Anton Armstrong.

He is a contributor to the International Choral Bulletin (ICB) and authored several articles in the 2020 issues. Agastya serves as the conductor of PS GKI Salatiga and is the founder of the Lux Aeterna Vocal Ensemble (2015), which has presented various concerts, including a tour to Japan in 2018 and a series of Christmas concerts through 2024. As an adjudicator, he has been involved in numerous national and international choral competitions, including Satya Dharma Gita, the Karangturi International Choir Competition, the National and Papua Pesparawi, and the Bali International Choir Festival. He also serves as the Artistic Director of both the Satya Dharma Gita Choir Festival and the Soegijapranata Choir Festival. He is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Language and Arts at Satya Wacana Christian University (2022–2027), a member of the International Federation for Choral Music, a board member of the National Pesparawi Development Institute (2021–2026), and a co-founder of the Nusantara Musicians Association (Amustra) established in 2025.