2nd International Choral Composition Competition of Preveza

Ambrož Čopi (born 1973) studied composition under the tutelage of Dane Škerl and 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 worldwide. His original compositions, recorded on five CDs, regularly grace stages worldwide. His works are 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 has been awarded many times 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, Marjan Kozina Prize and Republic of Slovenia Prize for Education. He is regularly invited to act as a jury member at choral competitions worldwide; he also actively engages in choral music seminars and masterclasses for conductors and composers alike, offering his expertise as a lecturer.

Paweł Łukaszewski (b. 1968 in Częstochowa, Poland) is a leading figure in contemporary Polish sacred and choral music. Often regarded as a successor to composers such as Górecki, Penderecki, Pärt, and Tavener, he is internationally recognized for his deeply spiritual and emotionally resonant compositions. Łukaszewski studied cello and composition at the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw, graduating with honors in 1995. Since 1996, he has been a faculty member at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, where he holds a Ph.D. in composition and the academic title of Professor. In 2016, he was appointed Vice-Rector of the university and has also taught internationally, including in Chile and Argentina. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including the First Prize at the Warsaw Music Academy Competition (1994), multiple national and international awards, ten Fryderyk Awards, and high state honors such as the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. His music has been performed in over 100 festivals worldwide and recorded on more than 150 albums by prominent labels such as Hyperion, DUX, and Signum Records. Łukaszewski’s works are published in Poland, the UK, Germany, Italy, and the United States, and over sixty of his compositions have been widely distributed. He is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Musica Sacra Choir at the Warsaw-Praga Cathedral and heads the Musica Sacra Edition publishing house. He also serves as President of the Musica Sacra Association and sits on several artistic and academic councils. In recent years, his music has gained significant attention in the UK, with performances by acclaimed ensembles such as the BBC Singers, Tenebrae, and Polyphony, under conductors like Stephen Layton and Nigel Short. Two acclaimed recordings of his work have been released by Hyperion.

Born in 1976 in Pasaia (Gipuzkoa, Spain), Josu Elberdin began his musical training at the Pasaia Musikal Conservatory, earning teaching degrees in piano and voice. He also holds a degree in Social Education from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Since 2000, Elberdin has served as a music teacher at the Pasaia Municipal School of Music and, since 1991, as organist at the Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Trintxerpe. A sought-after clinician, he leads choir conducting workshops for children and adults across Spain and internationally—in countries including Indonesia, Lithuania, France, Bulgaria, and Colombia. He is also a frequent adjudicator at national and international choral and composition competitions. Elberdin is the Technical Director of the Ourencanto Choral Festival and a member of the Technical Committee of the Tolosa International Choral Competition. Renowned worldwide for his choral compositions, Elberdin has received numerous awards and commissions from distinguished choirs. His works have been featured as required repertoire at major international festivals and competitions, including the Tolosa International Choral Competition, Taipei International Choral Festival, Europa Cantat Junior, World Choral Symposium (Argentina 2011 and Barcelona 2017), Quincena Musical de San Sebastián, and Musikaste. His repertoire focuses primarily on music for children's choirs, often presented as musical tales or symphonic stories. In addition to choral works, his catalogue includes symphonic pieces, pop-rock songs, and instrumental compositions. Elberdin’s music is published by Walton Music, Helbling, and CM Musical Editions. His full catalogue is available at www.elberdin.com.

Composer and conductor born and raised in Tokyo in 1962. Matsushita currently serves as conductor and artistic director of 13 choirs, which are regularly invited to perform in Japan, Europe, America, Canada, and across Asia. His ensembles have achieved outstanding results in the international choral scene, winning numerous awards in prestigious competitions. Matsushita is a prolific composer whose works are performed worldwide. His compositions span a wide spectrum, from works inspired by traditional Japanese music, masses and motets, to educational repertoire for choirs. His works are published in Japan by KAWAI, Pana Musica, Ongaku no tomo sha Corp., Edition ICOT, and internationally by Carus-Verlag Stuttgart (Germany), SULASOL Helsinki (Finland), among others. In addition to conducting and composing, he is highly active as a workshop leader and lecturer both within Japan and internationally. He has received numerous distinctions in international choral and composition competitions. In 2005, he was awarded the “Robert Edler Prize for Choral Music” for his outstanding global contribution to conducting, composition, performance, and education in choral music. The Tokyo Metropolitan Choir and Matsushita himself were invited as guest choir and panel participant (“Composers Speak Out”) at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, where he also presented a reading session lecture in February 2015. He was invited to Stuttgart, Germany, in March 2016 to lead a workshop dedicated to his works, during which his composition “De profundis clamavi” received its world premiere performed by KammerChor Saarbrücken at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. He served on the artistic committee of the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona in 2017, where his work “Salva me” was also premiered by KammerChor Saarbrücken. In Taipei, Taiwan, his work “Te Deum” for four male choirs, organ, string quartet, and percussion received its world premiere in 2017. In 2019, he delivered the keynote address at the International Kodály Symposium (Kuching, Malaysia). He currently serves as CEO of the Tokyo International Choral Organization, Artistic Director of the Karuizawa International Choral Festival and the Tokyo International Choir Competition, Founding Director of the Asian Choral Association, Honorary Member of the Italian Choral Directors Association, member of the World Council of the Interkultur World Choir Games, Vice-President of the Tokyo Choral Association, member of the Youth Choir Committee of the Japan Choral Association, member of the Japan Association of Composers and Arrangers, and Special Professor at Kobe College.