35th International Choral Festival of Preveza
4 - 10 July 2022
5 - 11 July 2021
4 - 7 July 2019
7 - 10 July 2016
Dr. Justin Smith is Assistant Professor of Music, Director of the Music Program and Director of Choral
Activities at Queens University of Charlotte, where he conducts three choirs, leads the music program and
teaches courses in music history, conducting and film music. For six years he was the Director of Choral
Activities and holder of the Joseph Naumes Endowed Chair in Music at Marylhurst University in Portland,
Oregon.
Dr. Smith is the founder and director of the Portland Phoenix Chamber Choir, winning awards at the Cork
Festival (2016), the European Choir Games (2017) and the Leonardo Da Vinci International Choral Festival
(2018), and appearing by invitation at the Northwest Conference of the American Choral Directors
Association in Spokane, WA. In 2020, he founded the Royal Voices of Charlotte, which performed at the
NCACDA state conference, in collaboration with Bach Akademie Charlotte, and at Carnegie Hall in the
2021-22 season.
He holds the DMA in Choral Conducting from the Moores School of Music, University of Houston, and is a
scholar of American choral music, having been published twice in Choral Journal on neglected choral works
of Marc Blitzstein and Vincent Persichetti. He holds additional degrees in music from Wesleyan University
and the University of Oregon.
Dr. Smith is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the National Collegiate Choral
Organization and the North Carolina Music Educators Association.
Theodora Pavlovitch is a Professor in choral conducting and Head of Conducting Department of the Bulgarian
National Academy of Music. As a conductor she has worked with the Bulgarian National TV-choir (1986-1991)
and “Vassil Arnaudov” Sofia Chamber Choir (from 1991 and recently). Since 2005 she has been directing the
Classic FM Radio Choir performing concerts with Classic FM Radio Orchestra and world-famous soloists such
as Andrea Bocelli, Anna-Tomowa Sintow and others. In 2007/2008 she conducted the World Youth Choir,
honored by UNESCO with the title Artist for Peace. She is frequently invited as a member of Jury-panels at
a number of international choral competitions, as a conductor and lecturer at prestigious international
events all around the world.
In 2005 she led a Master class for choral conductors in the program of the 7th World Symposium on Choral
Music in Kyoto, Japan. She has been representative of Bulgaria in the World Choral Council since 2012,
Vice-President of the International Federation for Choral Music (2008-2014), Chair of the Artistic
Committee of the World Youth Choir (2010-2014), Chair of the Music Commission of the European Choral
Association Europa Cantat (2003-2006)
For her artistic achievements, she has been awarded The Golden Century National Award bestowed by the
Minister of Culture of Bulgaria (2016), The Golden Lyre by the Union of Bulgarian Musicians (2010),
several Special Prizes by the Bulgarian Choir’s Union, Classic FM Radio, Sofia Municipality and other
institutions.
Ragnar Rasmussen is conductor, university professor and composer, situated at NTNU - The Norwegian
University of Science and Technology (Trondheim, Norway). He was born and raised in the north-east region
of Norway, surrounded with many cultural traditions of indigenous people and other peoples of the Arctic.
This fact has heavily influenced his music-making, both as performer and composer.
He is on regular basis visiting academies, choirs and orchestras all over the world as guest conductor,
such as BBC Singers, The Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra and choir, Turkish State Choir and many others.
Rasmussen is currently artistic leader of Nidaros Vokalensemble, and the international Utopia & Reality
Chamber Choir (which he share with Urša Lah).
A sought after conductor and clinician all across the United States and internationally, Dr. Pearl
Shangkuan is a professor of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she directs choirs
and teaches choral conducting and choral literature. She is also the chorus master (endowed Covenant
Chair) of the Grammy-nominated Grand Rapids Symphony. Her performances and preparation of choruses
consistently receive outstanding reviews for their combination of precision, artistry and passion. In
addition to her Mosaic: the Pearl Shangkuan choral series for earthsongs, she serves as the music editor
of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship choral series, published by GIA.
Her choirs have performed at national, division and state conferences of the American Choral Directors
Association and other professional music conferences in the United States. Recent conducting engagements
took her to Austria, South Africa, Hong Kong, and all across the United States. She has conducted honor
choirs for several ACDA divisions and has been a headliner for various ACDA state conferences. She has led
performances and given workshops all across the US and in Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan,
Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Philippines), as well as in Austria, Australia, and Canada.
She has served on the National Board of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) as the president
of the Central Division (2007-09), and as Michigan ACDA state president (2003-05). Prior to her
appointment at Calvin College, Dr. Shangkuan taught at Rutgers University and at the Westminster
Conservatory of Music of Rider University in New Jersey
Ambrož Čopi has studied composition, piano and vocal music. His
compositions have been published by Astrum, DSS, and Sulasol in
numerous CDs and he has won plenty of prizes for his
compositions in several composer competitions. He was awarded:
the Young Musician Award in (1995) for the outstanding
achievements during his study, the “Prešeren” Prize of the
University of Ljubljana and the award of the Municipality of
Bovec (1997), Gold Medal of the University of Primorska for the
achievements with the APZ UP choir (2009) and two important
awards by the Municipality of Koper (2014), the “Gallus” Medal,
the highest award in the field of musical activity at national
level in Slovenia (2014).
Since 1999 he has been a music teacher at the Art Grammar School
in Koper and since 2010, he has been directing the Choir of the
Music and Ballet Conservatory Ljubljana.
In the past years, he also conducted the Youth Mixed Choir of
the Art Grammar School Koper (1999 –2002, 2007 – 2013), the
“Vladimir Lovec” Chamber Orchestra (2005 – 2007), the Chamber
Choir “Iskra”, Bovec (1992 – 2001), the Nova Gorica Chamber
Choir (1998 – 2004), the Mixed Choir “Obala” Koper (1998 – 2007)
and the Academic Choir of the University of Primorska (2004 –
today). With his choirs he has won many prizes and he has been
awarded as the best conductor in numerous competitions. He is
regularly invited as a member of jury at various choral events
and competitions, and he is often involved in choral music
seminars at home and abroad as a lecturer.
