The 2025 Jury

Susanna Saw

Susanna Saw is an active music educator who promotes music and choral education in Malaysia. She earned a Master’s degree in Music Education (Choral Emphasis) from Westminster Choir College, USA. She is currently a lecturer and choir director at the Faculty of Music, University of Malaya (UM) and the Malaysian Institute of Art (MIA), where she conducts the MIA Ladies Chorus, the Men’s Chorus, and the Mixed Voices Choir. The men’s and women’s choirs have won numerous gold medals and placed in various categories at international competitions.

In 2007, Susanna founded the Young Choral Academy in Kuala Lumpur, a place where choral enthusiasts can learn more about vocal and choral education. She helped bring the Kodály teacher training course to Malaysia to improve music teaching standards in local classrooms.

She organized the 24th International Kodály Symposium in August 2019, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia; through this, she hopes to raise awareness of the Kodály teaching philosophy in the Southeast Asian region. During the pandemic, Susanna organized monthly online Kodály workshops, bringing together music educators from around the world to learn, sing, and stay connected.

Susanna is also the founder and director of the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod (MCE), which has organized various national and international choral symposiums and festivals since 2002.

Since 2007, Susanna has been regularly invited by INTERKULTUR, Germany, to serve as a jury member for the Asia Pacific and World Choir Games. She has been appointed to the working committee of the Asia Pacific Choral Council, under the auspices of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM).

Susanna is also an active speaker at various events related to music education, promoting effective music teaching in the 21st century. She currently holds the position of Vice President of the International Kodály Society, the World Association for Youth and Children’s Choral Artists, and the Malaysian Association for Music Education.

She is also a board member of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) and serves on the advisory board of CHORALSPACE, Germany.

In 2007, Susanna founded the Young Choral Academy in Kuala Lumpur, a place where choral enthusiasts can learn more about vocal and choral education. She helped bring the Kodály teacher training course to Malaysia to improve music teaching standards in local classrooms.

She organized the 24th International Kodály Symposium in August 2019, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia; through this, she hopes to raise awareness of the Kodály teaching philosophy in the Southeast Asian region. During the pandemic, Susanna organized monthly online Kodály workshops, bringing together music educators from around the world to learn, sing, and stay connected.

Susanna is also the founder and director of the Malaysian Choral Eisteddfod (MCE), which has organized various national and international choral symposiums and festivals since 2002.

Since 2007, Susanna has been regularly invited by INTERKULTUR, Germany, to serve as a jury member for the Asia Pacific and World Choir Games. She has been appointed to the working committee of the Asia Pacific Choral Council, under the auspices of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM).

Susanna is also an active speaker at various events related to music education, promoting effective music teaching in the 21st century. She currently holds the position of Vice President of the International Kodály Society, the World Association for Youth and Children’s Choral Artists, and the Malaysian Association for Music Education.

She is also a board member of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM) and serves on the advisory board of CHORALSPACE, Germany.

Swingly Wicliff Sondak

Artistic director and choir conductor of several choirs in Indonesia such as the Manado State University Choir, Bitung, the City Chorale, the Master of Breakthrough, the North Sulawesi LPPD Choir, and the North Sulawesi GMIM Male Choir.

Born in 1984, he graduated with a degree in Chemistry from Manado State University. He also became a choir conductor at the age of 17.

Since then, he has continuously pursued his musical activities by successfully participating in various national and international competitions as a choir conductor for Manado State University, Bitung, City Chorale, Master of Breakthrough, North Sulawesi LPPD Choir, and North Sulawesi GMIM Male Choir.

Since 2005, he has studied music with Professor Perry Rumengan (Indonesia), Tommyanto Kandisaputra (Indonesia), Professor Andre de Quadros (USA), and Jonathan Velasco (Philippines), attended music symposiums, studied piano and composition, taught music in churches, and served as a judge in various choir competitions.

He has also received the “Best Conductor” award in several competitions, such as the Asian Choir Games, Jakarta, Indonesia 2007, at the Bali International Choral Festival in 2012 and 2017, and at the 5th Leonardo da Vinci International Choral Festival, Florence, Italy 2023.

Born in 1984, he graduated with a degree in Chemistry from Manado State University. He also became a choir conductor at the age of 17.

Since then, he has continuously pursued his musical activities by successfully participating in various national and international competitions as a choir conductor for Manado State University, Bitung, City Chorale, Master of Breakthrough, North Sulawesi LPPD Choir, and North Sulawesi GMIM Male Choir.

Since 2005, he has studied music with Professor Perry Rumengan (Indonesia), Tommyanto Kandisaputra (Indonesia), Professor Andre de Quadros (USA), and Jonathan Velasco (Philippines), attended music symposiums, studied piano and composition, taught music in churches, and served as a judge in various choir competitions.

He has also received the “Best Conductor” award in several competitions, such as the Asian Choir Games, Jakarta, Indonesia 2007, at the Bali International Choral Festival in 2012 and 2017, and at the 5th Leonardo da Vinci International Choral Festival, Florence, Italy 2023.

Stephan Nicolay

Stephan is the Artistic Director of the International Choral Competition in Provence 2025.

After an electronics engineering degree, an organ prize, a degree in musicology, and a state diploma in Vocal Ensemble Conducting, Stephan is now a recognized professional. Composer, Professor, Conductor of professional and amateur choirs, Stephan has collaborated with Choral Events for over 6 years on a multitude of projects.

Stephan is currently the Artistic Director of Choral Events.

After dual scientific training (Polytech Nice engineer) and musical training (studies at the conservatories of Cannes and Nice, organ prize, musicology degree), Stephan Nicolay began a career in aerospace (S/T Thales Alenia Space) before turning away from it to become a state-certified conductor of vocal ensembles (Cefedem Lyon) and a laureate of several international competitions (1st organ prize at the UFAM Competition in Paris, various composition prizes in France and abroad).

His eclecticism has led him to tour with an Occitan rock band, teach in music schools, lead workshops in schools, and conduct major works with choirs and orchestras (e.g., Verdi’s Requiem, Gounod’s Mors et Vita, Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, …). He is regularly invited as a guest conductor for productions or as a project manager for events. In 2023, he assembled choirs for collaborations with the Orchestre National de Cannes, the Genoa Opera, the Turin Philharmonic, and with The Real Group. In 2024, his professional ensemble Alicantus is scheduled to perform at the MIDEM+24 Live Festival and is recording the choral parts for the upcoming album by the metal band Igorrr.

Choirmaster of St-Nicolas Parish in Cannes since 1998, he conducts several choirs on the French Riviera, including the Chœur de Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage in Cannes, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year (www.choralecannes.fr), and the Ensemble Vocal La Sestina in Nice, with which he won a 1st Prize in both competitions the choir entered (www.lasestina.fr).

A few hours of teaching at the Mougins music school allow him the freedom to intervene upon request for lessons or juries in the various conservatories of the French Riviera, as well as to give lectures, particularly on the links between Music and Astronomy.

As a composer, his output primarily concerns the voice, solo or choral, a cappella or accompanied. Whether the writing is inspired by the early 20th-century French masters he particularly admires, or more contemporary, his music is characterized by an undeniable poetic force. Awarded prizes in various international competitions, his works are part of the repertoire of several European choirs such as Polski Chor Kameralny, The New Dublin Voices, Coro da Camera di Torino… His works have notably been recorded by the Chœur de Chambre 1732 (a monographic album dedicated to his sacred music in 2019, another album to be released in 2024 with secular works alongside pieces by Isabelle Aboulker).

A profound humanist, he is also the founder of the Vivre Ensemble à Cannes movement, which organizes interfaith meetings to promote peace, respect, and understanding of other cultures.

Learn more: www.stephannicolay.com

Igor Mykhailevsky

With over 30 years of experience and an international career, Igor Mykhailevsky is a Ukrainian choir conductor, teacher, and international Competition judge. He produces some of Ukraine’s most acclaimed musical programs, and his influence has taken him across Europe, with his choir becoming a laureate of major music and singing festivals.

The last student of the renowned Professor Piotr Gorokhov from the Prokofiev State Conservatory in Donetsk, Ukraine, and a graduate of the Slaviansk Music School, Dzerzinsk Music College, and Donetsk Conservatory, Igor Mykhailevsky taught music education, singing techniques, voice, and choir conducting.

He founded the Crimea Choir in 1994, which, under his direction and thanks to his choral training method, became one of the most representative ensembles of Slavic musical and vocal repertoire. The Crimea Choir’s excellent and universally recognized standard earned him the highest distinctions in his country: Merited Artist of Ukraine, Honorary Citizen of the Arts of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea…

Arriving in France in 2022, Igor Mykhailevsky’s tireless dynamism and great competence led him to develop new projects: creating choral singing festivals and organizing music training workshops throughout France, attracting passionate choristers.

The last student of the renowned Professor Piotr Gorokhov from the Prokofiev State Conservatory in Donetsk, Ukraine, and a graduate of the Slaviansk Music School, Dzerzinsk Music College, and Donetsk Conservatory, Igor Mykhailevsky taught music education, singing techniques, voice, and choir conducting.

He founded the Crimea Choir in 1994, which, under his direction and thanks to his choral training method, became one of the most representative ensembles of Slavic musical and vocal repertoire. The Crimea Choir’s excellent and universally recognized standard earned him the highest distinctions in his country: Merited Artist of Ukraine, Honorary Citizen of the Arts of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea…

Arriving in France in 2022, Igor Mykhailevsky’s tireless dynamism and great competence led him to develop new projects: creating choral singing festivals and organizing music training workshops throughout France, attracting passionate choristers.

Luc Coadou

Luc Coadou is a French solo singer specializing in the baroque repertoire for bass voice from the 17th and 18th centuries. He is also active as a choir conductor and orchestra conductor, leading the Toulon and Var Instrumental Ensemble as well as the professional vocal ensemble “Les Voix Animées.” Luc will serve as Jury President for the third time.

Born under the mists of the North, like the Franco-Flemish masters of the Renaissance, Luc Coadou effortlessly transitions from singer to choir and ensemble conductor with a constant concern for pedagogy and musicological research. A certain predilection for early repertoires is reflected in his academic work; he is the author of research on lyrical theater during the French Revolution.

Baritone Luc Coadou began his career as a boy singer with the Manécanterie de Dunkerque Les Rossignolets. He studied singing in Lille and perfected his skills with Rachel Yakar and René Jacobs at Studio Versailles-Opéra.

He sings with numerous ensembles such as La Chapelle Royale, Les Arts Florissants, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Parlement de Musique, La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy, and Le Concert Spirituel. From medieval music to contemporary creation, his repertoire combines musical research and eclecticism. He performs in prestigious festivals and many opera houses as a singer.

As a conductor, Luc Coadou has led, among others, Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Handel’s Messiah, and numerous 19th-century lyrical works, including lesser-known operas by Boieldieu, Weber, Chabrier, Viardot, Bizet, Gounod, Pergolesi, Grétry, Delibes, Terrasse, and Offenbach.

A singing professor, he is invited by the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et danse de Lyon for masterclasses on Renaissance polyphony and has taught since 2000 at the Conservatoire national à rayonnement régional de Toulon Provence Méditerranée, after having taught for ten years at the Conservatoire de Caen.

With Les Voix Animées, he explores the vast repertoire of a cappella vocal music, particularly the polyphony of the Renaissance. By creating the ensemble in 2009, Luc Coadou shaped a true sonic “toolkit” enabling him to bring back to life and voice the little-known or even forgotten music of the 15th and 16th centuries. Throughout the ensemble’s programming, the “Renaissance masters” Josquin, Lassus, Palestrina, Victoria, and Byrd re-enchant our 21st-century ears and blend with works by “contemporary” composers Karol Beffa, Dimitri Tchesnokov, Tomas Bordalejo, Léo Collin, Raphaël Languillat, Christophe Demarthe, and Romain Bastard, specially composed for Les Voix Animées.

In 2025, Luc will chair the Jury for the 4th time at the International Choral Competition in Provence.

Born under the mists of the North, like the Franco-Flemish masters of the Renaissance, Luc Coadou effortlessly transitions from singer to choir and ensemble conductor with a constant concern for pedagogy and musicological research. A certain predilection for early repertoires is reflected in his academic work; he is the author of research on lyrical theater during the French Revolution.

Baritone Luc Coadou began his career as a boy singer with the Manécanterie de Dunkerque Les Rossignolets. He studied singing in Lille and perfected his skills with Rachel Yakar and René Jacobs at Studio Versailles-Opéra.

He sings with numerous ensembles such as La Chapelle Royale, Les Arts Florissants, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Parlement de Musique, La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy, and Le Concert Spirituel. From medieval music to contemporary creation, his repertoire combines musical research and eclecticism. He performs in prestigious festivals and many opera houses as a singer.

As a conductor, Luc Coadou has led, among others, Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Handel’s Messiah, and numerous 19th-century lyrical works, including lesser-known operas by Boieldieu, Weber, Chabrier, Viardot, Bizet, Gounod, Pergolesi, Grétry, Delibes, Terrasse, and Offenbach.

A singing professor, he is invited by the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et danse de Lyon for masterclasses on Renaissance polyphony and has taught since 2000 at the Conservatoire national à rayonnement régional de Toulon Provence Méditerranée, after having taught for ten years at the Conservatoire de Caen.

With Les Voix Animées, he explores the vast repertoire of a cappella vocal music, particularly the polyphony of the Renaissance. By creating the ensemble in 2009, Luc Coadou shaped a true sonic “toolkit” enabling him to bring back to life and voice the little-known or even forgotten music of the 15th and 16th centuries. Throughout the ensemble’s programming, the “Renaissance masters” Josquin, Lassus, Palestrina, Victoria, and Byrd re-enchant our 21st-century ears and blend with works by “contemporary” composers Karol Beffa, Dimitri Tchesnokov, Tomas Bordalejo, Léo Collin, Raphaël Languillat, Christophe Demarthe, and Romain Bastard, specially composed for Les Voix Animées.

In 2025, Luc will chair the Jury for the 4th time at the International Choral Competition in Provence.

Camilo Santostefano

Camilo is an Argentine international choir and orchestra conductor. A graduate of the National University of Arts in Buenos Aires, he has won numerous awards in international competitions. He is also a professor, competition organizer, composer, jury member, and IFCM ambassador.

Camilo Santostefano holds a degree in choral conducting from the National University of the Arts in Buenos Aires. He also graduated as a music teacher and guitar teacher from the Morón Conservatory in Argentina. At UNCUYO University in Argentina, he pursued postgraduate studies in “Interpretation of 20th-Century Latin American Music.”
He received the 2019 Konex Award with Honorable Mention in choral conducting, as one of the 100 most influential Argentine musicians for the period 2009-2018.
He currently conducts the Coro Polifónico de Córdoba, the professional choir of the Teatro del Libertador San Martin in Córdoba, Argentina.

Camilo is the founder and choir director of MusicaQuantica Voces de Cámara, which has received numerous awards worldwide: Grand Prix Ave Verum (Austria 2012), Grand Prix Florilège Vocal de Tours (France 2012), European Grand Prix Finalist (Italy 2013), IFCM Ambassador (South Korea 2014), as well as many awards in his home country of Argentina. He also received the First Prize for Orchestra Conducting in 2014 at the Maimonides University Competition, as well as the FNA Award for Best Conductor at Ansilta 2010, San Juan, Argentina.

He founded and directed the opera company Lírica Lado B between 2009 and 2018 (which won the ACMA stimulation award in 2015), and with which he premiered numerous operas in South America.

He founded and directed the Carlos López Buchardo Choir of the National University of Arts (FAUNA Award 2017) between 2013 and 2022.
Additionally, Camilo served as director of the National School of Buenos Aires Choir as well as its Amadeo Jacques Chamber Choir.

He lived in Austria between 2019 and 2022, where he was conductor of the Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen, Cantilena Kammer Frauenchor, Ensemble KammerAT, Melange Vocal Wien, and guest conductor of the Wiener Tonkunstvereinigung Chor und Orchester.

Camilo is also a guest conductor for the National Youth Choir of Wales (UK), Red Coral de Medellín (Colombia), Fullerton College in Los Angeles (USA), and Coro Polifónico Nacional (Argentina).

He taught conducting at the Astor Piazzolla Conservatory in Buenos Aires. French.

He has also given masterclasses and lectures in Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, the United States, and Wales.
As a composer, he won first prize at the 80th anniversary of the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires and second prize in the “OperaVista” chamber opera composition competition in Houston, United States.

As a jury member, he participated in 2022 in the International Choral Competition with Choral Events, Provence, France, as well as the Victoria Adriatic Choral Competition and We Are Singing, Opatija, Croatia;

In 2016: Artistic Council of the VIII America Cantat Festival, América Cantat, Nassau, Bahamas;

In 2015: VIII Competition for the Interpretation of South American Choral Music, AAMCANT, La Plata, Argentina;

In 2013: Choral Arrangements Competition, AAMCANT, La Plata, Argentina.