Jury members

The jury in 2021 consists of:

• Anne la Berge (USA/NL) 
• Hayo Boerema (NL)
• Bernard Foccroulle (B)
• Jeremy Joseph (SA/A)
• Thomas Lacôte (F)
• chairman is Ansgar Wallenhorst (D)

Anne La Berge’s passion for the extremes in both composed and improvised music has led her to storytelling and sound art as her sources of musical inspiration. Her music gathers the elements on which her reputation is based: ferocious and far-reaching virtuosity, microtonal textures and melodies, and her unique array of percussive flute techniques, all combined with interactive electronic processing and text.
She works regularly as an improvisation and live electronics coach worldwide in the context of residencies and private coaching. annelaberge.com

Hayo Boerema is organist at the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, professor at Codarts (Rotterdam Conservatory), improviser and composer. His repertoire ranges from Sweelinck to contemporary music with a lot of room for Bach, Messiaen and French music from the 20th century. Hayo not only performs as a soloist, but also works regularly with choirs and instrumental ensembles. His Messe Solennelle for organ, choir, percussion and soloists was recently recorded on CD. In addition to his work as a performing musician, Hayo is regularly asked to take part in juries of international organ competitions. His crossover collaborations with other experimenting artists have led to interesting projects in recent years with jazz musicians, painters, singers, guitarists, percussionists, writers and projection artists. www.hayoboerema.com

Bernard Foccroulle (Brussels) studied organ and later specialized in both Bach playing and contemporary music. He composed for organ, viola da gamba and chamber orchestra, among others. He became a music analysis teacher at the Royal Conservatory in Liège.
From 1992 to 2007 he was director of the Royal Munt Theatre in Brussels, which during his leadership was one of the world’s top operas. He then became director of the Festival International d’Art Lyrique in Aix-en-Provence, France. His versatility is reflected in the fact that he has been combining this from 2009 with a teaching position in Organ at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. He recorded the complete works of Bach and Buxtehude. www.bernardfoccroulle.com

Jeremy Joseph was born in 1978 in the South African city Durban. He studied organ in Copenhagen with Hans Fagius, then in Lübeck with Martin Haselböck and completed his training in Stuttgart with Jürgen Essl. In 1999 he was winner of the Gottfried Silbermann International Competition. After that his career took off with concerts all over Europe, both Americas, South Africa and Asia. As an improviser he is known as a top musician. Jeremy Joseph currently lives in Vienna, where he is organist of the Hofburgkapelle and teacher at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst. He also teaches at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart. www.jeremyjoseph.at

Thomas Lacôte began his studies at the Conservatoire of Poitiers, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, and then at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris, where he won five first prizes with awards. At the age of 20 he was appointed organist of the Cathédrale de Bourges, and in 2011 he succeeded Olivier Messiaen at the Église de la Trinité in Paris. His activities are diverse: in addition to being a performing and improvising musician, he is also an educator and musicologist. www.thomaslacote.fr

Ansgar Wallenhorst studied organ and improvisation with Günther Kaunzinger at the Hochschule für Musik in Würzburg. He also studied piano and music theory. He deepened his improvisational art with Thierry Escaich, Olivier Latry and Jean Guillou. At the same time, he studied theology and philosophy, especially examining the links between these disciplines and art. He is an organist in Ratingen, and has won prizes in Paris and Haarlem. www.ansgar-wallenhorst.de