Jury 2024

The 2024 Competition Jury

Discover the jury which will award the prizes of the 2024 International Choir Competition in Provence.

Stephan Nicolay

Stephan is the Artistic Director of the Concours International Choral en Provence 2024 (he is not a jury member).

With a degree in electronics engineering, an organ prize, a degree in musicology and a state diploma in conducting vocal ensembles, Stephan is now a recognised professional. A composer, teacher and conductor of professional and amateur choirs, Stephan has been working with Choral Events on a wide range of projects for over 6 years. Stephan is currently the Artistic Director of Choral Events.

Stéphan Nicolay began his career in the aerospace industry (S/T Thales Alenia Space) before moving on to become a state-qualified conductor of vocal ensembles (Cefedem Lyon) and winner of several international competitions (1st prize for organ 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, run workshops in schools and conduct major works with choir and orchestra (e.g. Requiem Verdi, Mors et Vita Gounod, Danses polovtsiennes Borodine, etc.). He is regularly called upon as a guest conductor on productions or as a project manager for events. In 2023, he set up choirs for collaborations with the Orchestre National de Cannes, the Genoa Opera, the Turin Philharmonic and The Real Group. In 2024, his professional ensemble Alicantus was programmed as part of the MIDEM+24 Live Festival and recorded the choral parts for the forthcoming album by the metal group Igorrr.

Chapel Master of the Parish of St-Nicolas in Cannes since 1998, he conducts several choirs on the Côte d’Azur, including the Chœur de Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage in Cannes, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year (www.choralecannes.fr), and the Ensemble Vocal La Sestina in Nice, with whom he won 1st Prize in the two competitions the choir entered (www.lasestina.fr).
A few hours of teaching at the Mougins music school give him the freedom to give classes or jury sessions at various conservatoires on the Côte d’Azur, as well as giving lectures, notably on the links between music and astronomy.

As a composer, his work mainly concerns the voice, whether solo or in choir, a cappella or accompanied. Whether his writing is inspired by the French masters of the early 20th century, whom he is particularly fond of, or more contemporary, his music is characterised by an undeniable poetic force. His works have won prizes in various international competitions and feature in the repertoire of a number of European choirs, including Polski Chor Kameralny, The New Dublin Voices and Coro da Camera di Torino. His works have been recorded by the Chœur de Chambre 1732 (monographic disc devoted to his sacred music in 2019, another disc to be released in 2024 featuring secular works alongside pieces by Isabelle Aboulker).

A profound humanist, he is also the founder of the Vivre Ensemble movement in Cannes, which organises inter-religious meetings to promote peace, respect and understanding of other cultures.

www.stephannicolay.com

Brady R. Allred

Artistic Director and Conductor of the Salt Lake Choral Artists in Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr Brady R. Allred has developed “an international reputation for excellence.”  Under his direction the Salt Lake Choral Artists, a non-profit arts organization of seven choirs and over 300 singers, has achieved critical acclaim for their innovative concerts, Summer Choral Institute program, international tours, iTunes and YouTube presence. Dr. Allred is also an adjudicator in the most important international competitions, and gives Masterclasses on all 5 continents. 

Known around the world for “exquisite choral singing,” Dr. Allred’s ensembles have been invited to participate in major festivals and competitions around the world.  They won the Grand Prize at the Florilège Vocal de Tours (France), the European Grand Prix, and First Prizes at the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition, the Tolosa (Spain) International Choir Competition , and the Concorso Polifonico Internazionale in Arezzo, Italy.

Dr. Allred was also awarded the Conductor’s Prize in Marktoberdorf, Germany.  The Salt Lake Vocal Artists represented the USA at the World Choral Symposium in Argentina and have recently toured to Bulgaria, Turkey, Japan, Germany and The Netherlands.

They were also featured performers at the American Choral Directors Association 2015 National Conference and they represented the USA at the first World Choral Expo in Macau, China in November 2015 which included a set of concerts in Hong Kong.  They represented the USA at the 2017 World Choral Symposium in Barcelona, Spain and returned to Tolosa, Spain in October 2018 for the 50^th Anniversary Celebration of the Tolosa International Choir Competition.  They have been invited to the Cantemus Festival in Hungary in August 2022 and the International Choral Festival in Missoula, Montana for 2023.

Prior to his full-time appointment as Artistic Director of SLCA, Dr. Allred was Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Utah.  He was also the Music Director and Conductor for the Butler Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania, Director of Choral Activities at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh.

He has been a guest conductor for the Schumann Chamber Orchestra in Italy, the Wroclaw Philharmonic in Poland, the Symphonic Orchestra of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Vox Gaudiosa of Tokyo, the New Israeli Vocal Ensemble, Oslo Voices in Norway, the Taipei Youth Choir in Taiwan, the National Youth Choirs of Sweden, Norway and Estonia at the Europa Cantat Festival in Hungary, the Gondwana Choirs of the Australian National Choral School 2016, the Tuks Camerata and Akustika Chamber Choir in Pretoria, South Africa, and the Harmonia Ensemble in Tokyo, Japan.  His recent guest conducting engagements have taken him to Birmingham, Alabama, New York City, South Africa, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Bali, France, Indonesia, and Japan.

As a Singer, he has performed with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus under Helmuth Rilling.  He has served on international juries for competitions in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand and has conducted over one hundred regional and All-State Choirs.

Dr. Allred earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting degrees from the Eastman School of Music, and his undergraduate degree in Theory/Composition and Flute Performance from Brigham Young University.  He and his wife, soprano Carol Ann Allred, have traveled and performed extensively as Artistic Ambassadors for the United States Information Agency.

Krista Audere

Krista Audere, a singer and choral conductor of Latvian origin, directs several amateur and professional choirs in the Netherlands. Krista is the winner of the Eric Ericson Award 2021.

She is currently the conductor of the VU-Kamerkoor, Kamerkoor Venus, and is regularly engaged as a guest conductor of the Dutch Chamber Choir, the Dutch Radio Choir and Cappella Amsterdam.

Krista Audere is the winner of the Eric Ericson award 2021, the world’s leading competition for young choral conductors.

In the 2023/24 season she has engagements with the State Choir Latvia, the Hungarian Radio Choir, the Swedish Radio Choir, the Bavarian Radio Choir, the Danish National Vocal Ensemble, the WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, the Spanish National Choir, the SWR Vokalensemble, Chamber Choir Ireland and the BBC Singers.

Krista Audere (1989) graduated from Riga Dom choir school where she gained qualifications as a choir master and choral singer.

She then attained the Bachelor’s degree in choral conducting at Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music while enriching her musical experience at the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. In 2016 Krista obtained the Masters diploma and graduated cum laude at the Amsterdam University of the Arts. As a singer she has collaborated with the Latvian Radio Choir and Cappella Amsterdam.

Krista Audere is a frequent jury member in conducting and choir competitions, as well as giving masterclasses on choral conducting.

Ai WU

Lyric artist and choral conductor, Ai Wu was born in Chongqing (China). She trained at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she obtained a Master’s degree, and went on to teach there alongside the renowned teacher Zhou Xiao Yan. In France, she obtained Concertist diploma from the École Normale de Paris.

She went on to win several prizes at international competitions in the Opera and Baroque categories, and performs regularly in stage opera in China and France: Bizet’s Carmen, Cherubino (Figaro, Mozart), Angelina (La Cenerentola, Rossini) and Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), then Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte, Mozart) and Suzuki (Miss Buterfly, Puccini), the mother (Hänsel und Gretel, Humperdinck), etc…

Since 2014, she has led a Franco-Chinese career, regularly invited to China for galas under the direction of the great Sino-European conductor Muhai Tang in prestigious theatres: Shanghai Philharmonic, Tianjing Opera, Zhengzhou Grand Theatre, Nanning Grand Theatre, for programmes by Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Bizet, Saint-Saëns…

Since 2015, she has been collaborating with Ensemble Matheus on baroque and romantic Opera. She also pursues her activity as a chamber musician in the French, Spanish and Baroque repertoires.

In November 2018, she went on a tour of concerts and Masterclasses in China, on the French Impressionist repertoire, then in December she was invited as soloist for the concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of the GuangXi Region, with the GuangXi Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Muhai Tang.

In January 2019, she was invited by the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra for the New Year Gala, for a programme of Vivaldi, Saint-Saëns, Mozart. Since then, she has performed in Paris (Grand Palais, Salle Wagram), Monaco, the Czech Republic and China, in ensembles ranging from chamber music to philharmonic orchestra.

Committed to promoting the arts, she created the 1st Franco-Chinese festival in Isle Adam in 2018, combining music and painting. In 2023, she will take over the organization of the 26th Brest International Piano Competition.

Ai Wu’s repertoire ranges from Baroque music to Richard Strauss, via Mozart and Rossini.

At the same time, she devotes herself to teaching, and teaches opera singing and choral conducting at the Conservatoire de Brest, where she conducts two mixed choirs on a variety of programmes.

Today she is a passionate ambassador of French culture in China.

Luc Coadou

Luc Coadou is a French solo singer specialized in the Baroque repertoire for bass voice of the 17th and 18th centuries. He also works as a choirmaster and conductor and directs the “Ensemble Instrumental de Toulon et du Var” as well as the professional vocal ensemble “Les Voix Animées”. Luc will be the President of the Jury for the third time. 

Born in the mists of the North, like the Franco-Flemish masters of the Renaissance, Luc Coadou happily passes from the status of singer to that of choir director and ensemble with a constant concern for pedagogy and musicological research. A certain predilection for old repertoires can be found in his university work, he is the author of research on lyrical theater at the time of the French Revolution.

Baritone Luc Coadou began his career as a child singer with the Dunkirk Choir school Les Rossignolets. He studied singing in Lille and perfected with Rachel Yakar and René Jacobs at the Studio Versailles-Opéra.

He sings with many ensembles such as La Chapelle Royale, Les Arts Florissants, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Parliament of Music, La Grande Écurie and Chambre du Roy and Le Concert Spirituel. From medieval music to contemporary creation, its repertoire combines musical research and eclecticism. He has performed at prestigious festivals and many opera houses as a singer.

As conductor, Luc Coadou conducts among others Mozart’s Requiem and Mass in C, Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Georg Friedrich Handel’s Le Messie, and numerous lyrical works from the 19th century, including little-known operas by Boieldieu, Weber, Chabrier, Viardot, Bizet, Gounod, Pergolèse, Grétry, Delibes, Terrasse and Offenbach.

Singing teacher, he is invited by the National Conservatory of Music and Dance of Lyon during masterclasses devoted to Renaissance polyphony and has been teaching since 2000 at the National Conservatory with regional influence in Toulon Provence Méditerranée, after having taught for ten years at the Conservatory. from Caen.

With Les Voix Animées, he explores the vast repertoire of a cappella vocal music and especially that of Renaissance polyphony. By creating the ensemble in 2009, Luc Coadou fashioned a veritable sound “toolkit” allowing him to give life and voice to little-known or even forgotten music of the 15th and 16th centuries. Throughout the ensemble’s programs, the “reborn” Josquin, Lassus, Palestrina, Victoria, Byrd re-enchant our 21st century ears and mingle with the works of “contemporaries” Karol Beffa, Dimitri Tchesnokov, Tomas Bordalejo, Léo Collin, Raphaël Languillat, Christophe Demarthe and Romain Bastard specially composed for Les Voix Animées.

In 2024, Luc will chair the Jury for the 3rd time at the International Choral Competition in Provence.

Michał Brożek

Michał Brożek – the conductor, organist, composer, music teacher. He is the graduate of Karol Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice.

In 2009 he graduated from the bachelor programme in two specializations: Music Education and Conducting Vocal and Vocal-Instrumental Bands and also Church Music.

In 2011 he graduated with distinction from the master programme in the following specializations: Conducting the Choir with theoretical and musical courses in the conducting class of professor Iwona Melson and Music Education with theoretical and musical courses.

In 2010 he was a participant of the 13^th National Choral Conductor’s Competition in Poznań. During his study period, in 2008, he started a “Cantate Deo” Choir by the Saint Cross Parish in Tychy and in 2013 has become the conductor of the Choir of the University of Economics in Katowice.

He gives concerts in Poland and abroad, including in Italy, Spain, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Macedonia and China.

He has won numerous awards and distinctions with his ensembles, the most recent of which include :

– 1st place in the mixed choirs category and the Grand Prix at the 10th International Choral Competition “Music & Sea” in Paralia, Greece (2022)

– Gold Diploma in the academic choirs category (1st place category) and a Special Award for the best performance of a sacred piece during the 17th International Choir Festival “Gaude Cantem” in Bielsko-Biała (2022)

– Golden Diploma and 1st place at the National Choir Tournament Legnica Cantat 53 in Legnica and an award for the best performance of a contemporary Polish composer (2023)

– 1st place in the mixed choir category and 3rd place in the Grand Prix competition at the International Choir Competition in Provence (2023). Furthermore, he has been awarded as the best conductor of the International Choir Competition in Provence 2023 and has therefore been invited to act as Jury Member for the 2024 edition.

Also he has sepeatedly received a special award for the best conductor in others festivals and choral competitions.

Since 2015 he has been the artistic director of the Local Review of Carols and Pastorals in Tychy for primary schools, middle and high schools.

And since 2018, the artistic director of the Metropolitan Choral Festival in Katowice.

He successfully conducted many vocal and instrumental concerts, such as J. Rutter’s Magnificat, G. Faure’s Requiem, J.S.Bach’s Great Mass in B minor, W. Kilar’s Missa pro Pace, and K. Jenkins’ Stabat Mater. He has recorded 4 CDs: Gabriel Faure’s Requiem, carol albums recorded with the “Cantate Deo” Choir and the Choir of the University of Economics in Katowice, as well as the CD Caelesti lumine which contains sacred songs performed by the Choir of the University of Economics in Katowice.