Jury 2025

The contest program is evaluated by an independent jury, which includes honored artists a professional musicians and teachers. The jury has the right: to split, not to award all prizes or to award special prizes. The jury’s decision is final and not subject to change.

Jury evaluation criteria

1) Nomination “Instrumental creativity” (solo, ensembles):

the degree of mastery of the instrument;
the purity of intonation;
the musical structure;
the complexity of the repertoire;
the correspondence of the contest program to the age characteristics of the participants.

2) Nomination “Vocal Art” (solo, ensemble):

performing skills;
Intonation;
ensemble structure;
complexity of the repertoire;
artistic expressiveness;
stage performance.

3) Nomination “Ensemble”:

the degree of possession of the instrument;
the purity of intonation;
musical structure;
the complexity of the repertoire;
the correspondence of the contest program to the age characteristics of participants;
coherency and harmonious performance.

4) Nomination “Composition”:

individual characteristics,
the complexity of the repertoire,
the correspondence of the competition program to the age characteristics of the participants, harmonious
and well-coordinated execution

5) Nomination “Folk music”:

Voice or instrument mastery level,
purity of intonation,
musical tuning/musical structure,
the complexity of the repertoire,
national characteristics of the work,
the contest program is suitable to the age characteristics of participants,
coherent and harmonious performance.

6) Nomination “Jewish music”:

Voice or instrument mastery level,
purity of intonation,
musical tuning/musical structure,
the complexity of the repertoire,
national characteristics of the work,
characteristics of Jewish national musical culture,
the contest program is suitable to the age characteristics of participants,
coherent and harmonious performance.

7) Nomination “Jazz music“:

stylistic correspondence of the music performed,
the complexity of the repertoire,
the correspondence of the competition program to the age characteristics of the participants,
harmonious and well-coordinated execution

Oxana Yablonskaya (USA, Israel)

Prof.Oxana Yablonskaya is an American-Israeli pianist who has an active international performance career since the early 1960s.

Yablonskaya pianist student Anaida Sumbatyan. Then he studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexander Goldenweiser, Dmitry Bashkirov, Tatyana Nikolaeva according to the doctoral program. She won the main prizes at the Margarita Long-Jacques Thibault Competition in 1963, the Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro in 1965 and the Beethoven Competition in Vienna in 1969.

Yablonskaya performed throughout the USSR and made numerous recordings at Melody. She was a soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic.

Emigrated to the United States in 1977. 75 prominent musicians, actors, composers, senators, including Leonard Bernstein, Catherine Hepburn, Shelley Winters, Henry Miller, Isaac Bashevis-Singer (Nobel laureate) and even President Carter asked the Soviet government to allow her to leave.

Described by the New York Times as “the world-famous virtuoso” and “one of the country’s most prominent musicians,” Yablonskaya toured with solo concerts throughout the United States, around the world and made many recordings. She taught at the faculty of piano at the Juilliard School for over 25 years, until 2009.

Yablonskaya is a laureate of the Grand Prix du Dis from the Liszt Society in Budapest for recording music by Schubert-Liszt and Liszt. Oksana Yablonskaya is an honorary academician of the International Academy of Arts at the United Nations, the International Academy of Arts in San Francisco and the Independent Academy of Humanities at the Russian Academy of Sciences. She was awarded the Einstein Medal for outstanding achievements in art.

In 2016, Professor Yablonskaya came to Israel, where she now lives and teaches at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

Vyacheslav Ganelin (Israel)

One of the outstanding composers and jazz performers of our time. Professor of the Jerusalem Academy of Music. Member of the Union of Composers of Israel, Laureate of the State Prize of Israel, laureate of the State Prize of Lithuania, actively performing, the artistic director of the Jerusalem Jazz Festival “Jazz Globe”, the author of music for more than 30 performances and 6 musicals, 3 operas, 50 songs , Music to more than 60 movies.

1988 – a teacher of the jazz department of the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance. Jerusalem, Israel
2012 – Professor of the Department of Cross-Discipline Music of the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance. Jerusalem, Israel

Worked and took part:

Union of Composers in the USSR1970-1987;
The Union of Composers in Israel since 1988;
Academy of Music and Dance. Rubina Israel since 1988;
Since 2002 – director and director of the annual International Jazz Festival “Jazz Globe”, which was held in the Israeli capital Jerusalem.

Awards and achievements:

Prize (Bravo-2002) for contribution to the development of Lithuanian pop culture.
In 2003, the Republic of Lithuania granted V. Ganelin the “Order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitówt” for contribution to the development of Lithuanian culture;
Laureate of the Landau Prize for Jazz Music (2005) in Israel;
Prize “Golden disc” (2010) for composer and jazz pianist in Lithuania.
National Award of Culture and Art of Lithuania (2016).

Gersh Geller (Israe)

Professor at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem, laureate of the “Yuri Stern Prize.”

Gersh Geller (Grigory Geller) graduated from the Shymkent Music School (class of G. Aliyev) and the Almaty Conservatory (class of A. Movsha). Since 1970, he has been teaching at the Almaty Conservatory. He is a Honored Artist and Honored Teacher of the Republic of Kazakhstan and an honorary professor.

He founded the saxophone ensemble “Saxchorus.” One of the first to teach classical saxophone at a higher music institution in the former Soviet Union, he was also featured in a 45-minute film titled “My Orchestra Saxochorus” (Kazakhfilm).

He has been living in Israel since 1990. During this time, over 240 of his students have received the prestigious “Keren Sharet” scholarship. Among his notable students are Ruslan Babadjanov (Australia), Batyrhan Shukenov, Igor Shubin (Kazakhstan), Maayan Smith, Itzik Weismel, Ilana Sheleg, Snir Tal, Shon Avraham, and many others. Geller’s students work in Canada, Australia, England, the USA, Germany, and France.

The “Saxophones of Jerusalem” ensemble tours the world, participating in competitions and festivals in countries such as Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, India, all Scandinavian countries, England, the USA, and Austria.

Professor Geller’s dream is to have a thousand saxophones by the Western Wall, with saxophonists from different countries of the world.

Igor Epstein (Germany)

Violinist, viola player, double bass player. Professor,

Rector of the Academy of Music of the Peoples of the World, Klezmer and Aesthetics “Weltmusik, Klezmer & Asthetik Akademie” (Cologne) – is known as a talented musician who devotes much time and energy to the revival of traditional Jewish culture and educational activities.

His brilliant lectures on the history of Jewish culture are heard by audiences in many countries around the world. In Europe – known not only as a virtuoso performer, but also as a showman, who combines elements of folklore, jazz and classics with Jewish humor.

All in all, his native music language is Klezmer.

Awarded the prestigious German Prize “Person of the Year” for the development and popularization of Jewish Culture (2021).

Ludmila Klindukhova (Belarus)

Professor, Head of the Department of Brass and Percussion Instruments of the Belarusian State Academy of Music (BGAM).

Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Percussion Associations.

Winner of international competitions. Prepared over 30 performers on percussion instruments.

Member of the National Jury and international competitions.

Holder of various government awards.

Nikolay Kaboev (Russia)

Composer, pianist, teacher, conductor. Member of the Union of Composers of the USSR. Graduated from the piano department of the Rostov State Music and Pedagogical Institute. Lecturer and head of the pop-jazz music department of the Ordzhonikidze Art School. Since 1993 – Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the State National Variety-Jazz Orchestra of the RSO-A them. K. Suanova. Since 1991 – deputy. Chairman of the Union of Composers SOASSR. Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, NOSU.

Acts as a pianist.

Honored Art Worker of the Republic of North Ossetia-A, Honored Art Worker of Russia. People’s Artist of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Honored Artist of the Republic of South Ossetia.

Author of many works for piano, chorus, string, symphony and jazz orchestra.

Evgenia Epshtein (Israel, Croatia)

Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the Academy of Fine Arts in

Split (Croatia), is a world-renowned violinist and chamber musician. She is a co-founder of the “Aviv” Quartet (Israel).

Evgenia began her musical journey at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, where she studied under the guidance of Arthur Tsiserman, Yair Kless, and Irina Svetlova. She honed her chamber music skills at prestigious institutions, including the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne with the Alban Berg Quartet and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris under the mentorship of the Ysaÿe Quartet.

Evgenia has won the Grand Prix at the International Chamber Music Competition in Melbourne and second prizes at the International String Quartet Competition in Bordeaux and the International Music Competition “Prague Spring.” As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras such as the Baku Chamber Orchestra (Azerbaijan), the Mexican Chamber Orchestra, the Bohemian Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague, the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra in the UK, and the Zadar Chamber Orchestra in Croatia.

She conducts masterclasses at major festivals and conservatories worldwide, including the MDW University in Vienna, the National Music Academy in Sofia, and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Evgenia regularly participates in prestigious festivals, such as the International Music Festival Lunigiana in Italy, the Gotland Chamber Music Festival in Sweden, and the American Chamber Music Festival in Prague. In 2023, she also participated in the innovative X-TET project at the renowned Vienna Musikverein.

Vasily Klindukhov (Belarus)

Soloist of the troupe of the State Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus. .

Associate Professor, Department of Singing Belarusian State Academy of Music (BGAM). .

Winner of international competitions.

He performed with concerts in Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Bulgaria, Russia, Belarus, etc.

Member of the jury of national and international competitions.

He brought up more than 20 laureates-vocalists of various international competitions.

Head of the Department of Brass and Percussion Instruments of the Belarusian State Academy of Music (BGAM).

Oleg Krimer (Germany)

Prof. Oleg Krimer is a laureate of the national (All-Belarusian, 1964) and international competitions named after M.K.Churlionis (Lithuania, 1978).

More than 20 works were dedicated to him both for solo piano and concertos with orchestra. In 1998 Oleg Krimer was recognized as the best in the nomination “Contemporary Music Interpreter” at the International K. Penderecki Festival in Krakow.

He graduated from the conservatory with Professor Irina Tsvetaeva (Minsk) and postgraduate-assistant studies with Professor Yakov Milshtein (Moscow).

Before moving to Germany (in 2000), O. Krimer taught at the Belarusian Academy of Music. More than 100 of his students and pupils have become laureates of national and international competitions (Germany, Austria, Israel, Slovakia, France, Poland, Belgium, South Africa).

Prof. O.Krimer is a member of the European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA) and the Music Council of the International Piano Art Association.

Member of the jury of many international competitions (Germany, Czech Republic, Poland).

Eli (Iliya) Raikhlin (Israel)

Pianist, conductor, music critic, teacher. Honored Worker of Culture of Poland.

Laureate of international festivals and competitions ( Russia, Belarus, Thailand, Poland, Germany, France, USA, Israel).

Conducted “Master Classes” in Germany, Poland, the United States and Israel.

The founder and artistic director of the children, youth, adult jazz orchestras in different years.

A member of the jury of many international competitions and festivals (Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Latvia, Israel…).

Member of the Organizing Committee and member of the international music congresses and conferences (Russia, Germany, Italy, Spain…).

The author and publisher of a number of educational and teaching aids for music.

The founder and owner, General Director of the Music Centre “Titora Institute of Art Development” (Modiin, Israel), which he headed for 26 years.
General Director and Artistic Director International Festival – Contest “Music of the World”

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