JURY
An Vedi
An Vedi is the winner of international awards and contests as violinist, composer ,chamber music performer, singer, conductor and visual artist. She is the youngest recipient of the Edward Elgar Medal (2019, the UK). An Vedi graduated from the Moscow Conservatory and Post-graduate studies with honors. She has been performing on stage for over 25 years.
She is a Member of the Recording Academy (Voting Member and Mentor), BMI, the Boston New Music Initiative, International Singer-Songwriters Association, the Indie Collaborative, International Society for Jazz Arrangers and Composers, Musical Explorers by Carnegie Hall, International Association for Music and Medicine, Sisters in Music, International Conductors Guild, Modern Conducting Academy, National Union of Composers, Russian Music Society. An Vedi is a judge at several intemnational music competitions and awards. As a violinist and conductor she has over 700 works in her performing repertoire. As a composer, she has composed over 100 works for orchestra, choir, chamber ensembles, and individual instruments. As a songwriter, she has written over 300 songs. Since 2018, she has been conducting master classes for young musicians according to her individual method, which has been approved by music teachers from schools, colleges and universities. An Vedi actively collaborates with members of the Recording Academy, as well as GRAMMY®-nominated and winning artists. In November 2024, she received a GRAMMY® nomination as the participating artist in the album “The Fury” by Antonio Vergara.
Robert Mihovilić
Robert Mihovilić, born on 8 May 1978, is a Croatian composer, conductor, and music educator whose work encompasses orchestral, wind, tambura, and chamber music. He lives in Ciglenica Zagorska, in the municipality of Sveti Križ Začretje, Croatia. Originally trained as a road transport engineer, he later devoted himself fully to music and composition.
He earned a master’s degree in composition from the Franz Schubert Conservatory in Vienna in 2016, followed by a second master’s degree in composition from the Richard Wagner Conservatory in 2017. In 2018, he completed postgraduate studies in composition at the Accademia del Ridotto in Italy. He has also further developed his conducting skills through masterclasses.
Mihovilić has taught at the Franz Schubert Conservatory in Vienna, contributing to courses in composition, music theory, and conducting. His teaching is grounded in a thorough understanding of musical structure, harmony, and orchestration, combined with practical, performance-oriented training. In his conducting instruction, he emphasizes score analysis, ensemble communication, and stylistic clarity. His teaching integrates contemporary compositional practices with traditional forms, encouraging students to develop both technical proficiency and an individual artistic identity.
Mihovilić serves as conductor of the KUD Lovro Ježek Tamburitza Orchestra, with which he has won major national and international awards. He also conducts the Ivo Tijardović Wind Orchestra and leads the tamburitza ensemble and choir of KUD Belec.
He has written numerous compositions and arrangements for tambura, wind, symphonic, and chamber ensembles. Since 2014, he has taught tambura at the Dugo Selo Music School, where his students have won numerous regional and international awards.
He has been a member of the Austrian Composers Association since 2021. Since 2025, he has served as chief conductor of the orchestra of the Festival kajkavskih popevki.
Roberto Carnevale
Roberto Carnevale is an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, and music educator. He was born on 15 June 1966 in Catania, Italy. He studied piano with Roberto Bianco, composition with Angela Giuffrida and Franco Donatoni, musicology with Salvatore Enrico Failla, and conducting with Ferdinand Leitner.
He received a diploma in piano performance and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in modern literature from the University of Catania. He also attended summer courses at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena.
Carnevale has edited several musicological series for the Neopoiesis publishing house. In 1996, he served as an editor for the magazines CD Classica and Orfeo – Il mensile di musica barocca. In 1994, he was appointed professor of music history at the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini in Catania. He became assistant headmaster, or deputy director, of the conservatory in 2001 and headmaster of the CEU in 2003. In 2004, he was appointed professor of music history, music aesthetics, and the history and analysis of music at the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini.
He has composed approximately 200 works that have been performed internationally. Venues and institutions that have presented his music include the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Foerster Hall in Prague, Bocconi University in Milan, Teatro Nazionale in Vilnius, Casa de las Américas in Havana, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Gaudeamus Contemporary Music Center in Amsterdam, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Teatro Greco in Syracuse, and RAI — Radiotelevisione Italiana.
He has worked with prominent musicians, orchestras, and ensembles, including Aldo Clementi, Franco Donatoni, Alfred Brendel, Maurizio Pollini, Giovanni Sollima, Gidon Kremer, Ensemble Modern, the London Chamber Group, the West Chester University Orchestra, the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, and many others.
Carnevale’s compositions have been recorded by Edizioni Carrara, Pongo Records, Suvini Zerboni, CIMS, Pagano, Union Records, and NEN-CD Classica. His works have been published by LIM, Verlag Neue Musik, Suvini Zerboni, TEM–Taukay Edizioni Musicali, NEN, CULC, Nuove Edizioni Neopoiesis, and Maimone Editore.
In 1988, Roberto Carnevale received the International Council of Europe Prize in Rome.