Our Jurors
George Patronas
Dr. George A. Patronas is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia (Government Gazette of Appointment: C´ 1967/18-8-2022). He teaches in the field of Byzantine Music Pedagogy with emphasis on Chant Performance. He is a music educator, chanting interpreter, and researcher. He studied Music Education and Didactics in Piano and Ensemble at undergraduate and postgraduate level abroad, and completed his doctoral studies at the University of Macedonia with a dissertation on the pedagogy and didactics of Byzantine Music, graded as Excellent. His postdoctoral research focused on “Tropical analysis for the Kekragaria of Jacob Protopsalt,” while he has also undertaken additional specialization in the “Theory of Music Learning and Teaching.”
He is the chief musician of the Byzantine choir “Eudromountes,” Protopsaltis (first chanter) of St. Therapon’s Church in Kato Toumba, Thessaloniki, Artistic Director of the Music Lab of St. Therapon’s and of the Orchestra of Secular Greek Music. His academic trajectory includes a Master’s Degree in Music Education from the Higher Academy of Music and Dance Art in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and a Diploma in Music Education from the same institution with distinction, specializing in music pedagogy and piano teaching, with a thesis on “Greek folk songs in Byzantine notation.” The Diploma was recognized as equivalent to Greek Higher Education Institutions (Act 33/81/1997).
His research interests focus on ear training for Byzantine music with emphasis on the tropical system, spelling and solfeggio, the teaching and practical exercise of chanting, the interpretation and performance of chant, and vocal performance in Byzantine and Greek folk music traditions.
Roberta Vacca
Roberta Vacca
Roberta Vacca is “one of the most solidly trained, most original and unpredictable composers of her generation” (Lorenzo Tozzi, Rivista Musica 360, October 2024). She is a multifaceted artist, a pianist and composer, lecturer at the “A. Casella” Conservatory, L’Aquila, Italy, where she also completed her musical studies, as well as at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Accademia Chigiana with Azio Corghi.
Winner of numerous national and international awards and prizes, resident composer at Mac Dowell Colony (U.S.A.), Bogliasco Foundation for Letters and the Arts and “Le Ville Matte” Artist Residency, she has several works to her credit (published by Ars Publica, Twilight, MEP, Sconfinarte, RAI Com, Tactus), performed in Italy and abroad, including 6 CDs dedicated exclusively to her own work and several record collections for various labels. She collaborates with artists of different backgrounds to create special projects.
A playful and idealistic component, combined with her passion for theatre, which permeate her instrumental production, have led her to be open to collaborating on numerous diverse projects.
Lina Tonia
Lina Tonia
Lina Tonia is a young award-winning composer born in Greece, in 1985. Her work list includes more than 140 compositions for orchestra, ensembles, operas, chamber music and music for theatre that performed in Paris, Vienna, London, New York, Boston, Appleton, Delaware, Moscow, Weimar, Berlin, Edinburgh, Zagreb, Takefu, Sofia, Plovdiv, Tirana, Athens and Thessaloniki.
She has been awarded prizes in several national and international composition competitions for her works. Among others, she received the 1st prize at the 4th Jungerson International Composition Competition in Moscow (2007), the 3rd prize to the 2nd International “Ton de Leeuw” Composition Competition (2008), the Baerenreiter Award at the 12th International Via Nova Composition Competition in Weimar (2010), the 2nd prize to the 12th International “Via Nova” Composition Competition (2010), the title of “New Young Artist of the Year” from the Union of Greek Critics for Music and Theatre in Athens (2010), the 3rd prize to the 1st International “Alexander Myaskovsky” Composition Competition in Moscow (2012), the 3rd prize to the 1st International Composition Contest, Violas 2014 in Paris (2014), the 1st prize to the XII International Composition Competition FRANCISCO ESCUDERO (2019), the 2nd prize to GEDOK International Composition Competition 2020 organized for the 150th anniversary of Ida Dehmel in Munich (2020), the 3rd prize to the Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award at the University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign (2023).
She awarded with the title “Composer of the Year 2020” from the Federation of American Musicians, Singers and Performing Artists (FAMSPA) at the New York World Music Awards 2020.
She is teaching Composition in Macedonia University, Department of Music Art and Science, in Thessaloniki from September of 2016.