Meet Your Adjudicators

David Francis Urrows (余樂詩), composer, conductor, organist, and musicologist, has served on the faculties of Hong Kong Baptist University, the Academy for Performing Arts, Boston University, the University of Massachusetts, and Eastern Mediterranean University. He led the Hong Kong Bach Choir (1989-91), the Cecilian Singers (1997-2000), and been guest conductor of Vox Antiqua in the 2022 and 2023 Hymnos Festivals. Urrows was educated at New York University, Brandeis University, the University of Edinburgh, and Boston University where he received his doctorate in 1987. From 1976 to 1984 he studied privately with American composer Randall Thompson. Works of his many genres–choral pieces, orchestral works, compositions for vocal and instrumental soloists, music for chamber ensembles, and scores for the theater–have been performed in the United States, Europe, Great Britain and Asia. He currently lives in Metro Manila, where he continues his writing and composing and serves as organist at Holy Trinity Church, Forbes Park.

Vincenzo Cipriani graduated with full marks in organ, organ composition and piano at the “N.Piccinni Conservatory” of Bari and in jazz music at the Conservatory of Monopoli; At the “E.R.Duni Conservatory of Matera he teaches the following subjects at the first and second academic courses: piano jazz, ear training, rhythm of contemporary music, rhythmic and sung musical reading.
He played his original compositions during poetical literature reading with actors such as Giancarlo Giannini, Michele Mirabella, Silvia D’Amico e Alessandro Haber.

Anastasiia Talapatska is a pianist, accompanist, and music educator with over 17 years of experience in professional arts education.

She serves as a faculty member at the Dnipro Professional Art and Culture College (Ukraine), where she prepares students for concerts, competitions, and formal academic assessments, including final examinations conducted with external examination panels.

Her pedagogical work focuses on the comprehensive development of young musicians, integrating technical training, musical interpretation, and performance practice across a wide range of ages and ability levels. She has contributed to the preparation of students for competitive performance environments, both throughpiano instruction and her extensive work as an accompanist.

As an accompanist, she collaborates closely with vocalists, instrumentalists, choirs, and conducting students, supporting a wide range of educational and performance activities.

She is also expanding her international teaching perspective through involvement in music education within the UK secondary school system, gaining insight into different pedagogical approaches and cultural contexts.

Her professional approach is defined by clarity of musical standards, objectivity in evaluation, and a strong commitment to developing confident and artistically aware performers

Półtorak pursued his higher education at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz, where he studied solo violin under Professor Irena Żarnowska (the longstanding concertmaster of the Pomeranian Philharmonic). He later expanded his expertise at the same academy, graduating from the viola class of Professor Jan Paruzel. He made his professional debut on the stage of the Pomeranian Philharmonic and as a member of the renowned Capella Bydgostiensis chamber orchestra. Professional Orchestral and Chamber Career Since 2009, he has been a permanent member of the Kalisz Philharmonic, where he initially served as the principal of the second violin section and currently holds the position of Principal Violist.

Camille Poon joined the Hong Kong Sinfonietta as a violinist in 2018. Previously, she was a principal player of the violin section in the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Japan. She also played in Owensboro Symphony Orchestra during her stay in the USA. Having earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music at the Chinese University of Hong Kong under the tutelage of renowned violinist Ms Jue Yao, Poon furthered her studies at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University Bloomington with Professor Kevork Mardirossian and received her Master of Music in Violin Performance.
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She started learning the violin at the age of six, and has been a recipient of numerous scholarships and competition awards, including Third Prize at the 14th Osaka International Music Competition and prizes at the 1st Alice & Eleonore SchoenfeldInternational String Competition Chamber Division. She has performed as a soloist with various orchestras in Hong Kong, and is a frequent performer in masterclasses of world-renowned musicians including Kyung Sun Lee, Glenn Dicterow, Earl Carlyss, Lewis Kaplan, Alissa Margulis and Daniel Gaede.

Jay is a pianist and teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is an active soloist and accompanist with international performance experience. He holds a bachelor degree in music as a piano major at Utah Valley University, where he studied with Dr. Hsiang John Tu, Dr. Koji Attwood, and Dr. Hilary Demske. Having earned his Masters and Doctor of Musical Art Degree in piano performance from LSU with Dr. Michael Gurt.
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Jay has studied chamber music with Dr. Cheung Chau and accompanied the vocal studio of Serena Kanig. He has also been involved with the Utah Valley University Piano Competition. Jay was invited to perform at the Grumo Festival in Milan and Rome Italy, performing solo and chamber music across Europe.

Vladyslava is an Ukrainian classical pianist whose musical journey began at the age of five, shaped by the rigorous traditions of the Soviet classical school. At fifteen, she moved to Kyiv to continue her studies at the R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music, later beginning her career as a solo resident pianist immediately after graduation.

Her international path started in Turkey with residencies in Bodrum (2014) and Antalya (2015), followed by her first Middle Eastern engagement at ShangriLa Doha in 2015. She then spent nearly two years as a resident pianist at Four Seasons Bahrain, a defining chapter in her artistic development.

Since 2018, Vladyslava has been based in Dubai, performing at some of the region’s most prestigious hotels, including Madinat Jumeirah, St. Regis Doha, Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah, Rixos Premium, Hyatt Regency, and the Jetex VIP Terminal. She later returned to Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach as a resident pianist and is currently performing at The RitzCarlton, DIFC.

Svjatoslav Korolev is a Danish-born Russian-Armenian pianist whose career spans solo recitals, collaborative performance, and international competition.
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He holds a Master of Music from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, a Bachelor of Music from HfM Carl Maria von Weber Dresden, and advanced studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Wong Hung Pok is dedicated to local string education, having earned a Master of Music in String Pedagogy with outstanding results from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
During his studies, he was awarded a full tuition waiver and stipend, serving as a Teaching Assistant to support the university's teaching and academic activities, while also performing as the principal cellist of the university orchestra.