Sophie Cherrier
Chair of the Jury
Sophie Cherrier is an internationally acclaimed flutist trained at the Conservatoire of Nancy and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she graduated with highest honors in flute and chamber music. She joined the Ensemble intercontemporain in 1979 and has since become a leading interpreter of contemporary repertoire, premiering works by Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, and Ton-Thât Tiêt.
Her discography features major recordings of Boulez — including …explosante fixe… (Deutsche Grammophon), Mémoriale, and the Sonatine (Erato) — as well as Berio’s Sequenza I, Fedele’s Imaginary Sky-lines, Manoury’s Jupiter and La Partition du ciel et de l’Enfer, Jodlowski’s Dialog/no Dialog, and Matthias Pintscher’s Beyond (a system of passing).
A sought-after soloist, she has performed with ensembles such as the Hallé Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Sinfonietta, and the Berlin Philharmonic.
A dedicated educator, Cherrier has taught at the Conservatoire de Paris since 1998 and leads masterclasses worldwide. She was named Chevalière des Arts et des Lettres in 2011.
András Adorján
Member of the Jury
András Adorján was born in Budapest, grew up in Copenhagen, and has lived in Munich since 1974. After earning a dental diploma in 1968, he completed his musical studies with Jean-Pierre Rampal and Aurèle Nicolet.
From 1970 to 1988 he served as principal flutist of the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne, the SWF Orchestra in Baden-Baden, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich. He became professor of flute in 1987 at the Musikhochschule in Cologne and taught from 1996 to 2013 at the Musikhochschule in Munich, mentoring many of today’s leading flutists.
He has recorded more than 100 albums, co-authored the 2025 Oxford University Press book on Joachim Andersen, and edited the Lexikon der Flöte (Laaber Verlag, 2009).
Adorján received the Jacob-Gade-Preis in 1968, was a laureate at the Montreux International Flute Competition, and won the Premier Grand Prix at the 1971 Concours International de Flûte de Paris.
Recognized as one of the most influential flutists of his generation, he combines a distinguished performing career with major editorial and pedagogical achievements. He is widely admired for his artistry, scholarship, and dedication to expanding the flute repertoire.
Photo by: P. Hajská, Prag 2019.
Petri Alanko
Member of the Jury
Petri Alanko gained international recognition after winning first prizes at the Kobe International Flute Competition in 1989 and the Munich ARD Competition in 1990.
He studied at the Sibelius Academy with Mikael Helasvuo and later at the Freiburg Music Academy with William Bennett and Hans-Peter Schmitz.
Alanko served as principal flutist of the Zurich Opera Orchestra (1987–88) and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (1988–2010). He is currently the principal flute teacher at the Sibelius Academy (University of the Arts), where he also heads the Department of Winds, Percussion, and Harp. He is a co-founder of Finland’s new national academy for young woodwind students (Puupuhallinakatemia), launching in 2026.
His recordings include a 1993 debut solo CD with concertos by Nielsen, Ibert, and Jolivet; Dances with the Winds (1996) with Finnish flute concertos; the complete flute sonatas of J.S. Bach; and 20th-century works by Sallinen, Penderecki, and Takemitsu for Naxos. In 2009 he premiered Lotta Wennäkoski’s flute concerto Soie with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He was Artistic Director of the Crusell Music Festival from 2000 to 2005.
Since 2005 Alanko has served on juries of major international flute competitions, including Munich (ARD), Kobe, Odense (Nielsen), Beijing (Nicolet), Krakow, Budapest, DIFC Holland, Kuhlau (Uelzen), Grenchen, and the Crusell competition in Uusikaupunki.
Silvia Careddu
Member of the Jury
Principal Flute of the Orchestre National de France, and formerly Principal Flute of the Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker, and Konzerthausorchester Berlin.
Her international career took off after she won First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 56th Geneva International Music Competition.
She is Professor at the Zurich University of the Arts and Visiting Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Frequently invited as jury member and jury president at major competitions (Geneva, Nicolet, Premio Abbado, M. Larrieu, Crusell, Prague Spring, Kobe), she performs worldwide as soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue, appearing at leading festivals and academies including the Salzburg Festival, Schleswig-Holstein, Domaine Forget, Cartagena Festival, NFA, Japan Flute Convention, Intonations Berlin, and Styriarte.
She began her studies in her hometown, Cagliari (Italy), and continued them at the Paris Conservatoire, graduating with highest honors. She was deeply influenced by Aurèle Nicolet, Emmanuel Pahud, Raymond Guiot, and Florence Souchard.
Photo by: Neda Navaee
Guoliang Han
Member of the Jury
Guoliang Han is a distinguished flute professor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China. A leading figure in the music community, he serves as President of the Chinese Flute Association and Music Director of the International Flute Festival of China.
A graduate of both the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and the Boston University School of Arts, Han enjoyed a celebrated tenure as Principal Flutist of the China National Symphony Orchestra from 1996 to 2019. Throughout his illustrious career, he has collaborated with a wide range of world-renowned musicians across China and the international stage.
Over the past two decades, Han has also distinguished himself in the recording industry, standing as the only Chinese flutist to release productions under globally acclaimed labels such as EMI and Naxos.
Brit Halvorsen
Member of the Jury
Brit Halvorsen was born in Gudbrandsdalen, Norway. She studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, with an exchange program at the Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Danse de Lyon, and as a Fulbright scholar at Carnegie Mellon University with Jeanne Baxtresser.
Brit has held positions as associate principal flute in the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and as principal flute in the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Since 2013 she holds the position as principal flute in the Royal Danish Orchestra.
As a guest musician, Brit has performed with some of the most prominent Nordic orchestras, including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to her orchestral career, Brit is an active chamber musician, and she teaches at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.
Photo by: Caroline Bittencourt
Rune Most
Member of the Jury and Pre-Jury
Rune Most began his studies at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense, Denmark. Later came studies with Professor Lóránt Kovács in Budapest, and in 1990 he made his debut from the soloist class of the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where he had studied with Toke Lund Christiansen. He is a permanent member of the jury of Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition in the city of Odense.
His latest CD-releases form the danish national music label “Dacapo” and “Bridge Records” has got outstanding reviews from among others the well know American review magazine Fanfare, Classical Music Reviews, and Musicweb-International.
Today Rune Most is principal flautist with the Odense Symphony Orchestra. He has been teaching the flute class at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense since 1995. Over the years music has taken him to South America, China, Russia and many countries in Europe as a chamber musician and soloist.
He has frequently made first performances by well known composers including Per Noergaard, Karl Aage Rasmussen, John Frandsen and Andy Pape, Wayne Siegel. As a soloist and chamber musician he has recorded several CDs of among other things Mozart flute concertos, CPE. Bach concertos (Bridge Records) and danish flute concertos by Herman D.Koppel and Anders Koppel (Da Capo).
Ragnhildur Jósefsdóttir
Member of the Pre-Jury
Ragnhildur Jósefsdóttir is one of Iceland’s leading flutists, known for her expressive playing and dynamic presence in both orchestral and chamber music settings. She studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, and The Danish National Academy of Music.
Currently a flutist and piccolo player with the Odense Symphony Orchestra, a position she has held since 2015. As a guest musician, she has performed with several Nordic orchestras, such as The Royal Danish Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Phil, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to her work in Odense Symphony Orchestra, Ragnhildur is a very active chamber musician, and she contributes significantly to the local music life as a performer. Her special interest for chamber music began already during her studies in Copenhagen, which led to specific chamber music studies; an advanced postgraduate diploma in chamber music at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, with her woodwind trio, Trio Amerise. She brings valuable insight to the Pre-Jury through her experience and dedication to young musicians.
Ulla Miilmann
Member of the Pre-Jury
In 1994 Miilmann was appointed principal flutist at The Danish National Symphony Orchestra at the age of 22. Since then she has had an extensive career in orchestra and chamber music as well as in teaching. In 2007 she was a US Grammy nominee in the category ”Best instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra” for the recording of Ole Schmidt’s Flute Concerto. From 2009 to 2025 she has been part of the flute faculty at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. Mrs. Miilmann has received the Jacob Gade Honorary Award, the Danish Music Critic’s Prize and the Peter Warming Memorial Prize, the latter awarded for her artistic contribution to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra greatly helping the orchestra to reach the high international standard of today. In 2017 she received the largest honorary award in Denmark, The Carl Nielsen Award for her outstanding musicianship and contribution to the Danish music and cultural life for the past 25 years.
In 2023, she recorded the Nielsen flute concerto for Deutsche Grammophone, which won the BBC Music Magazine “Best Concerto Album of the Year”
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