The preselection round jury consists of Kati Hämäläinen, Kari Jussila, and Olli Porthan. In the competition proper (first round and final round) the jury members are Jean Boyer (France), Pieter van Dijk (The Netherlands), Felix Friedrich (Germany), Kari Jussila (Finland), Jacques van Oortmerssen (The Netherlands), and Olli Porthan (Finland). The chairperson of the jury is Kati Hämäläinen. The chairperson will not take part in judging. Members of the jury are not allowed to judge any of their own students. Their judging is private and final. Judging will follow separate set of rules.

 

 
Kati Hämäläinen studied the organ and the hapsichord the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, during the years 1964-1972. She continued with her hapsichord studies in London as one of Kenneth Gilbert's students. As part of her master courses in playing the organ, she has studied, among others, the old music of France, Spain and Italy. She completed her Doctor of Arts in Music studies at the Sibelius Academy with French hapsichord music of the Baroque period.
Hämäläinen has performed throughout Finland as a soloist, as a chamber musician, as a soloist with orchestras, and as a conductor. She has also performed in Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, the former Czechoslovakia, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France. She has made taped recordings with broadcast and television companies in Finland and in Central Europe, and she has recorded with Finnish record companies.
Hämäläinen is the Sibelius Academy's docent on the subject of Presentation Practices of Old Music. At the present moment, Kati Hämäläinen is Professor in Church Music, tutors postgraduate students and is researcher at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

 
Pieter van Dijk was born in 1958 and studied organ with Bert Matter at the Arnhem Conservatory. He continued his studies with Gustav Leonhardt, Marie-Claire Alain and Jan Raas and was a prize-winner at international organ competitions at Deventer in 1979 and in 1986 at Innsbruck.
He is organist of the famous Van Hagerbeer/Schnitger-organ of the St. Laurenskerk in Alkmaar.In addition to concert engagements throughout Europe, Pieter van Dijk is professor for organ at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and at the Hamburg Hochschule für Musik und Theater.
His publications include articles on Matthias Weckmann, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and J.S. Bach and he has made several recordings on historic instruments in Spain and the Netherlands.

 

 

 Jean Boyer Born in 1948, Jean Boyer began his musical studies in Toulouse, a city well-known for the quality of its organs. These exceptional instruments played a central role in his musical training which was completed under the guidance of Xavier Darasse.
In Paris, he was greatly influenced at Saint-Séverin Church by Francis Chapelet and André Isoir. He became organist of this church, a post he held until 1988. as well as occupyung the same position at the historic organ of Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs until 1995.
Mr. Boyer´s recordings have received great praise from the musical press and early in his career was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque.
As well as his concert activities, Jean Boyer is a dovoted pedagogue. He in presently professor of organ at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon.
Jacques van Oortmerssen  began his musical studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory, studying the organ with André Verwoerd. He earned the
distinction ‘cum laude’ for his final examination and was given a special prize for improvisation.
Between 1974 and 1976 he studdies with Marie-Claide Alain in Paris. He was awarded the Prix d´Excekkence in 1976.
In 1977 he received his degree as a piano soloist, and in the same year he was awarded first prize at the Dutch National Improvisation Competition.
Since 1979 he has been Professor of Organ at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, where his organ class attracts students from many different countries.
In 1982 he succeeded Gustav Leonhardt as ‘Organiste Titulaire’ of the Waalse Kerk in Amsterdam.
In addition to being a visiting professor at the University of Göteborg, the Conservatorium of Lyon and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, he has visited conservatories and universities worldwide as a guest teacher and recitalist. For the academic year 1993/94 he became Betts Fellow in Organ Studies at Oxford University.
As a recitalist he appeared in many international festivals like the BBC proms. His interpretations of Bach and early music brought him widespread fame. He is also active as a comproser and organ consultant.The complete organ works of Brahms and C.P.E.Bach (BIS) feature among his many recordings for various international recording and broadcast companies. In 1994 Jacques van Oortmerssen started recording the complete organ works by J.S.Bach on the most important historical organs in Europe (Challenge Records).

 
Felix Friedrich was born in Hochweitzschen (Saxony) Germany. He studied church music in Dresden and Weimar and organ with Karl Frotscher and Johannes-Ernst Koehler. After passing the state examination in 1971, he participated successfully in several international organ competitions. In 1976 he became contractually obligated to and, since 1981, titular organist at the Castle Church in Altenburg, Thuringia, where he plays the Trost organ of 1739. He participated in the restoration of this instrument both as initiator and technical advisor.
Through his numerous appearances in all the countries of Europe, the USSR, and the United States, he has acquired an international reputation as a concert organist. In this time he participated in many broadcast recordings, numerous record productions (more than 60 different CD, for example the complete organs works of Johann Ludwig Krebs), as well as several televisions appearances.
A special interest of Felix Friedrich is contemporary music for organ. He has premiered more than 50 organ compositions amongst them significant works for organ and orchestra (Berthold's "Organ Concerto", Katzer's "Sound house" and Schenker's "Michelangelo Symphony").
Felix Friedrich has played with important orchestras and participated record productions: amongst them the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, the Broadcast Symphony Orchestra of Leipzig, and the Dresden Philharmonic; and with the conductors Kurt Masur, Peter Schreier, Helmuth Rilling, Marcello Viotti and Krzysztof Penderecki.
Besides his artistic pursuits, he has an interest in historical scientific, and technical matters. His doctoral dissertation led to a monograph on the organ builder Heinrich Gottfried Trost (1681-1759), the builder of the organ over wich he presides. He also published any other books about the organ building in Thuringia and Saxony.
Since 1991 he has assumend the leadership of the "Thuringian Organ Academy".
He is vice-president of the "Gottfried-Silbermann-Society Freiberg".

 
Kari Jussila studied organ at the Sibelius Academy under Enzio Forsblom. Jussila received his Organ Diploma in 1966 and he also graduated as a church musician at the same year. He has later enhanced his studies in several masterclasses in Finland and abroad and studied privately in Geneva under Guy Bovet and in Paris under Marie-Claire Alain.
After his First Concert of 1966 in Helsinki, he has given concerts regularly in Finland and in the other Nordic Countries as well as in several European countries, Russia and U.S.A.. He has premiered over 40 organ and chamber music compositions and made several first and other recordings for the Finnish Radio as well as making many organ and chamber music records.

He received first prize in the 1973 Helsinki national organ competition. Kari Jussila has taught organ at the Sibelius Academy since 1966. In 1983 he received a lectorate and since the autumn of 1998 he has been the acting Professor of Organ music. Since 1972 he has also taught organ at the post graduate training courses for church musicians in Kuopio and Järvenpää and since 1980 he has taught organ at the Parainen Organ Event.

 
Olli Porthan studied organ at the Sibelius Academy under Enzio Forsblom and under Jacques van Oortmerssen at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam. After receiving his diploma, he gave his First Concert at the Finlandia-hall in 1983. He received first prize in the 1980 Lahti organ competition. Porthan has given concerts in Finland and in the other Nordic Countries as well as in several European countries. He has made several radio recordings and performed on television, in addition to recording baroque organ works and chamber music.

Porthan has taught organ music at the Sibelius Academy since 1980 and as professor since 1988. He has acted as chairman for the Organum society during 1986-1990. Porthan`s expertise has been widely used in various organ building projects (also the Kotka organ). Since 1992 Porthan has been Artistic Leader of the ”Janakkalan barokkikesä” happening and he was nominated leader of the Sibelius Academy Church Music Department during 1997- 2002.