Grieg International Choir Competition

JURY 2026

Ragnar Rasmussen – Norway

Ragnar Rasmussen is a choral conductor, university professor and composer based at NTNU Music in Trondheim, Norway. He is currently conductor/artistic director of the professional ensemble Nidaros Vokal (N) and the international Utopia & Reality Chamber Choir (EU). He is a former conductor of Norway’s National Youth Choir and the World Youth Choir, Vokal Nord, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra Chamber Choir and Kilden Vocal Ensemble in Kristiansand. In 2007/08, he was visiting professor at the University of Ljubljana. He regularly gives lectures at music academies, seminars for choirs and choral conductors, judges choir and choral conducting competitions, and guest-conducts professional choirs. He has worked with ensembles such as the BBC Singers, State Choir Latvija, Estonian National Male Choir, Turkish State Choir, the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra (UK), Concerto Farinelli (Germany), Arctic Symphony Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and many more. In recent seasons, his work has taken him from Svalbard (NOR) in the north to Jakarta (IND) in the south, via Istanbul/Ankara (Turkey), Poznan/Bielsko-Biala (Poland), Preveza (Greece), Barcelona (Spain), Derry (Northern Ireland), Arezzo/Siena/Piuro (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Varna (Bulgaria), Beijing/Hong Kong/Shenzhen/Xi’an (China), Copenhagen (Denmark), London (UK), Marktoberdorf (Germany) and many beautiful concert venues across Norway.

Helene Stureborg – Sweden

Helene Stureborg worked from 1990 to 2022 as a choral conductor and pedagogue at Stockholms Musikgymnasium / Kungsholmens gymnasium.She was also conductor of the Stockholms Musikgymnasium Chamber Choir (SMK) from 2002 to 2022. The choir has won several prizes in competitions abroad and is highly respected. After receiving a Master of Fine Arts in Church Music and a Postgraduate Diploma in Choral Conducting from the Royal University College of Music, she began as a church musician in a Stockholm parish and later became conductor of Kongl. Teknologkören at the Royal Institute of Technology. In 2011, she founded Helene Stureborgs Chamber Choir (HSK), which has won the Grand Prix at both the Cork Choral Competition in Ireland and the Grieg Choral Competition in Norway. For many years, she taught choral conducting at the Royal University College of Music in Stockholm and on courses in Sweden and abroad. received Sweden’s Choir Conductor of the Year prize in 2017. In January 2023, she became Head of Artistic Planning for the Swedish Radio Choir while continuing her freelance work as a conductor, coach, workshop teacher and adjudicator. In August 2023, Helene launched Storkyrkans Kammarkör, a choir for talented young singers aged 17–26 at Stockholm Cathedral. The choir placed second in the Tolosa competition in 2024 and has already developed a varied and challenging repertoire, participating in concerts and workshops in Stockholm. She has also frequently served as an adjudicator at choir and conducting competitions in Maribor, Arezzo, Tolosa, Bergen, Torino and elsewhere.

Jan Schumacher – Germany

Jan Schumacher has been University Music Director and Honorary Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt/Main since 2015. Since 2024, he has also been Artistic Director of the Frankfurter Singakademie and, since 1999, conductor of Camerata Musica Limburg. After studying music education and German studies in Mainz, Jan studied conducting with Wolfgang Schäfer in Frankfurt. Between 2009 and 2025, he taught at various universities, notably the HfK Rottenburg and the Academy for Music in Darmstadt. His extensive teaching experience led to the publication of “Dirigieren. Proben. Singen” by Carus Verlag. He has also edited 20 choral collections for major publishers including Bärenreiter, Carus, Helbling, OUP and Peters. Jan is a sought-after guest juror and seminar leader for choirs, orchestras and conductors nationally and internationally. He has worked with leading choral organisations and ensembles across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and has led conducting courses in numerous countries. In the 2025/2026 season, his engagements include the Türkiye State Choir, Ensemble Aleron in the Philippines, the Lithuanian State Music Academy, and festivals and masterclasses in Austria, Germany, Singapore and Taiwan. For many years, Jan was a member of the board and music commission of the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat. Since 2019, he has chaired the Choral Advisory Board of the German Music Council, serving as artistic director and jury chair of the German Choral Competition. Since 2020, he has also been a vice-president of the International Federation for Choral Music (IFCM). He is appointed jury president for three editions of the prestigious International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, beginning in 2027.

Katie Thomas – Great Britain

Katie Thomas is Chorus Director at Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Sweden. She also conducts the 12-voice professional Gothenburg Symphony Vocal Ensemble. Previously, Katie was Vocal Coach of the BBC Symphony Chorus in London for nine years. Her freelance work has included the BBC Singers (guest conductor), MDR Rundfunkchor (guest chorus master), National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (guest conductor), Junior Royal College of Music (conductor), Association of British Choral Directors (tutor in choral conducting technique) and INTERKULTUR (adjudicator). She also served as interim guest senior lecturer in Choral Conducting at the University of Gothenburg. As a singer, Katie was a member of the UK’s finest professional choirs, including The Monteverdi Choir, Polyphony and Academy of Ancient Music, touring major concert venues across Europe and the US. With London Voices, she recorded numerous film and video-game soundtracks, chiefly at Abbey Road Studios, as well as broadcasting extensively on television and national radio. Katie is a graduate of Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2020, she was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) for distinguished service to the music profession and significant contributions to conducting and choral music.

Ole Faurschou – Denmark

Ole Faurschou made his conducting debut in 2003 at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, following his studies in the choir conducting class of Prof. Dan-Olof Stenlund. He is also a graduate in orchestral conducting from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he studied under Prof. Uroš Lajovic. He currently serves as Cantor at Helsingør Cathedral and conductor of the Copenhagen-based university choir Lille MUKO. His repertoire ranges from passions and masses by Mozart, Bach, Händel and others to numerous symphonic works. With Academic Choir Aarhus, he has conducted several hundred concerts, winning numerous first prizes, including the award for Best Conductor at the 8th International Choir Festival in Beijing and the Grand Prix in Rome (2015). He represented Denmark in the first EBU Choral of the Year competition and has recorded several CDs, including releases on the Naxos label. Ole has conducted most of Denmark’s professional orchestras and toured across Europe, China and the United States. He has also worked as Chorus Master of the Royal Opera Chorus and conducted several operas. Ole Faurschou is a highly sought-after instructor and adjudicator internationally, regularly invited to lead masterclasses, workshops and competitions worldwide. He is deeply committed to music education for children and young people. For many years, he conducted the symphony orchestra at OrkesterEfterskolen in Holstebro and played a key role in establishing Holstebro Music Classes and the Jutland Youth Symphony Orchestra.