The adjudicators for the 2009 Festival are:

ADJUDICATOR ORGAN and PIANOFORTE

ANDREW HANSFORD BMus (Hons) MA ARCM ARCO LRSM LGSM LTCL FLCM FRSA (CT ABRSM Mentor)

Andrew is a piano accompanist, organist, harpsichordist and composer who teaches the piano (from beginners to diploma standard of all ages) at Cirencester College, examines (internationally) and mentors for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, adjudicates in the UK and overseas for The British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech (with membership as both a Piano Specialist and a Generalist) and is resident organist at a church in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire near to where he lives.

Previously, Andrew has worked as a pianist at the Royal Ballet School, as a tutor at London’s Morley College and at Cheltenham College, and as a part-time lecturer in Music at the University of Bath in Swindon in addition to serving as a GCSE Advanced/AS-Level examiner in Music for practical/recital and written papers with University of London Examinations (EDEXCEL) and as a script-marker for written papers with Oxford and Cambridge Examinations (OCR).

As a specialist piano accompanist, Andrew continues to add to an already extensive performance experience of collaborating with many instrumentalists, singers and choirs whilst additionally continuing to work part-time for a PhD in Music.

Andrew holds memberships with both the Royal College of Organists and the Royal Society of Arts.

 

ADJUDICATOR PIANOFORTE, STRINGS & WOODWIND

 

CAROLINE DIFFLEY ARCM

Born in the Brighouse and Rastrick area of Yorkshire, Caroline Diffley attended Badminton School, Bristol, after which she went on to study the piano at the Royal College of Music in London.  While at the College she gained diplomas in both piano teaching and piano performing; her teachers were Lamar Crowson, David Parkhouse and Malcolm Binns.  As well as specialising in piano, she has also studied the recorder, viola and tuba with varying degrees of success.

During a teaching career spanning four decades, she has taught in Kent (at Kent Music School), in Oxford (at the Dragon School) , and widely in the South West.  She taught piano at Wells Cathedral School and Dartington College of Arts for twelve years, and now runs a private teaching practice in Exeter.  Caroline is an Associated Board examiner, and has examined all over the UK and the Far East, as well as in the USA and, most recently, Australia.  She is also on the diploma examining panel and is a Music Medals moderator.  She has been a mentor on the CT ABRSM Course and is currently a busy adjudicator for The British and International Federation of Festivals.  She has also published articles on various aspects of piano teaching and learning, and was a member of the working party of ‘A Common Approach 2002’, recently published by Faber.

She has two grown-up children and lives in Exeter with her husband, who is a Professor of Italian.

 

ADJUDICATORS SINGING

 

ELIZABETH STAFFORD BA(hons) PhD PGDip LTCL PGCE

Elizabeth Stafford was born and educated in Birmingham.  She studied for a BA (Hons) in Music at Durham University, following this with a PhD in Performance Studies at Sheffield University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Vocal Studies at Trinity College of Music. 

As a solo soprano Elizabeth has won many competitions and awards including First Prize and ‘Most Promising Young Female Singer’ in the David Clover Competition and finalist representing Sheffield University in the Musica Britannica Competition.  She has appeared as an oratorio and opera soloist with numerous ensembles, has given recitals in the CBSO Centre, the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and has broadcast as a soloist on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. 

Elizabeth's main area of work is now music education.  She has worked for numerous Local Authority Music Services as a vocal and curriculum teacher, and is currently Area Leader for the KS2 Music CPD Programme, the government's first ever national CPD programme for music.  She teaches singing and directs the award-winning Centenary Choir at St Paul's R.C. Girls' School in Birmingham, and examines GCSE and AS level Composition for Edexcel.  Elizabeth is an adjudicator member of The British and International Federation of Festivals.

 

MARIA JAGUSZ GRNCM

Maria Jagusz trained at the Royal Northern College of Music and the National Opera Studio. Since then she has worked as soloist for most of the leading opera companies in the U.K. and Europe including The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Singapore Opera, Opera De Lyon and Opera North.

She has sung many of the leading Mezzo-Soprano roles including Carmen, Cherubino, Nicklaus, Rosina, Hansel and Dorabella, with many international artists including Carreras, Domingo, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Mirella Freni.

Maria has a busy concert schedule and has sung in concert at St Martin in the Fields, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Barbican. Future concerts include several classical concerts onboard the Artemis with Dame Felicity Lott.

Maria is passionate about creating opportunities for young talented singers.  She is a visiting professor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Northern College of Music and Birmingham Conservatoire. 

In 2006 MJ-UK Production Limited was formed to give young singers and performers the opportunity to work with professional directors and musicians to put on a full scale musical or opera.   Past productions include Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Miserables, West Side Story and The Secret Garden. Many of the students from MJ-UK both past and present are now training and working professionally.

Her other directing credits include Dido and Aeneas, Little Sweep, Bastien and Bastienne and Les Miserables (Longborough Festival Opera), Orfeo and Eurydice (Cirencester College) and most recently Carmen at the Wyvern Theatre. Future directing work includes directing La Boheme for Longborough Festival Opera and Chess for M.J.U.K. Limited next summer.

Earlier this year the Silurian Consort made her their honorary chairman because of her contribution to music in the Cotswolds.  Maria has been  an adjudicator for the National Federation of Music Festivals for the past two and a half years and is very much enjoying working for the federation.

 

ADJUDICATOR SPEECH & DRAMA

EDWINA LLOYD LLAM LGSM

Edwina, who lives in Bristol, teaches Speech and Drama, frequently adjudicates for The British and International Federation of Festivals, and examines for Vanguard Examinations.

She loves directing Shakespeare, particularly young people, with experience in the Royal Shakespeare Company and Children’s Theatre.

Edwina is a professional actress, and regularly accepts TV work.  She loves giving Recitals.  She enjoys working in a pro-amateur company each summer.

Blessed with three stepchildren, Edwina is also an extremely happy Granny!

She knows how it feels to be a Teacher entering a wide variety of Group, Duo and Solo classes in the local Bristol Festival and has a full understanding of festival excitement and anxiety, necessary, she thinks, if one is to adjudicate with sensitivity.  She thoroughly enjoys the privilege of adjudication, learning from other teachers, and encouraging the progress of performers.