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The Jorma Panula Conducting Competition is among the most prestigious conducting competitions in Europe. The first competition was arranged in 1999 and after that every three years. The competition in 2027 will be arranged for the 10th time in the city of Vaasa and it will be a jubilee competition. From the very beginning, conductor, composer, academician Jorma Panula has been the Artistic Director and Chairman of the jury.
The city of Vaasa is situated on the Finnish west coast in the region of Ostrobothnia. The City Hall´s Grand Hall is the site for the Jorma Panula International Conducting competition. Classical music tradition in Vaasa has a long history. In the city hall has since 1883 been arranged concerts and soarées with composers and conductors such as Armas Järnefelt, Toivo Kuula, Jean Sibelius and many more until today. The Chamber Music Hall in the house still hosts the oldest documented Steinway & Son grand piano in Finland.
The ninth edition of the Jorma Panula International Conducting Competition was closed on the 7th of September 2024. The organisers are grateful to Maestro Jorma Panula and the international jury for their skilful work in the competition. The competitors, who came from 11 different countries, represented a very fine selection of contemporary young conductors.
The jury's decision was made at 21.00. The third prize, a shared prize, was won by Eric Staiger (Germany) and Kasmir Uusitupa (Finland), who each received €7,500. The second prize, €10,000, was won by Félix Bénati (France). The jury decided not to award the first prize.
The winner was Maximilian Fagerlund of the MINIKAPU conducting competition. The prize is 1000 euros. Second place went to Maximilian Leicher with a prize of 750 euros and third place to Helena Kujala with 500 euros. The fourth prize of 200 eur went to Arijus Šereckis.
The finalists are: Eric Staiger (Germany), Kasmir Uusitupa (Finland), Félix Bénati (France)
Time schedule will be published later
Maestro Jorma Panula is introducing this new competition for young students in Finland to secure the interest in conducting. The competition is arranged for the first time in Vaasa, Finland and runs alongside the 9th Jorma Panula International Conducting Competition.
The competition will hopefully increase the interest in conducting as a musical profession. The juniors will already, by participating, increase their visibility and hopefully find new open musical doors.
More info