Born in 1930 in Finland, Academician Jorma Panula was the Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Turku Philharmonic (1963–1965), Helsinki Philharmonic (1965–1972) and Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in Denmark (1973–1976). One of the foremost pedagogues of conducting, he has served as Professor of Conducting at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (1972–1993), The Royal College of Music in Stockholm (1982–1988 and 1992–2006) and Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen (1988–1992). He has taught conducting all over the world in almost every European country, in the USA in New York, Tanglewood and Aspen, in Mexico, Australia and many Asian countries. In addition to his position at the helm of the Panula Academy, the Maestro is still travelling as a guest conductor, conducting professor and jury member of international conducting competitions.

Innovation, passion, and versatility are the hallmarks of India born Danish conductor Maria Badstue, praised as “one of the best young Danish conductors of today,” (Berlingske Media). An accessible collaborator and innate communicator, Ms. Badstue’s popularity as a guest conductor outside of the Nordic countries continue to grow. In addition to her work as Artistic Director and Founder for Nordic Masterclass for Conductors and INDK Symphonic Collaboration, two acclaimed initiatives that she launched in 2012 and 2018 respectively, she is also the co-founder of Copenhagen’s The Ørestad Klassiske MusikFestival, a three-year-old music festival focusing on youth and the environment.

Amongst the orchestras with which she has appeared are Italy’s Orchestre di Padova e del Veneto; France’s Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice; Denmark’s the South Denmark Philharmonic, symphony orchestras of Odense, Aarhus, Aalborg, the Randers Chamber Players, the Royal Danish Orchestra/Det Kongelige, Svenska Kvinnoorkestern, and Danish National Chamber Orchestra; , Sweden’s Gothenburg,

Mikko Franck was born in 1979 in Helsinki, Finland. He began his conducting career at the early age of 17, and has since worked with major orchestras and opera houses across the world.

From 2002 to 2007, he was Music Director of the Belgian National Orchestra. In 2006, he took up the post of General Music Director of Finnish National Opera, and the following year was appointed Artistic Director and General Music Director, a dual position he held until August 2013.

In September 2015, Mikko Franck became Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Since assuming this position, he has been deeply committed to nurturing the orchestra’s creative and eclectic style of programming, and has led them on several tours of Europe and Asia. His initial contract has twice been extended, most recently until September 2025.

​Vytautas Lukočius winner of two international conducting competitions was born in 1975. He was graduated from M.K. Čiurlionis Art Gymnasium in 1993 with two specializations in piano and choir conducting. After that he began studies at Lithuanian Academy of Music. In 1999 he was graduate from there with master diploma‘s as a piano-soloist ( Prof. J.Karnavičius), and in year 2000 as an orchestra conductor (Prof. G.Rinkevičius). In year 1999 V. Lukočius entered conducting class in the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In year 2002 he made diploma there. His teachers where: Prof. Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula and Atso Almila. In 2003 he did Postgraduate studies at Lithuanian Academy of Music.

In 2006 III Jorma Panula international conducting competition (Finland) he was I prize winner. In 2009 IV Eduardo Mata international conducting competition in México City he got I prize. He became a second prize winner in the competition for young conductors, which took place in Vilnius in 1991. In 1998 he took part in a competition for vocal accompanists in Vilnius and got the first prize.

Equally successful on the concert stage and in the orchestra pit, Ed Spanjaard is a unique figure in the classical music landscape of the Netherlands today. Working both as a conductor and a pianist, he has an affinity for a wide range of musical genres, from classical to contemporary. His production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with the Dutch Touring Opera achieved the highest international acclaim: “This was an orchestral Wagner; it would have caused a sensation in Bayreuth. Spanjaard supports the singers in an exemplary manner”.

He started his career as a repetitor and assistant conductor at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Bayreuther Festspiele. It was here that he developed a love for opera. Since then, he has conducted many new productions. His successful career of 37 years as the conductor of the Nieuw Ensemble resulted in numerous premieres and tours, including invitations to international festivals in Edinburgh, Berlin, Venice and Shanghai.

Born in Hamburg, Germany. Studied musicology in Finland. Started his career at the Mikkeli Music Institute and the Mikkeli City Orchestra. From 1993 to 2018, he was the director of the Kuopio Music Centre and managing director of the Kuopio City Orchestra.

Maano Männi (1966) studied violin at the Estonian Academy of Music under Professor Jüri Gerretz in 1985–1992. Männi was the concertmaster of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra from 1993 to 1996 and the first concertmaster of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2000. Since the autumn of 2002, Männi has been the alternating first concertmaster of the Vaasa City Orchestra, and in 2004–2005 he was the visiting concertmaster of the Estonian Theatre in Estonia. He has worked as a chamber musician in the Nyyd Ensemble, Nobel Quartet and Camerata Nordica (SE), as well as at the Korsholm Music Festival. In 2001, Männi founded the Tobias String Quartet, with which he has performed throughout Europe. Männi has performed as a soloist in various orchestras, conducted e.g. by Neeme Järvi, Alexander Vedernikov, Andrey Boreyko, Arvo Volmer, Juha Kangas and Jin Wang.

Maano Männi has attended the conducting courses of Jorma Panula and Leonid Grin and studied privately under Ilmar Tõnisson. He has conducted the Vaasa and Pärnu city orchestras as well as the Klaaspärlimäng

Inoko Isobe has been the Co-Principal Oboe at Jyväskylä Sinfonia since 2021. She began her academic journey with undergraduate studies in Cultural Sciences at Waseda University in Japan, later earning her master’s degree in music from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama under the tutelage of Professor Gordon Hunt as a London Symphony Orchestra Japan Scholar. Achievements during her studies include winning the Guildhall School of Music & Drama / Crowther Oboe Competition and being a finalist for the Wigmore Prize. She also reached the semi-finals in international competitions