Announcing the Winners Of The 2006 Vakhtang Jordania International
Conducting Competition - Top Three Prize Winners from the United States,
England and Finland

New York, NY - The Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition
has announced the results of its 2006 competition held in Chattanooga,
Tennessee between August 27 and September 1.  This year's competition
featured 24 competitors from 14 countries around the world.

The Jordania Grand Prize of $7,500 was awarded to James Feddeck of New
York.

The William L. Montague, Jr, Second Prize of $5,000 was awarded to John
Traill of England.

The Third Prize of $2,500 was awarded to Sasha Makila of Finland.

James Feddeck is a Pi Kappa Lambda honor society Bachelor of Music
graduate in oboe and organ performance and also holds a Master of Music
degree in Conducting from Oberlin Conservatory of Music.  He has studied
with, among others, Gustav Meier (at the International Conducting Workshop
in Sofia., Bulgaria), Timothy Weiss, John Koshak and at the American
Academy of Conducting in Aspen.  He toured the Republic of China with
the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra in 2005 and recently led the orchestra
of Oberlin Opera Theater in their 2006 production of Cosi fan tutte.  He
was appointed Assistant Conductor of Cleveland's RED (an orchestra) for
the 2005-2006 Season by Music Director Jonathan Sheffer.  He is also an
award-winning organist, and was featured recitalist in Chicago this July
at the American Guild of Organists National Convention.

John Traill is the principal conductor of the City of Southampton
Orchestra and musical director of both Ensemble ISIS and the Sounds
Underground Ensemble.  Trained by Rossen Milanov through the Mt. Vitosha
International Conducting Institute, John is a Lecturer at St. Catherine's
College, and a Tutor of Conducting and Orchestration, at the University
of Oxford, where he has recently been awarded a DPhil in Analysis and
Composition.  John reached the final of the 2002 Vakhtang Jordania
International Conducting Competition and competed in the final stages
of the 7th Leeds Conductors Competition, and the RNCM and LPO conducting
fellowships.  He was a prize-winner at the 8th Leeds Conductors Competition
(2005).  John is also an established composer and has had premieres in
England, France and the USA.

Sasha Makila is a noted guest conductor with the Vaasa City Symphony
Orchestra, Seinajoki City Orchestra, Academic Wind Orchestra of Helsinki
University and other regional orchestras in Finland and music festivals
throughout northern Europe.  He made his 2004 opera debut with the
Helsinki Conservatory and later became the first in Finland to conduct
two Philip Glass operas.  He studied musicology at the University of
Helsinki, cello at the Helsinki Conservatory and conducting with Leonid
Korchmar at the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory of St.  Petersburg,
Russia.  He is an active music writer published in Finnish music journals
and is featured on Russian radio and TV.

The Audience Favorite prize was awarded to Andrew Koehler of the United
States.  Mr.  Koehler also participated in the Third Round of the
competition.

Other third round participants were Oscar Bustillo of the U.S.  and
Alfredo Sorichetti of Italy.

The Orchestra Favorite prize was awarded to both Ivan Arboleya-Montes
of Spain and Georgios Moutsiaras of Greece.

Other participants in the competition included:

Ruben Felipe Capriles of Venezuela, Robert Franz of the U.S., Erin R.
Freeman of the U.S., Christian Hoerbov-Meier of Denmark, Dong-Hyun Kim
of South Korea, Boguslaw Kobierski of Poland, Douglas Kovanda of the
U.S., Maksim Kuzin of Ukraine, Jay Juyong Kwon of the U.S., David Long
of the U.S., Yukihiro Notsu of Japan, Viswa Subbaraman of the U.S., Larry
Strachan of Canada, Matthew Thomas Troy of the U.S., Tyler G.  White of
the U.S.  and Max Xin Yu - Australia

The competition jury was composed of Jooyong Ahn of the United States,
Leslie Dunner of the United States, Giorgi Jordania of Republic of
Georgia, Dr.  Mark Malkovich of the United States and Jonathan Sternberg
of the United States.

This year's Third Round Contemporary Composition selection was Diagramma
II, a new orchestral work by Mario Abril of the University of Tennessee
at Chattanooga.

Rounds One and Two were presented at the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga's Roland Hayes Concert Hall and Round Three and the final
Awards Concert at the city's Tivoli Theater.  The competition orchestra
was composed of principal members of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera
Orchestra (TN), Indianapolis Symphony, (IN), Florida Orchestra, Huntsville
Symphony (AL), the Atlanta Symphony (GA), Memphis Symphony (TN) and the
Calgary Philharmonic.  Mark Reneau, the concertmaster of the Huntsville
Symphony Orchestra served as Concertmaster.  The majority of these
musicians had played under the baton of Maestro Jordania.

The 2006 Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition was
the greatest success to date.  In addition to the lively competition,
contestants also participated in a series of Master Classes and special
events and enjoyed the opportunity to have individual and small group
instruction and interaction with jury and orchestra members.  Also
important was the chance to meet and spend time with other conductors
from around the world.  More about the competition at.
http://www.jamesarts.com/VJCNDCMP06WINNERS.htm.

Building on the great success of this year's event, planning for an
expanded and even more international 2007 Vakhtang Jordania International
Conducting Competition has already begun.

For more information about the Competition, please contact Jeffrey James
Arts Consulting at 516-586-3433 or [log in to unmask]

Jeffrey James Arts Consulting
Website: http://www.jamesarts.com