The Jury is composed by international acclaimed artists as orchestra conductors, opera singers, composers.
The Jury of the 10th edition of Florence International Choir Festival will be composed by the following members:

• Paolo Bellocci Permanent Chairman of the Jury
• Francesco Ermini Polacci
• Lucie Freiberg
• Titti Giuliani Foti
• David Slater

Paolo Bellocci, since 1988 Maestro collaborator of the Opera of Florence - Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
Artistic Director and Vice President of Opera Network Firenze, within which he carries out advanced training projects and high quality opera productions.
He is an expert connoisseur of the singing repertoire of the Italian Opera. For many years he was Coordinator of Maggio Fiorentino Formazione and of the Puccini Festival Foundation of Torre del Lago Puccini.
He holds Masterclasses in repertoire, interpretation and vocality of Italian Opera for Academies, Universities and International Music Conservatories, including that of St. Petersburg (Russian Federation), and i n China the Beijing Opera Academy, the University of Shijiazhuang, the Chongqing Conservatory of Music , the Sichuan Normal University of Chengdu, the Zigong Conservatory.
Collaborate on special projects for young artists, including Young Artists Project, North Carolina University, Connecticut Lyric Opera (USA), Inner Mongolia University, Huhhot, Xilin Gol League University (Inner Mongolia).
For the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino theater he participated in the main tours of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, including those in Beijing, for "Turandot" (Zubin Mehta, Zhang Yimou) in the Forbidden City (1998), Tokjio and Yokohama (Bunka Kaikan, NBC, 2001, 2006, 2011), Recklinghausen, Muscat (Oman), numerous others.
Musical organizer and relationship weaver, here some events that he contributed to conceived and created: Concerts at the Festival of Palaces of St. Petersburg (Marijnskj Palace, Kovatchina, Tsarskoe Zelo Palace), Hermitage Museum, for the exhibition "Michelangelo at the Hermitage", Theater "Novaia Opera” in Moscow, in the Sala Paolo VI in the Vatican, with the orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, conductor Zubin Mehta.
Concert for the Unicef World Foundation, with the UN headquarters in New York.

Music critic and historian, journalist, lecturer, cultural organizer, FRANCESCO ERMINI POLACCI completed music studies (piano, choral singing) and graduated from Literature and Philosophy at the University of Florence. He created (2015) and is artistic director of the music festival "Note al Museo", promoted by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. For twenty years he has held the position of director of communication and promotion and music consultant of the Amici della Musica of Florence, for which he artistically curates several editions of the "Settembre Musica" festival. From 2017 to 2020 he is artistic director of cultural activities of the Fondazione Franco Zeffirelli. He is a publicist journalist and a member of the Associazione Nazionale Critici Musicali. He is the titular music critic of "Corriere Fiorentino" (Tuscan paper of "Il Corriere della Sera") and contributes to the online cultural pages of "Il Sole 24 Ore." He writes for numerous specialized magazines, including "Amadeus," "Il Giornale della Musica," "Archi Magazine." He has been a regular contributor to radio station Rete Toscana Classica since its founding (2002), keeping a column on record criticism and editing various in-depth cycles. He signs concert programs and frequently lectures for major Italian concert and theater associations. He has served on the artistic committee of the International Competition City of Florence "Vittorio Gui" Prize. A former lecturer of the Music Criticism Workshop at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy (DAMS) of the University of Florence, since 2011 he has been teaching a course on the History of Melodrama for the Università dell’Età Libera of Florence. He collaborates as a lecturer with the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole and teaches Poetry for Music and Musical Dramaturgy at the "Giacomo Puccini" Conservatory of La Spezia. He is a jury member of numerous music competitions. The Dictionary of Music and Musicians published by UTET has dedicated a biographical entry to him.

Lucie started her professional musical career at the F. X. Šalda Opera House in Liberec, Czech Republic where she first appeared in solo roles.
Intensive study of voice took her to the opera of the National Theatre in Prague, where she gained further professional experience. Starting in 1997 she also studied voice in Australia and the USA. She enrolled in the graduate program at Oakland University, California, where she studied conducting with Dr. Mike Mitchell and voice with Dr. Edith Diggory, whilst working with other renowned musicians and performing in opera and other ensembles. During her years in the USA, Lucie worked as a vocal soloist, private vocal coach and manager of a major music school in Michigan. In 2006 she returned to the Czech Republic where she continued to pursue her musical activities. In 2010 she cooperated with Prague’s Voicecamp civic association as a teacher of the "Singing Lessons" project. She has led workhops during the Bohemia Cantat international choral courses and was invited to lecture and conduct a workshop at the chor.com international fair for choral directors and music teachers In Hannover, Germany.
Lucie has served as an adjudicator for singing competitions for young artists, particularly focusing on solo voice. She has been frequently invited as a voice consultant to choirs. In early 2011 she founded the mixed choir Lucky Voice Band. During its more than ten years of existence, it has won many awards at international competitions and received glowing reviews from leading choirmasters and conductors.
Since 2020 she has been the Director of the Musica Orbis Prague Festival.

Professional journalist with a degree in entertainment history and art history contact person for culture and entertainment for 20 years with the newspaper La Nazìone of Florence and Tuscany
Selected, the only journalist in Tuscany, by a national newspaper of Milan, Arte e Cultura Magazine, which has associated a group of economic newspapers choosing to create together a platform for art and culture subjects that, due to the publishing crisis, find less and less in-depth spaces on the map. Great experience in everyday life, multiple collaborations in activities related to my work as a cultural journalist. I am the deepest expert in Italy on the work of Maestro Franco Zeffirelli
Good knowledge of music but above all of theatre. Writer

David Slater is an Australian composer, conductor and music educator who lives and works in Europe, based in Vienna. When in Australia he resides on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
He has won major awards for composition, conducting and service to music, including the Symphony Australia Prize, the National Award of the Orchestras of Australia Network and Australia Day awards. He has published articles on music and music education and represents Australia on the Honorary Board of the World Choir Council.
Mr Slater is an experienced conductor with an extensive repertoire spanning the Baroque to the present day. After studying conducting in Germany, on return to Australia he was mentored by the Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Stuart Challender. He founded and directed numerous orchestras, choirs and ensembles in 3 states, and now conducts on 4 continents. His regular schedule includes engagements in Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and Slovakia, with notable events in Germany, Latvia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Sweden and Russia. He has also worked on special projects with choirs and orchestras from the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and South Africa.
He is a regular guest at international music festivals, where he sits on international juries, conducts masterclasses and gives lectures. His ability to connect with performers of all ages and skill levels makes him much sought-after as a guest conductor, where he strives to help ensembles delve into the composer’s intention for each work, and discover a deeper, authentic interpretation of the score.
After completing studies in Sydney with legendary Australian composers Peter Sculthorpe and Ross Edwards he took up scholarships to study in Germany with Helmut Lachenmann and Brian Ferneyhough. His work ranges from the concert hall to TV, film and advertising, and includes solo, chamber, choral and orchestral music. He receives regular commissions and his work is performed throughout the world.
In recent years he has been appointed as Artistic Director of a number of significant events in various European countries. In 2023 David will be conducting performances of his new Requiem for Peace in Ukraine in six countries to raise funds for the UNHCR, to distribute to refugees from the war in Ukraine.