JURY MEMBERS OF 2026 PICC

As Vice President for Artistic Planning at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association(CSOA), Rocca is responsible for the design and execution of all artistic plans, developing innovative programmes and engaging guest artists for the Chicago Symphony, her role also includes supervision of the Symphony Center Presents series.

Working for more than ten years alongside Riccardo Muti, the CSO then Music Director, she has played an important role in enhancing the visibility of one of the most prestigious orchestras in the United States.

Prior to Chicago, she was artistic director of the Orchestre National de France (Radio France) and Director of Artistic Planning for the Cleveland Orchestra.

Born in Bologna, Rocca was Artistic Manager for the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg; Head of Concerts and Programming at the Bournemouth Symphony and Head of Artistic Planning for the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

For a brief period, she was Artistic Director of the LPO, before she rejoined the CSOA. At the beginning of her career, she worked in the Artistic Administration of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Opera de Paris.

She has been on the jury of several international competitions and member of four committees for the search of a music director.

In 2020 she received the French Legion of Honor.

Henry Fogel is one of America’s most esteemed performing arts administrators, with a career dating back to 1963. From 1981–1985 he was Executive Director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C. From 1985–2003 he was President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestras. From 2003–2008 he served as President and CEO of the League of American Orchestras, and spent the following year remaining with the League as a field consultant to orchestras. From 2009–2019 he served as Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where he is now Dean Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of the Arts.

He was an artistic consultant to the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra in Brazil from 2008-2016, and has consulted for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Edinburgh Festival. Mr. Fogel has also been a reviewer of recordings for Fanfare magazine since 1986, and has contributed several entries to The Harvard Dictionary of Music. He has been a judge for conducting and other competitions in Chicago, New York, Montreal, Tokyo, Helsinki, and Sofia Bulgaria.

He has received honorary doctorate degrees from Roosevelt University, Northwestern University, the Curtis Institute, and Columbia College in Chicago. In 1999 Mr. Fogel received a Cultural Leadership Citation from Yale University for service to the cultural life of the nation. In June, 2009, he received the highest honor in the symphony orchestra field, the League of American Orchestras’ Gold Baton Award. In 1990 was named by Business Week magazine as one of the five best managers of cultural organizations in the United States. In 2003 he was honored by the Illinois Arts Alliance as an Illinois Arts Legend.

Mr. Fogel has also served as a narrator with a number of orchestras, and has appeared as a narrator on CDs on the Albany and Naxos labels. He has also produced a number of internationally syndicated radio programs for Chicago’s Fine Arts Station WFMT, including currently Collectors’ Corner, which is derived from his extensive personal collection of over 30,000 classical recordings. He was for many years a regular panelist on the Metropolitan Opera Broadcast Quiz. He has also written program notes for a number of recording companies and orchestras.

Marlene Brüggen worked at Konzertdirektion Schmid, representing artists such as Leonard Slatkin, Cornelius Meister, and Khatia Buniatishvili. After six years in artist management and completing a Master’s degree in Media and Music, she joined the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. Since autumn 2021, she has been Head of Artistic Planning at the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.

Her programming is characterized by an inclusive approach, inspired by pop culture and current social themes. She initiated the season motto “No Concert without a Woman Composer!” and later shaped the thematic focuses “Orchestra for Democracy” and “Afrodiaspora – Composing While Black.”

Lawrence Foster is known for his exhilarating and expressive performances across a wide range of repertoire, enjoying a major international career spanning the US, Europe, and Asia. Recognised as one of the most eminent conductors of Enescu’s music, Foster’s interpretations are celebrated for their faithfulness to the score and deep artistic devotion: “Lawrence Foster seems to have been put on this planet to conduct Enescu’s music. He is clearly a true believer and he understands every technical nuance and every expressive twist and turn” – The Telegraph.

For the 2025–2026 season, Lawrence Foster’s engagements include performances with the London Philharmonia alongside Evgeny Kissin, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest, the NCPA Orchestra in China, and a tour in Poland with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, among others.

Foster will also return for concerts with the Polish National Radio Symphony, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo. Following his tenures as Music Director of Opéra de Marseille and Artistic and Chief Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Foster continues to be in demand for both operatic and symphonic programmes.

Recent and upcoming collaborations include performances of Brahms, Prokofiev, Enescu, Copland, Korngold, Kurt Weill, Beethoven, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Mahler, Berg, and Penderecki, with orchestras such as the Bruckner Orchester Linz, Würth Philharmonic Orchestra, and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, in addition to his regular collaborations with Opéra Marseille and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

A long-standing and iconic figure in the classical music world, Foster was awarded the Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood in 1966, became assistant conductor to Zubin Mehta at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and chief guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969. He has since held music directorships with the Houston Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier, and the Aspen Music Festival and School, among many others.

Foster is particularly appreciated as an interpreter of the works of George Enescu and has made a comprehensive survey of commercial recordings of
Enescu’s music. He served as artistic director of the George Enescu Festival from 1998 to 2001, reopening the doors of this great cultural event after the
fall of communism in Romania. In 2023, Lawrence Foster was awarded the Romanian National Order of Merit, Commander, for his contribution to Romanian culture and the promotion of the music of Enescu.

With a discography of exceptional breadth and acclaim, Lawrence Foster has established himself as one of today’s most distinctive recording conductors. He has taken on works across the symphonic, concerto and operatic repertoire, winning both critical praise and awards. His recording of Enescu’s Oedipe (EMI) was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque from the Académie Charles Cros in France.

In recent years he has recorded intensively for Pentatone, including Schumann’s symphonies, orchestral works by Kodály, Bartók and Ligeti, as well as concertos by Bruch, Korngold, Rachmaninov, Grieg and Chopin in collaboration with leading soloists. His Pentatone operatic projects include Othello, Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, and La Fanciulla del West, among others.

After completing her secondary music education in piano and oboe in her hometown Ljubljana/Slovenia, she continued her studies and earned her master’s degree at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg under professors Arthur Jensen and Lothar Koch. During her studies, she performed extensively with chamber orchestras and various chamber ensembles.

In 1993, she became the solo oboist of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. She has appeared frequently as a soloist with the orchestra and has recorded both as a chamber musician and as a solo performer. In 2014, she assumed the artistic leadership of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, and in 2018 she took over the leadership of the entire Music Production Unit of RTV Slovenia.

She has also been active as a pedagogue and for several years directed the international festival OFF Izola, dedicated to the education and performance opportunities of young oboists and bassoonists.

Umberto Fanni, Director General and Artistic Director of Royal Opera House Muscat, has led a distinguished performing arts and management career. An award-winning concert pianist, Fanni graduated with high honors from the Conservatory of Music in Brescia and completed his studies at the Conservatory of Music in Geneva. Among his early achievements was the founding of the Young Italian Chamber Orchestra, composed entirely of talented young musicians who have now established soloists or playing in renowned orchestras.

At the urging of the conductor Claudio Scimone, Umberto Fanni’s career in performing arts management began as Assistant Artistic Director of the famous ensemble, “I Solisti Veneti”. Following these experiences, Fanni taught Management of Performing Arts at the Catholic University of Milan and held appointments at Fondazione Teatro Lirico ‘Giuseppe Verdi’ of Trieste, Fondazione Teatro Lirico of Cagliari, Teatro Grande in Brescia and Fondazione Arena di Verona.

Since 2014, Fanni has been the Director General and Artistic Director of the Royal Opera House Muscat. Through his leadership, Fanni has made a remarkable contribution to the continuing advancement of the Royal Opera House Muscat as a world-class institution. Of prime importance is the initiative he has taken in developing several co-produced operas with leading opera houses around the world and producing original cultural projects in-house.

Recognised for his contributions to enriching musical art in Oman and beyond, Umberto Fanni was conferred the Order of Honour in January 2024 by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq. Since 2020, Fanni has served as a Council Member of the Beijing Forum for Performing Arts and, from 2023, as a Board Member of the World Association of Performing Arts. In September 2024, has been invited as a speaker at the St. Petersburg International United Culture Forum.

He combines a strong background as a performing musician with executive leadership in the orchestral field, and is deeply committed to the orchestra’s relevance within its region. He emphasizes the orchestra’s natural role in people’s everyday lives, while also ensuring it attracts outstanding soloists and conductors who foster the orchestra’s artistic, professional, and spiritual growth.

Robert Gilder & Co has been at the forefront of international artist management for over 30 years. After studies at Durham University in the UK, Robert Gilder worked for English National Opera and the Festival of Music in Great Irish Houses before entering the world of artist management in 1982. Robert Gilder & Co now has offices in London, New York and Skopje (Macedonia) and manages a roster of singers, conductors, directors and instrumentalists who are in worldwide demand. The list of distinguished artists with whom he has collaborated includes Yehudi Menuhin, Arnaldo Cohen, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ruth Falcon, Joyce Castle, Galina Gorchakova, and Deborah Voigt to name a select few. Aside from this, he has also been responsible for the training and mentoring of a new generation of artist managers.

In recent years Robert Gilder has been selected as a jurist of several of the world’s leading vocal competitions including Verviers, the ‘Maria Callas Vocal Competition’ in São Paulo, Brazil and the “Competizione dell’Opera” in Dresden. He is frequently asked to give guest masterclasses and workshops to Young Artist Programs on artist development and career management. Robert Gilder is the recipient of the 2009 Patrick Hayes Award at the New York ISPA Congress.

Born in Milan in 1977.

He pursued a professional education that led him to a degree in International Relations, to which he simultaneously combined his musical studies to deepen and complement his passion for opera.

At the age of 24, he began his professional experience as a manager, which led him to realize his dream of working for some of the greatest artists on the international scene and with the world’s leading opera houses. In 2011, he founded the agency that bears his name: Ariosi Management.

Since then, he has the privilege of guiding established artists, working to launch rising young talents and gradually opening up his perspectives to event organization.

Alessandro personally follows the career of each of his artists, thus realizing his professional aspiration: to combine his passion for opera with the management of his artists.

He carefully supervises their career development, seeking to fulfil the aspirations and unique characteristics of each and every one of them, and establishing relationships with theatres and promoters on an international scale, with the aim of bringing out the full potential of each of his artists.

Born in Beirut, Maestro George Pehlivanian’s extraordinary musical journey began at a young age, with piano lessons at the age of three and violin lessons at six. In 1975, he relocated to Los Angeles with his family, where his passion for music flourished. He honed his craft under the mentorship of renowned maestros Pierre Boulez, Lorin Maazel, and Ferdinand Leitner. After earning the prestigious Diploma di Merito from the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Maestro Pehlivanian achieved a remarkable milestone in 1991 by winning the Grand Prize at the Besançon Conducting Competition, awarded unanimously by the esteemed international jury. Notably, he remained the first and only American for over six decades to receive this distinguished honor, solidifying his place among the most revered figures in the world of conducting.

Since then, Maestro George Pehlivanian has solidified his reputation as one of the preeminent conductors of his generation. He has graced the world’s most prestigious concert stages, leading an impressive roster of renowned orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia, Israel Philharmonic, Filarmonica della Scala, Leipzig Gewandhaus, NDR Hamburg, and the Orchestra of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. His collaborations also extend to the Orchestra dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra Nazionale della RAI Torino, BBC Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, and prominent German orchestras such as the Bamberger Symphoniker, hr-Sinfonieorchester, the Norddeutsche and Südwestrundfunk Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Saarländisches Staatsorchester, the Dortmunder and Bremer Philharmoniker.

Further notable appearances include performances with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orquesta Nacional de España, Belgian National Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, l’Opera di Genova, Verona, Parma, Bari e Trieste, la Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Orquesta Radio Televisión de España, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, among many others.

In North America, Maestro Pehlivanian has captivated audiences with leading engagements with the Houston Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Toronto Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, and the symphonies of Honolulu, Puerto Rico, Vancouver, Ottawa, Quebec, and the Pacific.

His global presence extends to performances with the Russian National Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic, Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, Fedosseyev Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Japan Virtuosi Symphony, and the symphony orchestras of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Qatar, Qingdao, and Shanghai.

In the winter of 2017, Maestro Pehlivanian made history as the first conductor of Armenian descent to lead the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of Turkey in Ankara, and was subsequently invited to lead the Borusan and Istanbul State Symphony Orchestras. This groundbreaking achievement highlights his enduring legacy and exceptional contribution to the global music community.

Equally distinguished in the operatic and symphonic realms, Maestro George Pehlivanian has led some of the most prestigious opera houses across Europe and the United States. His operatic repertoire includes Jenůfa, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Ernani for the New Israeli Opera; La Traviata at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg; Tosca at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux and St. Etienne; the Dutch premiere of Riders to the Sea in Rotterdam; La Voix Humaine at the Cité de la Musique in Paris; and Otello, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Gianni Schicchi at Teatro San Carlo di Napoli. Additional productions include Pique Dame and Andrea Chénier at Teatro Lirico in Cagliari; La Damnation de Faust at Teatro San Carlo in Naples and Teatro Regio in Parma; and Carmen for Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Istanbul State Opera, and Long Beach Opera, all of which received widespread acclaim.

Maestro Pehlivanian has also made significant contributions to contemporary opera, conducting the world premieres of Le Jour des Meurtres by Pierre Thilloy at l’Opéra-Théâtre de Metz and Sette Storie per Lasciare il Mondo by Marco Betta. His critically acclaimed production of Boris Godunov at Teatro Massimo in Palermo stands as a testament to his visionary artistry.

Throughout his career, Maestro Pehlivanian has collaborated with many of the world’s finest artists, including violinists Maxim Vengerov, Leonidas Kavakos, Midori, Vadim Repin, Hilary Hahn, Lisa Batiashvili, Leila Josefowicz, Renaud Capuçon, Sarah Chang, and Joshua Bell; cellists Misha Maisky, Boris Pergamenchikov, Gautier Capuçon, and Lynn Harrell; pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Katia Buniatishvili, Arcadi Volodos, Fazil Say, and Emmanuel Ax; and iconic musicians such as Gidon Kremer, Gil Shaham, and Maurice André. His collaborations also include legendary vocalists such as Mirella Freni, Ruggero Raimondi, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Leona Mitchell, Leo Nucci, Vladimir Galouzine, and Denyce Graves. This impressive list reflects his status as a conductor of the highest caliber.

In recognition of his leadership and artistry, Maestro George Pehlivanian served as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Slovenian Philharmonic from 2005 to 2008. He has also held prominent Principal Guest Conductor positions with the Residentie Orkest of The Hague, Wiener Kammerorchester, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, and served as Principal Conductor of the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari.

Maestro Pehlivanian has been a distinguished presence at major international music festivals including the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, White Nights Festival of Saint Petersburg, Aix-en-Provence, MITO Milan, Radio France Festival in Montpellier, Jeunesse Musicale in Vienna, Bruckner Festival in Linz, Verdi Festival in Parma, Ravenna Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and the festivals of San Sebastián, Santander, Ravello, Madrid, Cannes MIDEM, El Escorial, Ljubljana, Granada, Osaka, and Kyoto.

His discography reflects his versatility and commitment to excellence. It includes a double CD release on Virgin Classics/EMI with the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic and recordings for BMG with the London Philharmonic. He led the world premiere recording of works by Zhukov with the Residentie Orchestra for the CHANDOS label, recorded works by Rodrigo with the Orquesta Nacional de España for STUDIO SM, and recorded Liszt’s complete works for piano and orchestra with pianist Louis Lortie and the Residentie Orchestra for CHANDOS, earning critical acclaim from Gramophone Magazine. He also recorded works by Christian Jost for Coviello and released Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony with the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España on the IBS Classical label, marking the first time a Spanish orchestra recorded this work.

In September 2023, SONY Classical released Maestro Pehlivanian’s recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He continues to record actively with the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra and has produced more than a dozen recordings, as well as recordings of major Slovenian composers with the Slovenian National Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2011, Maestro George Pehlivanian founded the Touquet International Music Masters in France. In 2012, he was appointed Professor of Conducting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, and in 2013 became Director of the Postgraduate Conducting Department at the Higher School of Music Education Katarina Gurska in Madrid.

In 2020, Maestro Pehlivanian founded the Slovenian Festival Orchestra, an ensemble recognized for its artistic quality and social mission. Its Pehlivanian Professional Opera Academy tours annually in Slovenia and provides opportunities to young musicians, with approximately 75 percent of its members being highly skilled freelance artists. The orchestra has been invited to perform at the Ravello Festival in 2024.

Maestro Pehlivanian is also the Founder and Artistic Director of the Pehlivanian International Conducting Competition, scheduled for November 2026 in Bled, Slovenia. Alongside the competition, he initiated the Sustainable Career Development Conference, an international forum bringing together artists, educators, and cultural leaders to address structural challenges in classical music careers and promote more sustainable and inclusive professional pathways.