Adjudicators 2024
PIANO: Susan Clark (11 & 12 May)
Susan started playing the piano at the age of four and attended the Trinity College of Music Junior Department for ten years, studying piano, flute, violin and musicianship. She continued her studies at Cambridge University and while there performed extensively both as a soloist and accompanist. After graduating in Classics, Susan successfully completed a Postgraduate Diploma in performance at the Royal College of Music and was awarded an MA in musicology by the Open University. She has appeared as a soloist or accompanist at many major London concert venues and has also played at the Edinburgh and the Aldeburgh Fringe Festivals and various music clubs in the south east as well as at the Martinu Hall in Prague. She performed Mozart and Chopin piano concertos with Trinity Orchestra, Harrow and the Lincolnshire Symphony Orchestra and more recently took the solo piano part in the Rio Grande by Lambert. Susan has had three articles about teaching techniques published in the Music Teacher magazine and in 2018 wrote and published the book ‘Speedy Music Theory’. She currently holds teaching posts at Merchant Taylor’s School, Latymer Upper and the Royal Masonic School for Girls. She examines for ABRSM and has completed many examining tours in the Far East and is also an adjudicator member of BIFF and regularly adjudicates at music festivals around the UK.
PIANO: Belinda Mikhail (11 May)
Belinda won the Associated Board and the Queen Mother Scholarships to study piano and singing as a joint first study at the Royal College of Music where she won the Hopkinson Gold Medal for her final recital. She has since travelled extensively performing both as a soloist and as a chamber musician and has appeared as a concerto soloist at the major London Concert Halls. She has made numerous recordings for Sony BMG and Universal and is a vocal soloist on EMI's Vocalise album as used in trailers for ER, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy. She appears as the featured soloist on many film soundtracks and her solo piano playing of the theme from Chariots of Fire was heard at every medal ceremony at the London Olympic Games. Belinda is in demand as a Vocal Coach for classical, jazz, pop and rock singers and runs an extensive private teaching practice. She has trained performers as diverse as Simone Ashley from Bridgerton, Siouxsie Sioux the rock legend and the Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche. She is also known in the industry as a Voice Over artist. Belinda’s work as an adjudicator has seen her travel extensively. She thoroughly enjoys listening to a wide variety of music and meeting a wealth of musicians as she travels in her role as a British and International Federation adjudicator.
PIANO: Richard Deering (12 May)
Richard has been an adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals for well over 30 years, adjudicating at an average of 12 festivals a year, including many overseas festivals, as a piano or brass specialist and generalist. Although no longer active as a performing brass player, he has given piano performances – as soloist and accompanist – in over 90 countries and has held teaching positions in establishments such as London College of Music, Trinity College of Music, Middlesex University, Cambridge University, Auckland University and New York State University. Composers of the calibre of Malcolm Arnold, Malcolm Williamson, Edward Gregson, Edward McGuire, Thomas Wilson, Brian Chapple and Charles Camilleri have written piano works especially for him, and for several years Richard had a close performing relationship with Elisabeth Lutyens. In 2023 he recorded the entire piano works of Hubert Parry and William Wordsworth, as two separate projects, while his recording of Lutyens piano music, recorded on her 70th birthday, is due for re-issue. Richard was also an Adviser to the London Arts Board on contemporary music and jazz. His Federation work included serving on the Central Board of Trustees, Vice-Chair of the Adjudicator’s Council and with the administration of the PGCA qualification. Currently he is the Chair of Trustees of Croydon Performing Arts Festival and, was honoured, by being elected as a BIFF Fellow in 2012. Richard is also a high-ranking international cricket umpire, a Life Member of Essex County Cricket Club and a season ticket holder at Sutton United Football Club.
SINGING: Maria Jagusz. GRNCM FISM (11 & 12 May)
Maria was born in Oldham and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music where she was awarded the Ricordi Prize for Opera. Further scholarships enabled her to continue her studies at the National Opera Studio. Since then she has worked as soloist leading opera companies in the U.K and in Europe. At Opera North her roles include Carmen, Orlofsky, Cherubino, First Witch (Dido and Aneas), the Wild Girl (A Village Romeo and Juliet), Lazuli in L’Etoile and Smeraldina (Love for Three Oranges), for Scottish Opera Carmen, Nicklaus and Puck (Oberon). She made her debut at the Royal Opera House as the Gypsy in Les Hugenots and went on to sing Dimitri in Fedora with Freni, Carreras and then with Domingo. She worked for Sadler’s Wells Operetta Company where her roles include Pitti Sing (Mikado), Tessa (Gondoliers) and the Gypsy in Countess Maritza. Television work includes Smeraldina (Love for Three Oranges) for the BBC, Therese (Intermezzo), Idomeneo and the maid in Arabella (Glyndebourne Festival Opera.) She also played Cherubino and Rosina in Granada television’s documentary of 'Figaro the Untold Tale'. She has worked as a director for Longborough Festival Opera, Swindon Opera, and Music Festivals At Sea. Maria is casting adviser for Longborough Festival Operas Emerging Artists Scheme and also works alongside Jessica May for their outreach programme. Future work includes a children’s adaptation of the opera “L’Elisir D’Amore in the spring of 2024.
STRINGS: Helen Dromey (11 May)
Helen Dromey is a dedicated strings teacher, violinist, and advocate for inclusive music education. She is course leader for the ESTA PG Cert, having been involved with the course since its inception in 2017. Helen is Principal Teaching Fellow in Music Education and Enterprise at the University of Southampton, supports UK Music Masters teachers through observations and consultancy, and continues to teach the violin and viola herself. Previously, Helen was Lead Teacher for Strings for West Sussex Music, where she established String Start, a group violin-with-musicianship programme for children aged 4–7, and delivered a series of CPD programmes for instrumental teachers. Helen is currently completing doctoral research at the University of York, examining pupils’ progression beyond whole-class instrumental learning, and designing new pedagogies to improve engagement. This research draws on Helen’s wealth of experience of teaching the violin and viola in individual, small- and large-group settings, including Whole-Class Ensemble Tuition (WCET). A qualified primary school teacher, she has also worked as a Music Coordinator, delivering classroom Music across Key Stages 1–2. Helen graduated from King’s College London in Music and, later, in Historical Musicology, gained her PGCE at the University of Chichester, and attained her LRAM at the Royal Academy of Music.
STRINGS: Timothy Wells (12 May)
Timothy Wells started learning the cello with William Bruce while a chorister at Westminster Cathedral and continued at the Royal College of Music, Junior Department. He read Music with both choral and instrumental scholarships at Christ Church, Oxford, and later studied with Mats Lidström at the Royal Academy of Music where he won most of the cello prizes and was subsequently elected an Associate. Performing engagements have taken him to venues such as the Wigmore Hall, and he enjoys adjudicating at festivals nationwide. He taught cello at Dulwich Prep London for many years and has held Head of Strings posts at Eltham College and Bromley Youth Music Trust. Uniquely, students under his tutelage on their respective instruments have been awarded coveted places in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain on every instrument in the string family. His works - including internationally best-selling repertoire books - have been published in several volumes, and he examines for the ABRSM.
Susan started playing the piano at the age of four and attended the Trinity College of Music Junior Department for ten years, studying piano, flute, violin and musicianship. She continued her studies at Cambridge University and while there performed extensively both as a soloist and accompanist. After graduating in Classics, Susan successfully completed a Postgraduate Diploma in performance at the Royal College of Music and was awarded an MA in musicology by the Open University. She has appeared as a soloist or accompanist at many major London concert venues and has also played at the Edinburgh and the Aldeburgh Fringe Festivals and various music clubs in the south east as well as at the Martinu Hall in Prague. She performed Mozart and Chopin piano concertos with Trinity Orchestra, Harrow and the Lincolnshire Symphony Orchestra and more recently took the solo piano part in the Rio Grande by Lambert. Susan has had three articles about teaching techniques published in the Music Teacher magazine and in 2018 wrote and published the book ‘Speedy Music Theory’. She currently holds teaching posts at Merchant Taylor’s School, Latymer Upper and the Royal Masonic School for Girls. She examines for ABRSM and has completed many examining tours in the Far East and is also an adjudicator member of BIFF and regularly adjudicates at music festivals around the UK.
PIANO: Belinda Mikhail (11 May)
Belinda won the Associated Board and the Queen Mother Scholarships to study piano and singing as a joint first study at the Royal College of Music where she won the Hopkinson Gold Medal for her final recital. She has since travelled extensively performing both as a soloist and as a chamber musician and has appeared as a concerto soloist at the major London Concert Halls. She has made numerous recordings for Sony BMG and Universal and is a vocal soloist on EMI's Vocalise album as used in trailers for ER, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy. She appears as the featured soloist on many film soundtracks and her solo piano playing of the theme from Chariots of Fire was heard at every medal ceremony at the London Olympic Games. Belinda is in demand as a Vocal Coach for classical, jazz, pop and rock singers and runs an extensive private teaching practice. She has trained performers as diverse as Simone Ashley from Bridgerton, Siouxsie Sioux the rock legend and the Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche. She is also known in the industry as a Voice Over artist. Belinda’s work as an adjudicator has seen her travel extensively. She thoroughly enjoys listening to a wide variety of music and meeting a wealth of musicians as she travels in her role as a British and International Federation adjudicator.
PIANO: Richard Deering (12 May)
Richard has been an adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals for well over 30 years, adjudicating at an average of 12 festivals a year, including many overseas festivals, as a piano or brass specialist and generalist. Although no longer active as a performing brass player, he has given piano performances – as soloist and accompanist – in over 90 countries and has held teaching positions in establishments such as London College of Music, Trinity College of Music, Middlesex University, Cambridge University, Auckland University and New York State University. Composers of the calibre of Malcolm Arnold, Malcolm Williamson, Edward Gregson, Edward McGuire, Thomas Wilson, Brian Chapple and Charles Camilleri have written piano works especially for him, and for several years Richard had a close performing relationship with Elisabeth Lutyens. In 2023 he recorded the entire piano works of Hubert Parry and William Wordsworth, as two separate projects, while his recording of Lutyens piano music, recorded on her 70th birthday, is due for re-issue. Richard was also an Adviser to the London Arts Board on contemporary music and jazz. His Federation work included serving on the Central Board of Trustees, Vice-Chair of the Adjudicator’s Council and with the administration of the PGCA qualification. Currently he is the Chair of Trustees of Croydon Performing Arts Festival and, was honoured, by being elected as a BIFF Fellow in 2012. Richard is also a high-ranking international cricket umpire, a Life Member of Essex County Cricket Club and a season ticket holder at Sutton United Football Club.
SINGING: Maria Jagusz. GRNCM FISM (11 & 12 May)
Maria was born in Oldham and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music where she was awarded the Ricordi Prize for Opera. Further scholarships enabled her to continue her studies at the National Opera Studio. Since then she has worked as soloist leading opera companies in the U.K and in Europe. At Opera North her roles include Carmen, Orlofsky, Cherubino, First Witch (Dido and Aneas), the Wild Girl (A Village Romeo and Juliet), Lazuli in L’Etoile and Smeraldina (Love for Three Oranges), for Scottish Opera Carmen, Nicklaus and Puck (Oberon). She made her debut at the Royal Opera House as the Gypsy in Les Hugenots and went on to sing Dimitri in Fedora with Freni, Carreras and then with Domingo. She worked for Sadler’s Wells Operetta Company where her roles include Pitti Sing (Mikado), Tessa (Gondoliers) and the Gypsy in Countess Maritza. Television work includes Smeraldina (Love for Three Oranges) for the BBC, Therese (Intermezzo), Idomeneo and the maid in Arabella (Glyndebourne Festival Opera.) She also played Cherubino and Rosina in Granada television’s documentary of 'Figaro the Untold Tale'. She has worked as a director for Longborough Festival Opera, Swindon Opera, and Music Festivals At Sea. Maria is casting adviser for Longborough Festival Operas Emerging Artists Scheme and also works alongside Jessica May for their outreach programme. Future work includes a children’s adaptation of the opera “L’Elisir D’Amore in the spring of 2024.
STRINGS: Helen Dromey (11 May)
Helen Dromey is a dedicated strings teacher, violinist, and advocate for inclusive music education. She is course leader for the ESTA PG Cert, having been involved with the course since its inception in 2017. Helen is Principal Teaching Fellow in Music Education and Enterprise at the University of Southampton, supports UK Music Masters teachers through observations and consultancy, and continues to teach the violin and viola herself. Previously, Helen was Lead Teacher for Strings for West Sussex Music, where she established String Start, a group violin-with-musicianship programme for children aged 4–7, and delivered a series of CPD programmes for instrumental teachers. Helen is currently completing doctoral research at the University of York, examining pupils’ progression beyond whole-class instrumental learning, and designing new pedagogies to improve engagement. This research draws on Helen’s wealth of experience of teaching the violin and viola in individual, small- and large-group settings, including Whole-Class Ensemble Tuition (WCET). A qualified primary school teacher, she has also worked as a Music Coordinator, delivering classroom Music across Key Stages 1–2. Helen graduated from King’s College London in Music and, later, in Historical Musicology, gained her PGCE at the University of Chichester, and attained her LRAM at the Royal Academy of Music.
STRINGS: Timothy Wells (12 May)
Timothy Wells started learning the cello with William Bruce while a chorister at Westminster Cathedral and continued at the Royal College of Music, Junior Department. He read Music with both choral and instrumental scholarships at Christ Church, Oxford, and later studied with Mats Lidström at the Royal Academy of Music where he won most of the cello prizes and was subsequently elected an Associate. Performing engagements have taken him to venues such as the Wigmore Hall, and he enjoys adjudicating at festivals nationwide. He taught cello at Dulwich Prep London for many years and has held Head of Strings posts at Eltham College and Bromley Youth Music Trust. Uniquely, students under his tutelage on their respective instruments have been awarded coveted places in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain on every instrument in the string family. His works - including internationally best-selling repertoire books - have been published in several volumes, and he examines for the ABRSM.