Members of the jury 2026

Philippe Koch

Coming from a large family of musicians, Philippe Koch studied in Liège and then perfected his skills with the Masters Christian Ferras, Pierre Amoyal and Arthur Grumiaux. Konzertmeister of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, he also pursued a career as a soloist throughout Europe, Japan, the United States and South America, which allowed him to play accompanied by numerous orchestras and to rub shoulders with renowned conductors such as Paavo Järvi, Emmanuel Krivine, Yuri Ahronovich, Alexandre Dmitriev, and to play in prestigious halls (Berlin Philharmonics, Brussels, Luxembourg, Casals Hall Tokyo, Center of Arts Seoul,…). Passionate about chamber music, he explores its diversity within the Koch Trio, with his daughter Laurence (violin) and son Jean-Philippe (piano), the Grumiaux Trio, and the Louvigny Quartet. Professor of violin at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, he also gives master classes in Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Japan, Korea and is regularly a member of the jury in various international competitions (Queen Elisabeth, Ysaye, Vieuxtemps, Grumiaux…). Interested in conducting, he was also invited to conduct various ensembles. His discography (more than 35 CDs ranging from Mozart to Bussotti) has received several prestigious distinctions in the international specialized press (2 Diapasons d’Or, Choc-Monde de la Musique, Repertoire, Pizzicato…).

Kati Sebestyen

Born in Hungary, Kati Sebestyén was a violin professor at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and an extraordinary professor at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. In 2005, she was a member of the artistic commission of the Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition. She also taught at the Brabants Conservatorium, and today, she is a violin professor at the Prins Claus Conservatorium – Hanze University in Groningen, Netherlands.

She is regularly invited as a jury member or to give masterclasses at institutions such as Mozarteum Salzburg, the University of Rouen, Hannover-Goslar, CIM Morges, the University of North Carolina, Reykjavik Conservatory, Franz Liszt Academy Budapest, Carl Nielsen Academy Odense, Instituto Superior de Veracruz Mexico, and more.

As a solo or chamber violinist, she has performed in recitals or recordings in most European countries as well as in the USA. She was a member of the “Haydn Quartet,” concertmaster of the Sebastian Strings Chamber Orchestra, and a founding member of the Ensemble Contrasts. With these ensembles, she has recorded several CDs for EMS. She has received multiple distinctions in various European countries.

Shirly Laub

Shirly Laub studied in Brussels in the class of Clemens Quatacker and then perfected her skills with Wiktor Liberman and Philippe Hirshhorn in Utrecht. She was awarded the title of Young Soloist of the French-language Public Radio Communities and became a Juventus laureate, a distinction awarded by the Council of Europe. His impressive discography includes numerous recordings as chamber musician and violin conductor for public broadcasters Musiq3, Klara, France Musique, Radio Suisse Romande, Radio Canada, RAI and BBC. In 2001, she joined the Silk Road Ensemble in New York City, which allowed her to perform alongside Yo Yo Ma around the world. Concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London between 1998 and 2005, Shirly Laub is regularly invited as konzertmeister by the main symphony orchestras of Belgium, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Korea. As a chamber musician, mainly with Oxalys and the TrioFenix string trio, she plays in prestigious halls, such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Wigmore Hall in London or the Library of Congress in Washington. A member of the jury of major violin competitions, such as the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Shirly Laub has been a violin professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels since 2003.

Laurence Lacroix

Laurence Lacroix was born in 1971 into a family of teachers who were passionate about music but not musicians. Introduced to music theory at the Grétry Academy in Liège at the age of 7 (Jacques Fourgon’s class), she chose her instrument, the violin, during a concert given by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège. She took her first lessons with Mr. Désiré Mercier (violist at the OPRL) then with Mr. Léopold Douin (professor at the Royal Conservatory of Liège). During her humanities studies, in 1984, she entered the Liège Conservatory to obtain a First Prize in music theory in 1986. She then took music history lessons with Messrs. Jérôme Lejeune and Edouard Niffle, analysis with Monsieur Patrick Davin and written harmony with Messrs. Marcel Cominotto and Joseph Gillet. After two years at the University of Liège in Mathematics, she reoriented herself towards music as an obvious choice and obtained a First Prize in violin (1993) in the class of Mr. Eric Mélon and in chamber music (1994) in that of Mrs. Cécile Evrard, followed by a Higher Diploma in these two disciplines. She then obtained the DAPE (pedagogical aptitude diploma for violin teaching). Laurence Lacroix worked at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège for 8 years as a substitute. In 2023, she obtained the Specialized Didactics Master (violin) still at the Royal Conservatory of Liège. She currently teaches violin in the academies of Seraing and Amay for more than 20 years after numerous experiences in Hannut, Bouillon, Bastogne, Saint-Hubert… She also teaches violin and viola methodology at the Institute of Music and Pedagogy (IMEP) in Namur since 2023. Laurence Lacroix has been the violin conductor of the Huy Chamber Orchestra (conductor: Mr. Christian Lalune) since 2013. She involves her students as soon as they reach a sufficient level.