2025 Festival Adjudicators
Instrumental
Mark Tanner
Mark is a concert pianist, composer, writer and teacher, who has premièred, recorded and broadcast many works by prominent British composers. He has published 75 volumes of compositions and editions for Edition Peters, Faber Music, Spartan Press and Europa Edition. 50 of his pieces have been selected for the exam syllabuses of ABRSM, TCL and LCM. He has various pieces within the popular ABRSM series, Piano Star, and co-authored ABRSM’s Teaching Notes for the previous piano syllabus. His book, The Mindful Pianist, is published by Faber, translated into Chinese along with 2 co-authored books called The Advanced Pianist and 2 volumes of piano repertoire pieces entitled Teachers’ Choice. Also published by Faber, is The Piano in Black and White, an in-depth guide for the adult learner and returner. His book, Mindfulness in Music, is published by Leaping Hare Press in English and Spanish, and Mindfulness in Sound was published in 2020.
Mark’s PhD featured Liszt, a topic on which he has published articles in the UK and USA, and he has written hundreds of reviews for the prominent musical press, including International Record Review, Classical Music, Piano Professional, Musical Opinion and International Piano. He has written over 50 Masterclass articles for Pianist Magazine.
Mark has given 300 recitals on cruise ships and appeared in the UK’s top venues, including five appearances at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and St John’s Smith Square. He has performed on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. Mark is an ABRSM examiner for grades and diplomas, also a reviewer, trainer and international coordinator, having undertaken 47 tours to all continents. Mark was a piano judge for the 2019 BBC Young Musician Competition. He teaches and has given masterclasses in the UK, China and Hong Kong.
Harp
Keziah Thomas
Acclaimed by the New York Concert Review as ‘Stupendous…totally original and engaging’, at her Carnegie Hall debut recital, British harpist Keziah Thomas enjoys a reputation of a lively and engaging performer and educator. At the heart of her work is the belief that the power of music is for everyone, a value which drives a diverse freelance career.
Keziah’s creative programming strives to expand the repertoire for concert harp and has led to performances at major venues and festivals throughout the world including a solo tour of Japan for Aoyama Harps, concerts for Astral Artists in the USA and performances at the World Harp Congresses in Geneva, Dublin and Amsterdam.
In recent years, Keziah has developed a particular interest in arranging which had led to the creation of the first solo transcription of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the album of which is released on Convivium Records in June 2022.
Her previous album Crossing Waves included newly commissioned works by British composers, James Young, Huw Watkins, and Andy Scott and was hailed as an ‘imaginatively programmed, winningly played recital’ by the BBC Music Magazine.
Keziah is principal harp with the Covent Garden Sinfonia and her work as a chamber musician with the Aoyama Trio and 4 Girls 4 Harps has been described as having ‘Scrupulous attention to the harp’s dynamic and rhythmic possibilities’ by The Times.
The winner of the London Harp Competition, the Camac Harp Competition and the Contemporary Record Society Performing Artists Competition, Keziah Thomas holds an ARCM diploma and bachelor’s degree from the Royal College of Music and was taught by Danielle Perrett, Daphne Boden and Alison Nicholls.
Keziah is a creative educator and entrepreneur and is the founder of two popular harp programmes; Retreat to the Harp, a series of workshops and study weekends that bring together those who share her love of the harp and Little Harp Social, the group learning programme for adults. Keziah has been teaching in the harp department at the Guildhall School since 2020 and is a resident musician for the charity Breathe.
Piano
John Foster
John studied piano with Kendall Taylor and Dennis Matthews (masterclasses). He has worked extensively as accompanist for singers and instrumentalists and in chamber groups, including the Lydian Trio. He has performed in UK, Jersey, France, Germany and Hong Kong, (including radio broadcasts).
John taught for 16 years at RNCM Junior College and is a former Director of St Cecilia Chamber Music Trust. Currently, he performs, teaches/coaches pianists and singers, is an adjudicator for The British and International Federation of Festivals and is an ABRSM grade and diploma examiner, trainer and moderator, nationally and internationally.
Jena Pang
Jena Chun-Wah Pang is based in the United Kingdom and is celebrated for his exceptional teaching, judging competitions and scholarship awards internationally. His students based in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Beijing, Malaysia, Thailand, Geneva, Milan, Vienna, Spain, New York and Calgary, are first prizewinners and hold top honors at Amigdala International Piano Competition Italy 2019-2023; Feurich International Piano Competition 2018-2023 Vienna; Carles and Sofia International Piano Competition 2023 Spain; the VI International Liszt Ferenc Competition Hungary 2023; Carmel Arts International Piano Competition USA 2022; Monegro 88 Keys International Piano Competition Spain 2021; London Young Musician International Piano Competition 2020-2021; Harmonium Plus International Piano Competition Armenia 2020, Music and Stars International Piano Competition 2020; Costa Festa International Piano Competition 2019 Spain; Tadini International Piano Competition 2019 Italy, Canadian Music Competition 2019 (violin) Canada; Clavis International Piano Competition 2018 St Petersburg Russia; National EPTA-UK piano competition 2023, 2020. Several of his students have also won the Elena Cobb Star Prize Award and have performed at the Royal Albert Hall.
Mr Pang was Chairman of the piano jury of the Amigdala International Piano Competition Italy 2019-2024 Italy, and has judged numerous international competitions notably Windsor International Piano Competition 2019-2022, BMTG Intercontinental Piano Competition New York USA 2021, the inaugural Carmel Klavier Europe International Piano Competition 2020, the Saint Petersburg International Piano Competition 2020, Osaka International Music Competition 2019 in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan; IMPACT Young Artists International Piano Competition USA 2019, Blackheath Music Festival, Dudley Music Festival, Maidenhead Music Festival, Maidstone Music Festival, Longwell Green and Kingswood Performing Arts Festival, and Horsham Performers Platform, Bedford Music Festival, Milton Keynes Festival of Arts and Edinburgh Music Competition Festival.
Recognised for his pedagogical skills, Mr Pang has lectured on competition preparation and given piano and violin masterclasses for the Alberta Piano Teachers Association, the Alberta Registered Music Teachers Association in Canada, Clavis International Piano Competition Bavaria Germany, Amigdala International Music Competition Italy, and Windsor International Piano Competition and Maidenhead Music Festival in the UK
He annually adjudicates the Freda Parry Scholarship Fund Competition in Essex and previously the annual Jena Pang Piano Competition held at Milton Keynes Preparatory School. He has had invitations to teach and judge at Music Fest Perugia Italy, International Piano Festival Ambassador of Tarnow Poland, Tadini International Piano School in Lovere, Piano Talents International Piano Competition Milan, Tadini International Piano Competition Italy, Talent Music Summer Courses and Festival Brescia Italy, Dulwich Music Festival, Seven Oaks Three Arts Festival, Mid Somerset Festival 2025, Derby Arts Festival 2025 and the 8th Singapore Performers’ Festival & Chamber Music Competition 2024.
Mr Pang was awarded an instrumental scholarship to study Music at St Peter’s College, Oxford University and studied the violin with Lydia Mordkovitch and the piano with Lora Dimitrova and had lessons with Christopher Elton, Ruth Waterman, Keith Pascoe, Brenda Farrow, Shalinee Jayatilaka and Elsie Brown. He has been teaching the piano and violin for the last 31 years in addition to being a solicitor and partner in a law firm from 2004-2014. As a child he appeared on British and Hong Kong television playing both piano and violin, at the Purcell Room South Bank, and with English Orchestras for concertos. Recent concert engagements have been collaborations with Dennis Lee, Chee Hung Toh and Graeme Humphrey.
He champions the British Music Festival movement and has seen all sides from child competitor, adjudicator and administration: he is currently the Piano Convenor and a trustee of the Southend Festival of Performing Arts and trustee of the Freda Parry Scholarship Fund Competition. His influence in the musical community continues to grow, making him a highly respected figure in the world of music education and performance.
Jena Pang is an adjudicator for the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech and has adjudicated both live and online competitions.
Vocal
Sarah Jefferies
Sarah is a vocal graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Josephine Veasey and Patricia Clarke. Whilst at the Academy, Sarah was the recipient of many prizes including Early Music, Lieder and English Song. She was an active member of the opera course, singing roles by Britten, Strauss and Mozart.
Upon leaving the Academy, Sarah studied with Margreet Honig and Elly Ameling at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam. She has sung recitals and oratorios all over the Europe and was a member of the Opera De Lyon, with whom she recorded many works including Schoenberg’s ‘Moses und Aron ’ and Orf’s ‘Carmina Burana’.
Sarah is a visiting teacher of voice at Marlborough College in Wiltshire and and has adjudicated all over the Uk and the Middle East, as well as at some of the major conservatoires in the U.K.
Sarah has a real fascination for the workings of the human voice, and enjoys helping her students of all ages and standards to improve their vocal abilities.
She has a beautiful cocker spaniel, Maisie, who she enjoys walking for miles on the Wiltshire Downs near her home.
Yvonne Patrick
Born in South Derbyshire, Yvonne began her professional career with D’Oyly Carte Opera Company before joining Glyndebourne Festival Opera. She made her debut with the Touring Company as Despina Cosi fan tutte. In The Bartered Bride she sang the role of Esmeralda which included training to be a trapeze artist! She sang Musetta La Boheme for Opera North & understudied Violetta La Traviata and Fiordiligi Cosi fan tutte.
Yvonne has also worked for WNO, Garsington Opera, Kentish Opera, Opera Brava, Garden Opera, Swansea City Opera & Carl Rosa Opera Company. Roles include Micaela Carmen, Pamina & First Lady The Magic Flute, title role of Madame Butterfly, Mimi La Boheme, Rosalinda & Adele Die Fledermaus, Donna Elvira Don Giovanni, Clorinda La Cenerentola, Adina L’Elisir d’Amore, Violetta La Traviata and Alice Ford The Merry Wives of Windsor. She was soprano soloist in a performance of Mozart’s Requiem in Nairobi Cathedral.
Yvonne appeared as soloist for the Philadelphia Savoy Company, the oldest G & S society in America. She is a regular guest performer on cruises, has appeared on BBC Radio 2’s Friday Night is Music Night.
Besides having a private teaching practice, Yvonne teaches at Chichester University and Lancing College and is an adjudicator with The British and International Federation of Festivals.
Schools Choral Day
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Adult Choral Day
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