Former jurymembers

Both Stanley Drucker and Karl Leister were different times members of our international jury. Karl Leister was the former principal clarinet of the Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra and world-known clarinetist.
At the conclusion of the 2008-2009 season, New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker celebrated 60 years as a member of the Orchestra and announced his retirement. In honor of his 50th anniversary, and in recognition of his highly respected and widely acknowledged musical excellence and dedication, he was named Musical America’s 1998 Instrumentalist of the Year. He was Principal Clarinetist for a record 48 years, playing under 9 Music Directors, among them Bruno Walter, Dmitri Mitropolous, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez and Zubin Mehta. He performed in 60 countries on tour.Mr. Drucker maintained an active solo career in addition to his Philharmonic duties, appearing with ensembles throughout the world. He has been twice nominated for Grammy Awards in the category of Best Instrumental Soloist/Classical with Orchestra. Mr Drucker died in December 2022 at the age of 93. We are very grateful that Mr. Drucker served several time as jurymember of our competition and show our sincere condolences to his family.