About Us – International Woodwind Competition

Members and Judges

Guido Mancusi

Prof Danré Strydom

Brandon Phillips

Paul Richard

Jana Mathee

Liam Burden

Handri Loots

Prof Johan Ferreira

Dr Jan Beukes

Get to Know the Members

Guido Mancusi

The Austrian-Italian conductor Guido Mancusi was born in Naples in 1966. Coming from a musical household, he received his first piano teaching from Nino Rota. After his father’s death the family moved to Vienna. There Mancusi became a soprano soloist at the Vienna Boys’ Choir and attended the Wiener Musikgymnasium.

After his Matura (university entrance examination), Mancusi studied bassoon and singing at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien (Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna), and composition and conducting at the Musikhochschule Wien (University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna). He completed his studies with distinction.

His first engagements as a conductor and choirmaster were at the Stadttheater Coburg (West Germany), the Theater an der Wien, and the Raimundtheater, where he worked together with Harold Prince, as well as at the Stadttheater St. Pölten.

To enhance his training as a conductor, he served as an assistant to Riccardo Muti at La Scala in Milan, an assistant in Bayreuth, and an assistant to Adam Fischer.

He held guest roles as conductor in Graz and Kiel, then caught the attention of theatre manager Dietmar Pflegerl in Klagenfurt with “Madame Butterfly.” Pflegerl appointed the young conductor as principal conductor, a role he held for five years. There he expanded his repertoire and gained valuable leadership experience. His successes in Klagenfurt also brought him considerable international acclaim.

In Vienna, Mancusi took up the position of Chief Conductor of the Schönbrunn Festival Orchestra and, in this function, founded the Kammeroper Schönbrunn (Schönbrunn Chamber Opera).

In the years that followed, as his reputation grew, Mancusi was regularly invited on major tours, conducting in Moscow, Tel Aviv, Helsinki, Stockholm, Rome, Toronto, the United States, South America, and later in Japan and South Korea. In his native country, he conducted at the Klangbogen Wien and the Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival).

He was eventually appointed as permanent guest conductor at the Vienna Volksoper, where he has been a vital part of the establishment since 2014 (current production: Kiss Me, Kate).

In 2017, Mancusi was named principal guest conductor of the Dohnányi Symphony Orchestra in Budapest and at the Opera Națională in Timișoara. From 2018 to 2022, he served as musical director of the Seefestspiele Mörbisch.

He has also appeared as a guest conductor at the Aalto Theatre in Essen (Germany).

From the beginning of his musical life, Mancusi has also composed. Today, his repertoire includes masses, passions, cantatas, orchestral works, film scores, two operettas, a ballet, and an opera. Premieres, CD recordings, and commissioned works demonstrate his well-established place among contemporary composers.

Mancusi has always seen himself as a theatre person—a creator and facilitator of imaginative worlds. For him, musical theatre is not a combination of two elements, music and theatre, but a single unified entity. As a composer, he creates dramatic works; as a conductor, he advocates for them. His life is made up of interwoven elements without rigid categorisation. This is the principle he lives by. Composers and conductors aim to give something to others—this is the ideal Mancusi has followed for over 30 years.

Prof Danré Strydom

Danrè Strydom has established herself as one of South Africa’s premier solo, chamber and orchestral musicians through her global concert experience. Born in South Africa, she began her musical training in neighbouring country Namibia. After attending the Interlochen Arts Camp, USA, she began her formal studies with Heinrich Armer at the University of the Free State in South Africa. She furthered her studies at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where she worked with renowned clarinetists Eli Eban and Eric Hoeprich. She holds separate Master’s Degrees in Clarinet, Early Clarinet – and Bass Clarinet Performance from the Royal Conservatory at Ghent University, completed under the guidance of Eddy Vanoosthuyse. Danre completed her Phd in clarinet performance at the Odeion School of Music, UFS. She has won numerous awards, including the ATKV cultural diversity award, FAK music award, R. Muller award for cultural and academic excellence and the First National Bank Prize of excellence. Danre has performed as soloist with various orchestra in South Africa and is an avid chamber musician. After playing clarinet/bass clarinet ad hoc for the award-winning Brussels Philharmonic from 2008 to 2013, she accepted a position as woodwind lecturer at the University of the Free State’s Odeion School of Music (OSM). Danre is the Continental Chair of the International Clarinet Association. She has been selected to be a Buffet Crampon Artist (2015), being the first South African representative and is currently principal clarinetist of the Free State Symphony Orchestra.

Brandon Phillips

Brandon Philips started his music career in the New Apostolic Church. He studied bassoon, viola and conducting at the University of Cape Town, receiving his Diploma in Orchestral Studies and BMus Honours in Solo Bassoon (2005), finishing his studies under late bassoonist Todor Balkandjiev. With the Sirocco Wind Quintet, Phillips was the first prize winner of the Hugenot Music Competition (2003) and woodwind category winner for the ATKV competition (2008). He has acted as bassoon coach for many Youth Orchestras in South Africa.

Brandon is the winner of the first Len Van Zyl Conducting Competition (2009). This granted him an internship with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, where he received masterclasses with the principal bassoonist Daniel Matzikawa. He received bassoon masterclasses from David Siedel (Vienna), Christopher Milard (USA), Lecolion Washington (USA). Phillips received a prestigious award from the Western Cape Minister of Arts and Culture for “Outstanding Achievements by the Youth” (2012) and a “Skouerklop” Award from Suidoorsterfees (2017).

Brandon has performed as a soloist with the University of Cape Town String Ensemble and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. He held the following positions with the CPO, Sub-principal bassoonist (2001 – 2009), Principal bassoonist (2009 – 2022) and Artistic Director and conductor of the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (2010 – 2022). Phillips is currently a lecturer at the University of Cape Town, where he is also Head of Woodwinds and Ensemble, and principal conductor of the SACM Orchestras. He is also the Resident Conductor of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.

Paul Richard

Born in France, Paul Richard started learning saxophone at the age of eight. He obtained his bachelor of Musicology from the University of Franche-Comté in 2007 and was awarded the First Prize in the same year for Chamber Music. After four years of studying at the Conservatoire National de Region de Besançon, under Cécile Dubois, he obtained his Diploma of Musical Studies for Saxophone (First Prize of the Conservatoire) in 2010 and was awarded the First Prize at the Music Competition of Epinal (France). Later in the same year, Paul decided to move to South Africa where he started to teach saxophone at the Durban Music School.

Willing to further his studies, he decided to register at Rhodes University, Makhanda, where he obtained distinctions for his BA Honours in Saxophone, Composition and Chamber Music with Academic Honours in 2014 and completed a Master of Music (Saxophone and Composition), with Distinctions, the following year (2015).

Paul won the Seventh Grahamstown Music Competition, which took place in June 2012. Constantly seeking for new repertoire for his instrument, he premiered numerous compositions, including some of South African composers Clare Loveday and Hannes Taljaard. With a passion for conducting, Paul has conducted various Concert and Jazz Bands as well as orchestras and choirs.

As a composer, he wrote and arranged pieces for various ensembles, as well as pieces for solo instruments, which have been performed in France, Germany and South Africa. An experienced ensemble performer, Paul is a member of the Cape Wineland Saxophone Quartet and the Flux Trio (Flute, Saxophone and Piano). He is currently teaching Saxophone at Jan van Riebeek Höerskool and Laerskool and joined the UCT music staff in 2024.

Dr Jan Beukes

Jan Beukes obtained the degrees BMus, BMusHons, MMus, and PhD (Music) from the UFS and a Licentiate in Organ Performance from UNISA. He took part in masterclasses with Ludger Lohmann (Germany), Ewald Kooman (The Netherlands), Wolfgang Rubsam (USA) and Jacques van Oortmerssen (The Netherlands). Since 2002 he lectures organ and organ method at the then Department of Music (UFS) and joins the permanent staff in 2010. He frequently gives solo organ recitals and is actively involved in departmental concerts, especially as chamber musician. In 1998 Jan received an award from UNISA for outstanding music tuition, and since his appointment in 2002 his students have won various awards and competitions. Jan is currently Artistic & Operational Head of the Odeion School of Music.

Prof Johan Ferreira

Johan Ferreira started playing the oboe at the age of 15 after a brief stint on the violin (which he regards as being rather unsuccessful). He is currently a freelance oboist around South Africa, regularly appearing as ad-hoc member of the oboe sections of the KZN Philharmonic, Johannesburg Philharmonic, Eastern Cape Philharmonic, and the Free State Symphony. Critics have described his playing as “surreal” (artSMART.co.za, March 2021) and “insightful and outstanding” (Volksblad, November 2019). He is a member of the wind quintet AirFlair, which performs on a regular basis in and around Gauteng. In 2016 he obtained an LRSM in oboe performance from the ABRSM, in 2017 a PhD in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Pretoria (UP), and performed at the Cape Town Concert Series in 2018. Johan has performed a variety of concerti with orchestra (Mozart, Marcello, Bach, Bellini, Vivaldi) in collaboration with established artists such as Zanta Hofmeyr, and regularly performs at the Wakkerstroom Music Festival and the GauFestival in Pretoria in collaboration with close colleague Laetitia Orlandi. Johan studied towards an MMus degree in oboe performance at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 2018, under the tutelage of Jenny Johnson of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra in New Zealand. Apart from maintaining a full-time freelancing career in South Africa, Johan is an associate professor in the Department of Statistics at UP undertaking research in fundamental statistical theory with a cohort of postgraduate students under his supervision.

Handri Loots

After completing the BMus Hons degree under the tutelage of John Hinch at the University of Pretoria, Handri Loots continued her studies in the United Kingdom under the revered flute pedagogue Trevor Wye. She later received tuition from Jonathan Booty and Andrew Nicholson in the UK and in Finland with the French flutist Emma Tessier. Handri is a laureate of the SA National Flute Competition presented by the FLUFSA. She was a prize-winner of several competitions, including the ATKV Forte competition, Oude Meester Foundation Music Competition, Jim Joël Scholarship competition, SASOL Music Competition, and the Unisa Licentiate Competition. She was selected to attend the International Bottineau Music Camp for Woodwinds in the USA at the age of seventeen. She has held the position of the principal piccolo in the then PACT Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra in Johannesburg and is still a founder member of the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. She teaches at Pretoria Boys’ High School and has joined the teaching faculty of the UFS Odeion School of Music in 2014 in an ad hoc capacity. Handri is an enthusiastic chamber musician. She also has a keen interest in early music and performs on the baroque flute with Ensemble Fons Partita in South Africa and continues to have masterclasses with European early music specialists.

Liam Burden

Saxophonist and conductor, Liam Burden teaches saxophone and clarinet at the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre where he is Departmental Head: Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, and Piano and is the principal conductor of the Hugo Lambrechts Symphony Orchestra. He lectures saxophone at Stellenbosch University on a part-time basis. Liam graduated from Stellenbosch University in 2012 with a BMus Honours cum laude. During his studies, he was afforded the opportunity to study at the West Virginia University, USA on an exchange programme studying with Dr Michael Ibrahim (saxophone) and Dr Mitchel Arnold (conducting). Liam graduated with an MMus (Cum laude) in 2021 with research into the repertoire performed by youth orchestras in South Africa. Liam has participated in all the major instrumental as well as conducting competitions in South Africa namely, the Len van Zyl Conductors Competition where he was a finalist in 2019 conductingthe Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, SAMRO Overseas Scholarship and Unisa Licentiate Competitions (saxophone), and ATKV Muziq Competition. Liam is an avid chamber musician having performed with the Connections Saxophone Quartet and is a founding member of the Intonga Reed Quintet, the first of its kind in South Africa. The Intonga Reed Quintet made their Woordfees debut in March of 2020 with a programme of newly composed works and arrangements by South African composers. Liam’s recent performance of Andy Scott’s Dark Rain, alongside fellow saxophonist Matthew Lombard and accompanied by the University of Stellenbosch Symphonic Wind Ensemble, was received with high praise. Liam’s students have competed and excelled in competitions locally and internationally and enjoy a busy performing schedule at home and abroad. As conductor of the Hugo Lambrechts Symphony Orchestra, Liam has conducted many concerts in the Hugo Lambrechts Auditorium such as the annual Concerto Festival, often premiering new South African compositions. Under his baton, the Hugo Lambrechts Symphony Orchestra performed at the Greyton/Genadendal Classics for All and the Tulbagh Arts Festivals. In December 2016 they were awarded a gold medal at the International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Jana Mathee

Jana Mathee studied piano with Truida van der Walt at the North-West University from 2000-2005. During her pre-graduate studies she received master classes from various internationally acclaimed pianists including Frank Heneghan (Ireland), Joseph Banowitz (USA), Caroline Oltmanns (USA), Vladimir Mogelevsky (Russia), Bryce Morrison (UK), Constance Carol (USA), and Thomas Hecht (USA). In 2004 she participated in a youth-concerto competition of the New Orleans Piano Institute. She obtained a Performance Licentiate in Vocal Accompaniment from UNISA in 2005. From 2006-2008 she was a member of the World Youth Choir and the World Chamber Choir and had the opportunity to work with conductors such as Peter Broadbent (England), Gunnar Erikson (Sweden), Peter Dijkstra (Netherlands), and Theodora Pavlovich (Bulgaria). She was a member of the Boulevard Harmonists in 2008. In 2009 she was appointed as part time pianist at the School of Music and Conservatory, North-West University. Jana mainly focuses on chamber music and vocal accompaniment. She has a keen interest in vocal music, especially the art song, and started singing lessons with Werner Nel in 2012. During the same year she performed as soloist with the Austrian Baroque orchestra L’Orfeo during their South-African tour. She receives master classes in singing from Maarten Koningsberger in 2014. In 2015 she obtains a Performance Diploma in Singing with distinction from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In October 2017 she received an IRECO-award for Creative Outputs from the North-West University for a performance with her husband and duo-partner, Dolf Mathee. In the same year she also received a Vice-Chancellor’s-award for the same concert. In 2018 she obtained a master’s degree with distinction in Piano Performance at the North-West University with Albie van Schalkwyk as mentor. Jana has been appointed as accompanist at the School of Music and Conservatory, North-West University, since 2014. She’s currently enrolled for a doctoral degree in piano performance at the NWU with Albie van Schalkwyk as mentor.