JURY

The jury is made up of eminent personalities from the musical world: organists and composers and qualified individuals.

We are honoured to constitute the jury of this second edition 2025 of the ROYAN-ORGUES composition competition by the following personalities:

Florentine Mulsant

Florentine Mulsant is a composer born in 1962. From 1977 to 1989, she studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, where she won several first prizes. She was awarded first prize for composition at the Schola Cantorum in 1987. She has 134 works in her catalogue, ranging from solo instrument to chamber music, concerto and orchestra. In 2019, she was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Grand Prix Sacem Composer of the Year for Symphonic Classical Music. 2024: Victoire de la Musique Classique in the Composer category.

Valéry Aubertin

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Valéry AUBERTIN (born 1970) is a composer, organist and choirmaster. He won several first prizes at the CNR d’Aubervilliers (1985-1988) and the CNSM de Paris (1989-1995). Student of Michèle Guyard, Brigitte François-Sappey, Rémy Stricker, Jacques Charpentier and Jean-Louis Florentz. International composition prizes: International Society of Organbuilders (Montreal – Canada, 1993) and Concours International de Composition Symphonique de la Ville de Trieste (Italy, 1995). He has taught composition, music history and analysis at the CRD Paris-Vallée de la Marne in Noisiel since 1993. From 2013 to 2020, he was in charge of Composition Masterclasses at the CRR in Nantes. His works have been published by Billaudot, Europart-Music and Chanteloup-Musique.

Estelle Lowry

Estelle Lowry, who was born in Saint-Brieuc in 1982, was the general delegate and then director of Musique Nouvelle en Liberté (MNL), before taking over as director of the Maison de la Musique Contemporaine (MMC) on 15 July 2020.

Through her work at the MMC, Estelle Lowry aims to promote contemporary music in all its diversity and for as many people as possible, to support and accompany those involved in musical creation, and to encourage encounters between artists and audiences.

In 2023, she was named Chevalière de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Pascale Rouet

Pascale Rouet teaches organ at the Ardenne-Métropole Conservatoire, is a concert performer, dedicator and creator of numerous scores, and is the editor of the journal Orgues Nouvelles. Passionate about contemporary music, she contributed to the new edition of the Guide de la musique d’orgue (Ed. Fayard, 2012) and regularly takes part in various symposia and international juries. Her discography, regularly acclaimed by the critics, includes more than twenty recordings (CDs and DVDs) ranging from early music to contemporary music.

Joan Magrané

Joan Magrané (Reus, 1988) is a composer. His music is regularly performed by renowned soloists, ensembles and orchestras such as Isabelle Faust, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Orquesta Nacional de España and the Quatour Diotima, among others.

Rikako Watanabe

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After obtaining her master’s degree in composition at the Kunitachi University of Music in Tokyo, Rikako WATANABE was attracted by traditional French composition, and went on to study at the CNSM in Paris and Lyon, where she won a brilliant prize. She also studied improvisation with Loïc MALLIÉ. She holds the C.A. In 2002 she was appointed professor of instrumental music training and introduction to composition at the Paris Conservatoire. Rikako WATANABE has written a variety of works, notably for percussion, organ and various instrumental ensembles.

Émilie Aubert

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Head of Contemporary Music at Sacem’s Cultural Action Department
Emilie Aubert holds a Master 2 in Design and Management of Cultural Projects from the Sorbonne, after studying Musicology (San Francisco and Paris-Saclay). She has been working in the music industry since 2018. Drawing on her institutional and creative music expertise, she was appointed Head of Contemporary Music at Sacem’s Cultural Action Department in 2023. As part of her role, she will be developing the financial and non-financial support mechanisms, with a particular focus on the diversity of the contemporary repertoire, the professional integration of artists and the porosity between different disciplines and aesthetics.

Emmanuelle Piaud

Titular organist of the great Boisseau organ at Notre-Dame de Royan, choirmaster, master of musicology, graduate of the conservatoires of Bordeaux and Orléans. Head of cultural services and director of the music and dance conservatory in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer.

In 2020, the ‘Royan Atlantique’ prize was awarded by the Académie de Saintonge to personalities who have honoured the region through their talent in the fields of literature, science and the arts, for all their work in the region.

Benoît Sitzia

Composer, artistic director of the Ars Nova ensemble, co-founder and president of the Collège Contemporain, participating in the development of collective and mutual dynamics for innovation, transmission and reinforcement of creativity in today’s musical practices, both nationally and internationally.

Directs the classical and contemporary music festivals of the SPEDIDAM network. Artistic director of classical music for the Impérial Annecy Festival in Haute-Savoie. Initiator and supervisor of the creation of the European Creative Academy for Music & Musicians.