Adjudicators for the 2026 Festival

Luis Parés — Piano & Recital Class

Luis Parés, BMus(Hons), MMus – Piano Recital Classes – has performed as both soloist and chamber musician across Europe, Asia, North and South America, including at major concert halls throughout the UK. He has over 25 concertos in his repertoire and his performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, RAI Italy, Kol HaMusika Israel, and Spanish radio. Luis is Director of Music at Alleyn’s School in London and an examiner and presenter for ABRSM. He regularly gives masterclasses and serves as an adjudicator for festivals and competitions in the UK and internationally. He has also held positions as Director of Music at Forest School and Head of Keyboard at Dulwich College and Repton School.  He was a Scholar and Mills Williams Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied with Gordon Fergus-Thompson and Andrew Ball. Luis has received recognition at several competitions, including First Prize at the XI Ricard Viñes International Piano Competition (Lleida, Spain) and Third Prize at the Maria Canals International Competition in the duo sonatas category.

Alexis White — Piano

ALEXIS WHITE  BMus, MMus (piano performance & literature) – Piano – studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Royal Northern College of Music and the Eastman School of Music, New York. The winner of many prestigious prizes and scholarships, most notably first prize in the Seventh Noyers International Piano Competition in France, Alexis has given recitals and concerto performances throughout the U.K. and abroad. She has collaborated with many distinguished artists including Rafal Zambrzycki-Payne, Akiko Ono, Guy Johnston, Jiafeng Chen, the Sacconi Quartet, the Navarra Quartet, and the Galliard Ensemble. In 2018 she was invited to give a week of masterclasses in China, followed by a recital which was broadcast on Chinese television. Alexis has also broadcast for Scottish Radio, Classic FM, Radio Suisse Romane and featured for several years as a Countess of Munster artist. Alexis is currently Head of Keyboard at St Paul’s Girls’ School in London and teaches at the Yehudi Menuhin School. She is also an examiner for the ABRSM.

Paul Harris – Winds

Paul Harris, FRAM, HonTCL, GRSM, LRAM, ARCM, ARAM, MTC – Winds – is one of the UK’s most influential music educationalists. He studied the clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music, where he won the August Manns Prize for outstanding performance in clarinet playing and where he now teaches. He is in great demand as a teacher, composer, and writer (he has written over 600 books); he gives the occasional recital and his inspirational masterclasses and workshops continue to influence thousands of young musicians and teachers all over the world in both the principles and practice of musical performance and education.

Hilary Sturt — Strings & Concerto Class

HILARY STURT  MA, ARCM, AGSM – Strings and Concerto – is much in demand as a chamber musician, teacher and adjudicator. She studied the violin with Sheila Nelson, David Takeno and Felix Andrievsky, graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal College of Music with solo, chamber and contemporary music prizes. As a violinist and violist she performed and recorded worldwide with Ensemble Modern for 20 years, including notable projects with Frank Zappa, Peter Eotvos and Pierre Boulez. As a chamber musician she has performed with the Rasumovsky Quartet, Apartment House, and more recently as a member of the Bingham Quartet. Hilary was Head of Strings at St Paul’s Girls’ School for 24 years, and is Head of Chamber Music at the RCMJD and pedagogy tutor at the RCM. Her interest in teaching led to an MA in Education from UCL in 2018. Hilary has worked with the ABRSM as a Diploma examiner, as member of its advisory panels, recording Graded repertoire and also examines for the Music Teachers Board.   Hilary’s dedication to education and chamber music is fuelled by her husband’s homemade sourdough bread, their rescue dog and her passion for weaving.

Belinda Mikhail – Choral

BELINDA MIKHAIL  BMus(Hons), PgDipRCM, ARCM, EMT – Choral Singing – won the Associated Board and the Queen Mother Scholarships to study piano and singing as a joint first study at the Royal College of Music where she won the Hopkinson Gold Medal for her final recital. She has since travelled extensively performing both as a soloist and as a chamber musician and has appeared as a concerto soloist at the major London Concert Halls. She has made numerous recordings for Sony BMG and Universal and appears as the featured soloist on many film soundtracks. Her solo piano playing of the theme from Chariots of Fire was heard at every medal ceremony at the London Olympic Games.  Belinda is in demand as a Vocal Coach for classical, musical theatre, jazz, pop and rock singers and runs an extensive private and online teaching practice. She has trained performers as diverse as Simone Ashley from Bridgerton, Siouxsie Sioux the rock legend and the Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche. She is also known in the industry as a Voice Over artist. Belinda thoroughly enjoys listening to a wide variety of music and meeting a wealth of musicians as she travels in her role as a BIFF adjudicator.

Heidi Pegler – Vocal

Heidi Pegler, FTCL, BA(Hons) – Vocal – studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Trinity College of Music, London. During her singing career, she specialised in Baroque Music working with Emma Kirkby, Evelyn Tubb, Michael Fields and Will Summers. In more recent times, she sang with London Voices on several films including The Hobbit and Harry Potter. Heidi is currently the Deputy Director of Music and Head of Singing at St Paul’s Girls’ School. She also runs the Vocal and Choral sections of the Richmond-upon-Thames Performing Arts Festival and is the music director at Duke Street Church in Richmond. Heidi is an examiner for the ABRSM helping to devise the latest singing syllabus. She has published several books including Faber’s award-winning series The Language of Song, It’s never too late to sing, It’s never too late to sing Christmas and The Best of Singing Grades 1-3 and 4-5. Heidi was the chair of AOTOS (Association of Teachers of Singing) from 2018-2020 and during the pandemic devised a new online training course for teachers called ‘Essentials’. She has adjudicated at the Edinburgh, Cambridge and Cheltenham vocal festivals and is delighted to be returning to Sutton.

Katrina Mulvihill – Speech & Drama

KATRINA MULVIHILL RBTC (Hons QTS), LRAM, AGSM, ALAM, IPA – Speech and Drama –  graduated with Honours from a unique Actor/Teacher Course at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. She then won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and went on to study opera, musical theatre, acting and piano for a further two years.  As professional soloist and principal she has performed in plays, operas, recitals and concerts at many prestigious venues including the Drury Lane Theatre, Shaw Theatre, Sadler’s Wells, Purcell Room and QEH. As an experienced Director she has worked with adults through to young children in styles ranging from pantomime and operetta to Shakespeare and Grand Opera.  Katrina has been a longstanding member and Team Leader of LAMDA’s Examining Board, also regularly giving lectures and master classes. For many years she served as a Headteacher across the state, private and independent sectors but recently took early retirement to focus on running her private speech and drama School, Studio ‘K’, whilst also increasing her work for LAMDA and the BIFF, where she serves on the Drama Adjudicators’ Council. She is delighted to be back adjudicating for the Sutton Music Festival this year.