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Adjudicators
Snö Online Music Competition
Dr Mark Griffiths
PhD (QCGU), BMus(Hons) (QCGU), GradDipMus (QCGU), LMusA (Piano)
Dr. Mark Griffiths has established a distinguished portfolio career in teaching, examining, adjudication and music research. He is a graduate of Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, where he has been a tertiary and pre-tertiary lecturer for almost thirty years.
His professional activities are informed by ongoing reflective practice with cohorts from early childhood to postgraduate level.
His current focus areas are one-to-one piano pedagogy and group teaching. Mark’s doctoral research, completed in 2017, investigated pedagogical strategies used to foster expressive performance skills within pre-tertiary pianists.
Dr. Griffiths has led piano masterclasses in Queensland and Victoria and enjoys sharing his ideas and experiences with students and their teachers, speaking at pedagogy symposia, and adjudicating competitions and eisteddfodau across Australia.
Loreta Fin AM
Loreta Fin AM studied violin at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, with Faina Krel, (Sydney Symphony Orchestra) and before that at St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove, with Sr Margaret (Peg) Short, OSU and Emily Finn (former SSO violinist). Loreta was a first violinist with the Sydney Youth Senior Symphony Orchestra, under Richard Gill AO, and later tutored and conducted orchestras within the Sydney Youth Orchestra Association. She taught at Sydney Grammar School before moving to Brisbane in 1988, where she was employed by Somerville House and All Hallows’ Schools. Loreta taught at Somerville House Girls’ School in Brisbane for 35 years and was full-time Director of Strings from 1992 to 2021. During that time, she conducted and oversaw a program of over 200 string students and led 3 successful tours of Italy, Austria and France. She was also the musical director for the school’s Musical Theatre productions for 25 years. All of her ensembles were successful in competitions, consistently gaining first places in eisteddfods and Platinum Awards at all six levels at the Queensland Music Fest competition. The senior group, Somerville Strings, was the winner of the Orchestras Australia Award for Excellence in School Orchestral Music.
Joel Woods
Joel Woods is an accomplished and versatile Brisbane musician. He has experience working as a soloist and in various ensemble and orchestral settings across a wide variety of genres including classical, jazz, bluegrass, tango and popular music. Joel also plays a range of plucked string instruments including the guitar, mandolin, banjo and ukulele. As a plucked strings specialist, he has performed with the Enoggera Ensemble, Riverside Guitar Ensemble, Melbourne Mandolin Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
In 2020 Joel was the Principal Conductor for the Federation of Australasian Mandolin Ensembles Adelaide festival, in his 11th year as Musical Director with Mandolins In Brisbane, is an examiner with the Australian Music Examinations Board and tutor for Griffith University Open Conservatorium. He is an in-demand performer, educator, examiner, arranger and composer around South East Queensland.