Musica reanimata – Rudolf Karel

In his early youth Ondřej Holub went through Kühn’s children’s choir and the Pueri gaudentes boys’ choir, thanks to which he became a child soloist of the Prague State Opera in a production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. He studied classical singing privately with Prof. Lenka Pištěcká, while studying at the Prague Conservatory with Prof. Valentin Prolat and later developed his singing skills with Prof. Jiří Kotouč.

Since 2019 he has been collaborating with the internationally renowned Collegium 1704, where he performs as a soloist as a soloist and ensemble singer, he also regularly collaborates with Ensemble Damian, a historically informed interpretation of Baroque opera. As a soloist he regularly collaborates with a number of ensembles and orchestras (Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, Hradec Králové Philharmonic, South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic, etc. He is also an ensemble singer with most of the leading domestic early music ensembles – Schola Gregoriana Pragensis, Collegium Marianum, Cappella Mariana, Ensemble Inégal, Czech Ensemble Baroque, Victoria Ensemble, Musica Florea, with whom he regularly participates in prestigious domestic and international festivals.

From 2013-2019 he was a member of the vocal ensemble Martinů Voices, which ranks among the elite performers of 20th and 21st century music. In 2007, he founded the male vocal quintet Rudolfvoice with former members of the Pueri Gaudentes choir, with whom he performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He also occasionally collaborates with the Prague Philharmonic Choir, with whom he performed Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at New York’s Carnegie Hall on the centenary of the founding of Czechoslovakia.

Jan Dušek studied at the Conservatory in Teplice (piano, composition). In 2004-2012, he studied composition at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Hanus Barton), where he finished his doctoral studies in the same field in 2012. Since then, Jan Dušek has taught at the composition department of the Academy. As a pianist he participated in several master courses (Cyprien Katsaris, Irina Ossipova, Angela Hewitt, Lilit Grygorian, Maria João Pires), in 2013/14 he studied piano privately with Robert Lehrbaumer in Vienna, in 2015 with Xiao-Mei Zhu in Paris, and since 2016 with Gordon Fergus-Thompson in London. He has won awards and honourable mentions in competitions (Concertino Praga, the International Piano Competition B. Smetana Competition of Conservatories, Zdenek Fibich International Competition in the interpretation of melodrama). He periodically records contemporary Czech music for Czech Radio, e.g. in 2019, he completed a  recording of complete piano works by Rudolf Karel. In 2015 he released a CD of complete songs for soprano and piano by Viktor Ullmann with soprano Irena Troupova. In 2021, they released complete songs by Hans Winterberg. He regularly performs at international music festivals (Prague Spring, Věčná naděje, Junge Kunstler Beyreuth etc.).

In 2006 he was awarded the first prize at the Composers Competition “Generation“ for the piece “… in seven days I will send rain on the Earth …”, and in 2007 at the same competition he again won first prize for the composition “Gradation for organ.” In 2008 he received the ‘Audience’s Prize’ for the composition “Chalomot jehudi’im”, a year later receiving the Prize of Gideon Klein for the same composition. In 2010, his melodrama “Prague Walker” was awarded 2nd prize in the Competition for Young Artists, announced by the City District Prague 1. For his music to accompany the silent film “The Child of the Ghetto”, Jan received the ‘Audience’s Prize’ in the 2011 NuBerg competition. His compositions have been commissioned by festivals and competitions (such as the International Festival of Concert Melodrama, Viktor Ullmann festival Český Těšín, Prague Spring Competition etc.), and performed by leading Czech soloists (such as clarinettist Irvin Venyš and the percussionist Markéta Mazourová) as well as chamber ensembles and orchestras (e.g., Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, Epoque quartet; BERG Orchestra; Prague Philharmonia; Prague Philharmonic Choir). In 2021, Jan co-established the Lieder Company association which aims to promote art song recitals and repertoire.

www.jan-dusek.com