A New Renaissance Age for the Janáček Conservatory

STYLE INTERVIEW

a great effort to have students perform

alongside professionals. The festivities

are not yet over though. The spirit of this

anniversary will definitely be felt across the

rest of the events we hold this year.

Are students introduced to the public

throughout their studies?

Public performances are part of

the students’ curriculum. We host

a series of school performances,

however, that is not all, as we also

organize our own art season featuring

chamber and symphonic concerts, as

well as acting and dance performances.

Our Christmas and New Years concerts

have become quite popular. Our dance

and ballet concerts have built up

a following as well. Recently, our classical

dance division studied up on the ballet

performance titled “The Nutcracker”,

while the modern dance division is

offering a great performance titled

“Drift.” These performances were

prepared with the help of professionals,

for example, choreographers that

prepare the choreography for our

students. We also have ongoing

cooperative programs with certain

theaters. Directors from these theaters

often pick some of our students for

roles in their plays, so you definitely

have the opportunity to see some of our

students in professional roles throughout

their studies.

You are also planning to

make a publication regarding

the conservatory’s 70th anniversary.

What can we expect to find there?

Part of our celebration this year is

the publication of a book that includes

interviews with 35 influential artists

that are also graduates of ours. You can

expect names such as Lukáš Bařák, Albert

Čuba, Marta Máchová Drastíková, Pavla

Gajdošíková, Tomáš Kačo, Marek Kozák,

Štěpán Kozub, Radúz Mácha, Veronika

Rovná, Gabriela Petráková and many

others. These are people that have a story

to tell with not only their lives, but also

ith their art. Another interesting feature

of the book is that the cover will include

a printed list of all the Ostrava Janáček

Conservatory graduates, which is over

3 000 people. We also published a special

issue of our school’s newspaper that

includes all the current events in the school.

How did you celebrate the 70th anniversary

of your institution’s founding?

The school celebrated its 70th birthday in

“full force,” with a festive gala concert at the

International Leoš Janáček Music Festival.

The concert took place in the Gong

multifunctional hall at DOV, and it involved

150 performers. Even here we made

What is running an art school like?

I must say that it is a great honor for me to

work at the Ostrava Janáček Conservatory,

and I am very passionate about my work

here. I love working with people that are

filled with creativity and passion. Even

though I gave up my own concert career,

I would not go back on my decision. It

makes me incredibly happy to witness

the conception of these new stars that go

on to shine very brightly. I enjoy helping to

create the perfect conditions to develop

these talents. In short, it is a beautiful job

that I enjoy very much.

What are your hopes for

the conservatory’s future?

I hope that this school serves more than

an educational role, as it also enriches

the cultural scene of Ostrava and the

region as a whole. I hope that it keeps

growing and blooming inside and out,

that the students find success, that they

maintain their work ethic and talents,

and that their work gets appreciated not

only by professionals, but also the wider

general public.

I also hope that the school will have

enough funding to fulfill all of its goals

and visions. Public funding is not

quite enough for what we want to do.

Therefore, I would love to find enlightened

company owners and directors that see

the purpose behind supporting art and

talent, because without culture and art,

society falls apart.

Thank you for the interview, we wish you,

your institution, as well as your students

good luck!