MgA. Židek Tomáš, Ph.D.Tomáš Židek (born 1981) graduated from Grammar School Chrudim and Pardubice Conservatory, where he studied viola, organ and mainly conducting. He continued in his studies at Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he graduated with Master’s Degree in 2009 and continues in pursuing doctoral degree. In 2005 he took part at master course conducting workshop with professor M. Stringer in Austria. He has cooperated with a number of Czech orchestras, including the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra Zlín, the North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, the Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, the Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra of South Bohemia and the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra. He also conducted opera in the F. X. Šalda Theatre in Liberec. Currently, he teaches at the Conservatory of Pardubice (since 2009), leads the University Choir of Pardubice (since 2010), the Salvator Choir in Chrudim (since 1999) and is the Choir Director in Chrudim. He cooperates with the Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice and the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Natalia Chirilenco comes from Moldova. She studied music lyceum and devoted herself to piano and choir conducting. Later she graduated from the Academy of Music (at a particular time called also University od Arts) in Chisinau (Moldova), majoring in choir conducting. Since 1999 she has been living in the Czech Republic. She received university qualifications certificate at the Janáček Academy of Music in Brno. In 2000 – 2005 she was conducting the mixed choir Schola Cantorum in Prostějov. In 2004 – 2006 she was working with the mixed choir Lumír in Brno. Since 2003 she has been conducting preparatory choirs at the Jaroslav Kvapil Primary Art School in Brno, where she has also been conducting the children’s choir Primavera. At present she is on parental leave.

Jan Staněk (1952, Praha),

I have fallen for singing very long ago.

Originally informal meetings with friends, wine and guitar gradually gave birth to my first ensemble Kvintus (1981). Later I set up (already intentionally) Bohemiachor (1993),Happy Hours (1991) in Switzerland, Ayangena (1993) in Italy, Spektrum (2003) in Prague, and Hlahol (2010) in Austria as the last one. And this festival in Liberec also happens to be my child a bit.

In the beginning I did not realize what I was starting. I was a singing physicist and guitar player. I certainly did not expect to leave physics because of singing, nor to study choirmaster specialization and make my hobby a beautiful profession. Nor to tour Europe and lead choir workshops.

The wave of my enthusiasm about spirituals has been replaced by a folk song period (I loved especially gypsy folk songs), later I enjoyed 20th century music and recently I have been fascinated mostly by the choir sound itself. By the mystery of joining voices and achieving sound unity! I have been fascinated by overtone singing ever since I have first come across it years ago. Since then I have been trying it in my choirs. Especially with Spektrum we have been discovering the connection of overtone singing with the above mentioned mystery of choir sound recently. It is a great adventure.

Zuzana Kadlčíková is one of the distinctive young choirmasters in the Czech Republic. She gained the essential choir experience in the Jitro Children's Choir (Prof. Jiří Skopal) in Hradec Králové. She graduated from the Faculty of Education of the University of Ostrava (music teacher and choirmaster for the Secondary Schools) and the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno (choirmaster and conductor). As a conductor she participated in many projects with the JAMU Chamber Opera and finished her studies by the performance of Eugene Onegin by P. I. Tchaikovsky.

She was a member of the Adash ensemble (doc. Tomáš Novotný) and worked as a corepetitor at the opera of the Antonín Dvořák Theater and at the Moravian Theater Olomouc. She received a scholarship at master conductor courses at Internationale Sommerakademie Reichenau in Austria.

As a choirmaster of the children and youth choir at the Brno Philharmonic, Kantiléna, she received the highest prize (Summa Cum Laude) at the choral competition in Neerpelt 2006. She also acted as a choirmaster and artistic director of the mixed choir Virtuosi di Mikulov, with whom she recorded several CDs of the world choral repertoire. She organized the International Choral Festival Kampanila in Mikulov as a dramaturgist.

She was awarded the Junior Choirmaster Award and founded the choir Ensemble Forte in Brno. She is regularly invited to the jury of various choral competitions.

In 2013 she debuted as a conductor at the Brno National Theater with the opera Dream of the Midsummer Night (B. Britten). In 2016–2018, she was the choirmaster of the Ars Brunensis Chorus in Brno, with which she won the 1st Prize at the A. Tučapský Festival (2017). For the last three years she has been working as a corepetitor at Brno City Theater, where she rehearses exclusively the musical repertoire. Since 2018 she has been an assistant to the choirmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno. She privately teaches singing and improvisation.