directed by Jaroslav Brych
The Prague Philharmonic Choir was founded in 1935 by Jan K]hn under the name of the Czech Choir, as an ensemble working for the Czechoslovakian Radio. In 1953 the Choir was integrated with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. After Jan K]hn's death, Josef Veselka was appointed Principal Conductor and under his leadership the choir became a professional ensemble, performing throughout the world. In 1981-91 Lubomir Matl, a pupil of Veselka, conducted the choir.
In 1990 the choir was detached from the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and became an independent body. At the same time Pavel K]hn, son of the choir's founder, was appointed chief conductor of the choir, and since 1996 Jaroslav Brych has been holding this position.
The choir has performed throughout Europe, the Far East, the Canary Islands and Canada, and has sung under renowned conductors, including Bernstein, Kleiber, Szell, Abbado, Maazel, Muti, Ozawa, Mehta, Kubelik, Sawallisch and others. The choir is a regular guest at prestigious festivals, such as Prague Spring, the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, and the Vienna and Salzburg Festivals.
Apart from its concert and a-cappella performances, the choir appears with various opera houses, among them La Scala, San Carlo, Pesaro and Lyon, and has sung regularly with major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The choir has recorded two CDs of a-cappella music with Jaroslav Brych.
Lukas Vasilek studied at Charles University in Prague and at the Prague Academy of Music and Arts. In 1998 he became chorus master of the Foerster Chamber Vocal Association, which, under his leadership, performed in the Czech Republic and abroad, won major international competitions and recorded several CDs as well as for Czech radio and television. Lukas Vasilek's collaboration with the Prague Philharmonic Choir began in 2006 and in March 2007 he was named its principal chorus master.