What is happening

Concert at the International Big Band festival in Pardubice

On the 16.10.2021 the Czech National Concert Band performed at the International Big Band Festival, which took place in Pardubice for the first time in its history. Our orchestra performed at the closing ceremony at the Suk Hall of the House of Music (Sukova Síň, Dům hudby). Our program consisted of many interesting pieces which were carefully selected with respect to the theme of the festival. Under the baton of Jaroslav Šíp, you could hear such wonderful pieces as the Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, Danzon No. 2 by Arturo Marquez or the Suit in Eb for Military Band by Gustav Holst. We also performed few pieces for soprano saxophone with the famous soloist Mr. Felix Slováček.

You can listen to our performance here:

Conducting workshop in Dačice

The Czech National Concert Band has been cooperating with the Austrian Musicians Association for more than two years and on the 25^th September 2021 served as a training orchestra at the conducting workshop in Dačice. Six Austrian conductors participated in the workshop, which was led by Mr. Jaroslav Šíp, the chief conductor of the Czech Army Central Band. It was a wonderful experience not only for the conductors, who got a chance to practice difficult musical pieces with a semi-professional orchestra, but also for the musicians who practice playing the same piece in six different versions according to specific cues and conducting styles of the individual conductors. We hope the mutually beneficial cooperation will continue in the future as well as it did till now.

Concert at the Spanish Hall of the Prague Castle

After more than a year without a concert the Czech National Concert Band started new season with a bang – at the Spanish Hall of the Prague Castle, the residence of the president of the Czech Republic. On 22^th of September 2021 the band performed as a guest of the Prague Castle Guard and Police Wind Orchestra on the occasion of the 75. anniversary of the establishment of the orchestra. Under the baton of the principal conductor we performed the Youth Suite “Foglariana” by Czech composer Evžen Zámečník. At the end of the concert the Czech National Concert Band and the Prague Castle Guard and Police Wind Orchestra performed together two famous Czech marches – the “Castaldo” and “Muziky, muziky”.