Prof. Mgr. A. Eva Blahová
Professor of singing, president of Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský International Vocal Competition
She travelled through Europe, America and Asia as a singer and teacher. Her students – one of which is the mezzo-soprano Magdaléna Kožená – have won more than fifty awards in international singing competitions.
She is a member of the panels for international singing competitions and President of the Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský international singing competition in Trnava. She is active in the artistic council of the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Central European Festival of Interpretational Arts in Žilina and works for the Antonín Dvořák Foundation and the Help Foundation. She is currently a voice coach at the Norwegian Opera in Oslo.
Ing. Martin Sankot, Ph.D.
Deputy Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic for Economic Affairs
Prof. PhDr. Václav Cejpek
Deputy Vice-Chancellor for student, pedagogic and artistic activities, Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts
Prof. Václav Cejpek graduated in theatre and Germanic studies from the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno (1972–1977). From 1979 to 1987 he worked as a dramaturge at Czechoslovak Television in Ostrava and Brno (preparing various programmes, Divadélko pod věží, Manéž Bolka Polívky, etc.). Between 1987 and 2003 he worked as a dramaturge of the Mahen Drama section of the National Theatre in Brno. He has translated drama texts from German into Czech (Bernhard: Die Berühmten, Lessing: Emilia Galotti, Handke: Die Stunde, da wir nichts voneinander wussten, Mitterer: In der Löwengrube, Eco – Frankl: Der Name der Rose, etc.) and is the author of theatre dramatisations, drama texts (e.g. Bethlehem, the Brno Municipal Theatre, 2009 – together with Z. Srba and J. Šotkovský) and numerous textual adaptations.
Prof. Cejpek has written books and studies pertaining to theatre history (Současná německá dramatika (Contemporary German Drama), Brno, 1986; Beziehungen und Zusammenhänge – Deutsches Theater in Brünn in den Jahren 1918–1933, in Maske und Kothurn, Wien 2002, etc.) and contemporary theatre issues (Černý anděl, Pokus o interpretaci dramatické tvorby Thomase Bernharda (Black Angel, An Attempt at interpretation of Thomas Bernhard’s Drama Works), Brno, 1994; Künstler als Versager, Brno 2004; Co zbylo z Ibsena? (What Remains of Ibsen?), Prague, 2006, etc.). He has been closely involved in international activities, above all those relating to German-language culture (e.g. member of the jury at the prestigious Schauspieltreffen festival of German-language theatre schools in Zurich in 2009; participation in international conferences in Salzburg, Paris, Helsinki, Berlin, etc.).
Since 1990 he has worked at the Faculty of Theatre of the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno, since 1994 heading the theatre dramaturgy and stage direction studio while also lecturing in global theatre history. Between 1990 and 1993 he was President of JAMU’s Academic Board and subsequently President of the Academic Senate of JAMU and the Faculty of Theatre. In 1993 he assumed the post of Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Theatre, between 1996 and 2002 he was Dean of JAMU’s Faculty of Theatre and from 2003 to 2010 Chancellor of JAMU. He held the post of Vice-President for education, Czech Conference of Deans. At the present time, he is JAMU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor for student, pedagogic and artistic activities.
Prof. MUDr. Josef Koutecký, DrSc.
Medical Faculty of Charles University, Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology, Faculty Hospital Motol
Professor at the Clinic for child haematology and oncology at the 2nd MF UK at Motol Teaching Hospital, head of the Clinic for child oncology (1983-2004), dean of the 2nd Medical Faculty at the Charles University (1990-1997 and 2000-2006). Vice Rector of the Charles University (1997-2000). He founded, established and institutionalised the new field of child oncology in Czechoslovakia. He is the author of 7 treatises, 3 textbooks, 2 scripts, 301 specialist publications, 681 specialist lectures, the celebratory publication The Ethos of Hippocrates (1993) and Spondeo ac Polliceor (2003), fairytales for children Vodníček Buližníček (1997, 2005), the biography I have remained a boy (2005). His speeches have been compiled into the book edition Beautiful Meeting I – Opening (2005), II – Carolingian Concerts with the Kocián Quartet (2005) III – With Students, IV. – Not only with Art and Science. He is a member of Czech and foreign specialist societies and a founding member of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic (1994), its Chairman (1998-2002) and Vice Chairman (2002-2004), Chairman of the National Gallery Foundation in Prague (1995-present day), a member of the Council of the National Theatre (since 1997), the Administrative Council of the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague (1999-2003), The Hollar Foundation (2001-present day) and the Czech Medical Academy (2004-present day). He has received many awards for the work he has performed including the state decoration, the Medal for Merit in 1996 awarded by the President of the Republic.
István Lékó
Chief editor of “Česká pozice” web
After graduating from grammar school, he studied at the Faculty of Philosophy at the Charles University. He worked as a reporter for Respekt weekly from 1990 and from 1992 on for Lidové noviny, starting in 1995 he worked as the head of the economy column in Týden magazine and has been the Editor in Chief of Euro weekly since 1998. He won 1st place in the Citibank Award for Excellence in Journalism for his work in 1996.
Ivan Liška
Director of the Bavarian State Ballet, Munich
After studying at the Dance Academy in Prague (1964-1969) he danced for a short time at the National Theatre. After this, he emigrated to Germany and worked in the ballet at Deutschen Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf under the leadership of Erich Walter (1969-1974) and then until 1977 was active as a member of the ballet at the Bayerischen Staatsoper in Munich. His performing career culminated in 1977-1997 when he was a soloist at the Hamburg Ballett - John Neumeier. He created many leading roles here, e.g. Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1977), the title character in Peer Gynt (1989), the title role in Odysseus (1995) and many others. He also danced in works by other important choreographers: John Crank, José Limon, Leonid Jakobson, George Balanchin, Jiří Kylián, Antony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, Hans van Manen and Maurice Béjart. Together with Marcia Haydé he interpreted the film version of Ladies with Camellias; he partnered Natalie Makarovová in The Oněgins (Paris and London 1987, New York 1988). He cooperated with Gerhard Bohner on recreation of the The Triadic Ballet by Oskar Schlemmer (1977). In 1997 he created the ballet Dispute set to music by Alfred Schnittke for the National Theatre in Brno. In September 1998 he became the Director of the Bayerische Staatsballett in Munich. Here in 2003 he first appeared as a choreographer of the classic ballet title Sleeping Beauty originally choreographed by Marius Petipa; in 2007 he reconstructed another full length ballet by the same choreographer – Le Corsaire.
PhDr. Michal Lukeš
General director of National Museum
A graduate of history and Slovak Studies as well as postgraduate study – in the field of modern Czech history at the Faculty of philosophy at the Charles University. He deepened his education by participating in foreign working internships and stays (among others: a doctorate course in the EU on the topic of Violence and Society, Italy, University of Bari; a scholarship from the Bavarian government – museum management, FRG, Munich; the Salzburg seminar, Museum marketing and fundraising, Austria, Salzburg; scholarship by the government of the USA, The role of the museum in American society, USA). In 1993–1997 he was employed as a document worker in the Department for Modern Czech History at the National Museum (apart from 1994 when he was a research and development worker at the Military Historical Institute), he also worked as the Director of Divadlo Bez zábradlí (1998–2001) and in 2002 became the General Manager of the National Museum where he works to this very day. His teaching activities are also varied: Faculty of Philosophy at the Charles University – Institute of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies, the Faculty of Teaching at the Technical University in Liberec, cooperation with the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Economics – department of Arts Marketing and cooperation with the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the Charles University in terms of the accreditation in the field of “History of European Culture”. He is a member of specialist and consultancy bodies (selection): Trustees of the Slovak National Museum, Committee of Prague City Council for Monument Care, Consultancy Body for the General Director of the National Library, Editing Council for History and Militarism, Statutory Vice Chairman of the Association of Museums and Galleries of the Czech Republic, Board of Advisors for the General Commissioner for Czech participation in EXPO 2005, Honorary Committee of the Strings of Autumn Festival, Steering Committee for the Albrecht of Waldstein and his Era exhibition.
PhDr. Ivan Žáček
Musicologist, independent journalist
A graduate of musical science at the Faculty of Philosophy at the Charles University in Prague (doctorate in musicology). A translator, literary dubbing proofer and director (for Barrandov Film Studios and alter for ČT), the author of Czech dialogues or translations for more than one hundred foreign films. He was nominated for the best dubbing of the year in 1998 for his work on the film The Best Years of Our lives. He lectured on film translation at FAMU and on Czech translation theory at the Department of Translatology at the Faculty of Philosophy at the Charles University. A scientific worker in at the National Film Archive, research into the relationship between music and film, many years of editing and translation experience for the filmology magazine Iluminace (study of the music in Fellini’s films and a long list of translations of English and German filmological and, musicological texts as well as those focused on literary science and semiotics).
A music and opera critic, a regular critic in the theatrological magazine Svět a divadlo, many musicological and filmological studies for Iluminace, reviews from operas, concerts or theatre life on the pages of the specialist or daily press (Hudební rozhledy, Harmonie, Divadelní noviny, The critical supplement Revolver Revue, Český rozhlas, Lidové noviny, Mladá fronta dnes, Týden etc.).
A translator or editor of numerous articles, specialist books (last publication: Harold C. Schonberg, The Lives of the Great Composers was published in 2007 by BBart), programme texts for the Prague Spring Festival, translations into English and German. Sleeve notes and reviews for CD titles etc. Many of his own texts have been translated into English and German. A member of the editing boards of the specialist magazines Iluminace and Theatre. A music consultant and dramaturgist for many productions in theatres in Prague (NT, Divadlo v Dlouhé, Divadlo Na zábradlí etc.) A dramaturgist at the State Opera in Prague. A member of the Council of Theatre and Opera Panels (A. Radok Prize, the Opera festival of the Musical Theatre Society and Divadelní noviny).
JUDr. Karel Muzikář, LL.M. (C.J.)
Studied at the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague, graduating in 1986 as a Doctor of Law. After receiving a scholarship from the Fulbright Foundation, he also studied at the New York University School of Law, where in 1991 he gained a Master of Laws in Comparative Jurisprudence (LL.M. C.J.) degree.
Doc. RNDr. Anna Putnová, Ph.D., MBA
Member of the Czech Parliament, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Management of the University of Technology in Brno