Lukáš Vasilek
Guest of the OperaBiography
Lukáš Vasilek graduated in conducting from the Academy of Music and in musicology from the Charles University Faculty of Arts, both in Prague. From 1998 to 2009 he was choirmaster of the Foerster Chamber Singing Association, which he led to absolute victory in international competitions in Klaipėda (2003) and Vienna (2006). In 2005 the Union of Czech Choirs awarded him its 'Junior Choirmaster' prize. From 2005 to 2007 he served as second choirmaster of the National Theatre Opera in Prague, and in recent years he has also engaged in orchestral conducting, mainly leading Czech symphony orchestras.Lukáš Vasilek has been principal choirmaster of the Prague Philharmonic Choir since 2007. Besides leading rehearsals and conducting the ensemble's independent concerts, his work includes preparing the group for performances in large cantata, oratorio, and opera projects in which he collaborates with conductors of world renown such as Barenboim, Bělohlávek, Eschenbach, Hogwood, Honeck, and Mehta, and with major orchestras – the Berlin Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, and the Vienna Symphony. Since 2010 he and the choir have appeared as guests at the opera festival in Bregenz. Particularly noteworthy recording projects completed under his leadership include the participation of the Prague Philharmonic Choir in solo albums by Anna Netrebko and Sumi Jo (Deutsche Gramophon 2008, 2011) and several compact discs issued on the labels Naxos, Neos, and OEHMS Classics. Other important highlights in Vasilek’s career are recordings of both the Czech and foreign choral repertoire for Czech Radio (since 2008) and of little-known operas and operettas for Westdeutscher Rundfunk and Bayerischer Rundfunk. In 2010 Lukáš Vasilek formed and rehearsed a jazz vocal ensemble that accompanied Bobby McFerrin in his concerts in the Czech Republic. That same year he founded the professional chamber choir Martinů Voices.
Update: February 2015
Photo Petra Hajská