The Choir of Masaryk University
The Choir of Masaryk University from Brno, Czech republic was founded in 2004 by conductor MgA. Michal Vajda. The repertoire includes classical choir pieces from renaissance to nowadays as well as modern songs – both a capella and with musical accompaniment. The choir has realized a lot of concerts in the Czech republic as well as abroad and has taken part in several domestic and foreign choir festivals. In 2006 and 2009 has two sectional Choir CD entitled „The Choir of Masaryk University“.
Awards and participation in competitions and festivals:
2009 - CANTI VERIS PRAGA 2009 (Praha, CZ),
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gold band (Mixte Choirs), GRAND PRIX
2008 - Montreux Choir Festival (Montreux, CH),
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“Excellent with the felicitation of jury” - category winner (Big Mixte Choirs)
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Prize for the best interpretation of the compulsory composition (Mixte Choirs)
2007 - International Bohuslav Martinů Festival and Choir Competition (Pardubice, CZ),
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gold band (Choirs A Cappella Performing A Compulsory Composition) – category winner – festival laureate
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gold band (Musica Sacra) – category winner – festival laureate, Prize for remarkable interpretation of the compulsory composition
2006 - International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music (Bratislava, SK),
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gold band (Big Choirs), category winner (Big Choirs)
2006 - International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music with Petr Eben's Prize (Praha, CZ),
- gold band (Big Choirs), category winner (Big Choirs)
- Petr Eben’s Prize
2005 - Festa Musicale (Olomouc, CZ),
- gold band - 100 points (Youth Choirs)
- gold band - 100 points (Spiritual Music)
- absolute winner of the festival
The Choir of Masaryk University is conducted by MgA. Michal Vajda. At the beginning of his career he worked with the Holešov children choir “Moravian Children”. Initially a singer, later became a pianist and since 1998 he was a conductor and art director. The choir achieved several awards at various international festivals and competitions: Barcelona 2000 – 1st prize, Neerpelt 2002 - 1. prize CUM LAUDE, Praha 2002 - 1. prize and conductor prize. His music education started at The Church Conservatoire in Kroměříž where he studied organ. MgA. Tomáš Thon, one of the current elite organists, was his teacher. Afterwards he studied Musica Sacra and Choir Conduction at JAMU in Brno, CZ. Thanks to his teacher, doc. Josef Pančík, a long-term conductor of the Opera Choir in Janáček Theatre in Brno, Michal Vajda has gained a lot of knowledge about conducting, singing voice training, drama theatre and composition. He has co-operated with the Choir of the Church Conservatoire in Kroměříž, Kantiléna children choir and Opera Choir in Janáček Theatre in Brno. He has taken part in the annual NIPOS-ARTAMA Praha conducting course. Since 2003 he has been also a teacher of intonation and conducting at the Department of Musical Education at the Faculty of Education at MU. In spring 2007 he was awarded “Junior Conductor Prize” by the Czech Choirs Association. On 14th May 2008 the chancellor of Masaryk University awarded him with the price “for important artistic achievement”.