ABOUT SEVERÁČEK
SEVERÁČEK, children’s choir of Art School in Liberec, Czech Republic, has presented beautiful children’s voices of high artistic quality and above all a smile and the joy of singing to audiences at home and abroad for more than sixty years.
Founded in 1958 by husband and wife Jiřina and Milan Uhereks, Severáček has been a large „choir family“. In four preparatory departments and a concert choir, there are two hundred and thirty girls and boys aged from four to eighteen years.
During sixty years Severáček has proven its extraordinary attributes winning many competitions at home and abroad namely four times in Cantonigros, Span, in Pärn, Estonia, four times in Preveza, three times in Riva del Garda or Arezzo, Italy, one in Rhodes, Greece, two times in the British island of Jersey, five times in Neerpelt, Belgium, in Nantes or Tours, France, in Celju, Slovenia, in Winterthur, Switzerland, three times in Bratislava, Slovakia, and many others. (It has been awarded with over thirty-five First Prizes and Grand Prix in total to date). Recent international achievements include three first prizes, category victories and the special prize for the best dramaturgy at the Slovakia Cantat International Competition in Bratislava in April 2019 and two victories and the Grand Prix of Petr Eben at the International Advent and Christmas Music Festival in Prague in November 2019.
Severáček has won enthusiastic applause over three continents, in twenty European countries, Syria and Jordan, the USA, Canada, South Korea and Japan. Severáček is a regular guest at the renowned Prague Spring Festival and other international music festivals (e.g. Basel, Paris, Toronto, Belgrade, Athens, Barcelona, Brno).
Severáček regularly records for national radio and television and has produced several gramophone records and eight CDs. Significant is its association with leading Czech orchestras, opera houses and conductors. Recent participation in the main subscription series of Czech Philharmonic with Jakub Hrůša in December 2018 lead to a new cooperation planned for December 2021 under the baton of Semyon Bychkov. Severáček has been traditional partner for opera and concert productions of its hometown Theatre of F. X. Šalda.
The choir’s repertoire embodies musical styles from medieval to contemporary, often experimental, compositions. A significant part of the repertoire consists of arrangements of folk songs sung by children mainly in the original language.
The years spent in the Severáček choir influenced many of its generations. Former members include professional musicians, singers as well as hundreds of music pedagogues. Its professional opera soloists can be heard not only in the Czech leading opera house, but also in Munich, Dresden, Berlin or Paris.
The choirmaster and artistic director of Severáček is currently Silvie Langrová. A graduate of the Pardubice Conservatory and the University of Hradec Králové. In addition to her role as the choirmaster of Severáček, she is a sought-after member of Czech and International competition juries (including Llangollen, Cantonigros, etc.). She also organizes choral presentations and seminars for her colleagues and students. She was awarded the prestigious Award of František Lýsek from the Union of the Czech Choirs for her choirmaster activities in 2016.