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About Gaudeamus

The choir was founded by the Ukrainian choirmaster and conductor Alexander Vacek in 1996. In January 2003 Štěpán Policer, a choral conducting graduate and a student of orchestra conducting at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, took up the artistic leadership of the choir. Before becoming a civic association in 2003, Gaudeamus had held the status of the Masaryk University Choir. Since 2007 Dáša Briškárová has been participating in leading Gaudeamus.

Members of the choir are students of Brno universities and occasionally foreign students participating in the international exchange programs. The choir has been giving concerts in Brno and taking part in choral festivals and competitions in the Czech Republic (Brno, Prague, Mikulov, Jihlava, Ostrava, Nymburk) as well as abroad (France, Germany, Poland, Portugal):

• 25th Oratorio Festival "Musique en Morvan" in Autun (France, 2000)
• 4th International Festival of Academic Choirs "Universitas cantat" in Poznan (Poland, 2001)
• Cäcilia Chortage in Lindenholzhausen (Germany, 2001) – Gold diploma in the category of mixed choirs
• 20th Festival of Choral Singing in Berlin (Germany, 2003)
• The International Choir Festival "Jaro se otvírá" in Ostrava – Gold diploma prize and a special jury award for the most impressive performance of the festival
• 14th International Festival of Advent and Christmas Music with Petr Eben Prize in Prague (2004) – Gold diploma and special awards of the jury for the best conductor´s performance and the best dramaturgy of the performance

Gaudeamus achieved the most significant success so far at the 17th International Festival of Academic Choirs in Pardubice (IFAS, 2002). It was awarded Gold diploma prizes in the category of mixed choirs and the folklore category. Moreover, it received three special awards (Special award of the jury for the outstanding performance of the conductor Alexander Vacek, the Award of the Rector of Pardubice University and the Award of the audience for the most appealing appearance at the festival). It also became the first laureate of the festival and was awarded Grand Prix IFAS 2002.

The choir took part in the cultural events of the Year of Czech music (2004) and throughout the season it managed not only to give its own concerts but also to study and perform three cantata works of Czech masters: the Glagolitic Mass and Our Father by Leoš Janáček and Te Deum by Antonín Dvořák. It followed the tradition by appearing at the concert which commemorated the Czech Republic establishment anniversary on October 28th, 2007. Together with outstanding Brno soloists, the members of the Opera Chorus of the Janáček Theatre and the Czech Virtuosi Orchestra, the choir performed Dvořák’s oratorio Stabat Mater under the auspices of Ing. Stanislav Juránek, the Governor of South Moravia Region.

In the same year, Gaudeamus was invited by the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno to participate in the ceremonial concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of its founding. Thus the choir contributed to the world's premiere of Vítězslava Kaprálová`s cantata Ilena.

At present, Gaudeamus has 30 members. Since its foundation it has recorded and released several CDs. It has been performing with many Czech and foreign choirs and orchestras (the Opera Chorus of the Janáček Theatre, Musica da Camera Brno, the Oreya choir Žitomir, the Brno Philharmonic, Brno Academic Orchestra, Czech Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Opera Diversa, European Johann Strauss Orchestra).

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