History

Long Island Sound is a string orchestra composed of students from several high schools. The idea to create the ensemble emerged in the spring of 2024, when students and parents began discussing the formation of a joint orchestral project. After auditions, selected young musicians started rehearsing regularly and preparing a concert programme for their international tour.

The ensemble brings together students from five different schools and three school districts. The musicians, aged approximately 14–18, play violin, viola, and cello and meet regularly to rehearse a programme suited to their performance level while also reflecting music connected with the places they visit during the tour.

Many of the students already have experience performing at important venues and events. Their shared project highlights young people united by enthusiasm for music, curiosity about new cultures, and the desire to find inspiration through travel and artistic collaboration.

Programme highlights:

Aaron Copland – Hoe Down from Rodeo
Giacomo Puccini – I Crisantemi
Edvard Grieg – Two Elegiac Melodies
Aram Khachaturian – Waltz from the Masquerade Suite
Bedřich Smetana – Themes from “The Moldau”

Admission is voluntary.

Voluntary donations will be dedicated to the organization Cesta domů.

Cesta domů operates a home hospice service in the territory of Prague and provides advisory services throughout the Czech Republic for people caring for the seriously ill and those at the end of life.

Saxon Strings is a string orchestra formed by talented young musicians who share a passion for orchestral music and collaborative performance. The ensemble represents a vibrant community of student performers and is part of a comprehensive school orchestral program involving many young instrumentalists.

The program includes around 185 young musicians, many of whom are participating in this European tour. The ensemble has received Blue Ribbon ratings in state assessments for the past fifteen years and has also been awarded the prestigious National Mark of Excellence Award. The orchestra has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York and has completed international tours in Canada, Italy, Ireland, and Spain.

Programme highlights:

Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
W. A. Mozart – Symphony No. 29
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 7
Bedřich Smetana – The Moldau (Vltava)
Franz Schubert – “Unfinished” Symphony

Admission is voluntary.

Voluntary admission will be donated to Cesta domů.

Cesta domů operates the Home Hospice in the Capital Region. Prague. It provides counseling services to anyone in the Czech Republic in the care of the terminally ill and dying.

The American choir Shawnee Mission East Choraliers comes from Kansas and brings together approximately 70 young singers, mainly students in their final years at Shawnee Mission East High School.

The Choraliers regularly perform throughout the United States and abroad and have appeared in a number of European countries, including the Czech Republic. They have repeatedly received the highest ratings at state competitions and are among the most respected high school choirs in the region. Their motto is “Many Singers, One Voice” – emphasizing ensemble playing, a unified sound, and a shared musical experience.

The Shawnee Mission East Chamber Choir (22 singers) is also selected from this ensemble, focusing on a demanding repertoire and achieving the highest artistic standards. This year, it was selected to perform at the Kansas Music Educators Association conference.

Selections from the program:
Bogoroditse Devo (Ave Maria) – Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
Agnus Dei – Hans Leo Hassler
Pilgrim’s Hymn – Stephen Paulus
Psalm 23 – Carson Cooman Templeton
My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord – Moses George Hogan
O Magnum Mysterium – Morten Lauridsen
Old Irish Blessing – Denes Agay

Free admission

Program: works by well-known European and American composers

The music department at Iowa City High School has long been one of the most respected high school programs in the United States.

The concert will feature a string orchestra, choir, and wind orchestra—led by experienced teachers and active musicians. The string orchestra, conducted by Megan Stucky-Swanson, will offer a stylistically diverse program ranging from Baroque-inspired works (Handel) to the English tradition (Peter Warlock, John Rutter) to contemporary American compositions. The program sensitively combines dance energy, lyrical melodiousness, and colorful string sounds.

The wind orchestra will present a representative cross-section of contemporary American wind band literature. Compositions by Robert Sheldon, Samuel Hazz, Patrick Roszell, and David Maslanka combine symphonic breadth, rhythmic vitality, and distinctive melodic invention, showcasing the high level of interpretation of these young musicians.

The choir, led by Matt Walker and Rachel Meehan, is known for its collaboration with leading figures on the world choir scene. The final joint performance of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” will bring together all the performers in a symbolic finale that will highlight the community dimension of music education and the energy of the young generation of American performers.

TICKETS:
The regular ticket price is CZK 290, but admission (after prior reservation here on the website) is free for members of the Concert Club!

The Pegasus Chamber Choir from London is one of the most distinguished British vocal ensembles of its generation. Under the artistic direction of Matthew Altham, the choir specialises in repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary music, with a particular focus on sacred works and modern compositions. Pegasus regularly performs at prestigious festivals in the UK and abroad and collaborates with leading orchestras and media, including BBC Radio and Classic FM.

Matthew Altham studied choral conducting at the University of Oxford, where his interests included the music of Francis Poulenc and English Renaissance masters. Alongside his professional career in education and development, he serves as conductor of the Pegasus and Vox Cordis choirs and the London Bach Players. He has conducted concerts across Europe, including performances in Prague, Toulouse, Arezzo and Antwerp.

A special highlight of the concert will be the organ accompaniment by Martin Toyer, a highly respected British organist who has collaborated with the Pegasus Chamber Choir for over thirty years. Toyer was Organ Scholar at Brasenose College, Oxford, and served for eleven years as Director of Music at Our Lady’s Church in St John’s Wood, London. He has performed in major cathedrals and churches throughout Europe.

The concert will take place at the Church of the Brethren in Soukenická Street, a newly emerging concert venue for choral and chamber music. The combination of outstanding British choral artistry, organ accompaniment and a new concert space promises a memorable musical experience.

A selection from the programme:

Jubilate in C – Benjamin Britten
Laudibus in sanctis – William Byrd
Faire is the Heaven – William Harris
And the swallow – Caroline Shaw
O clap your hands – Orlando Gibbons

Admission is voluntary.
Voluntary admission will be donated to Cesta domů.

Cesta domů operates the Home Hospice in the Capital Region. Prague. It provides counseling services to anyone in the Czech Republic in the care of the terminally ill and dying.