Confrontation: Tchaikovsky & Beethoven

The Prague Academy Chamber Orchestra (KOA) presents its annual concert with a programme comprising two works: Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92. Two interpreters – a violinist and a conductor – who have recently begun collaborating with the orchestra meet on stage, hence the title Confrontation.

The violin solo will be performed by Avery Morris (USA), a doctoral student at Stony Brook University. In 2023/2024 she completed a Fulbright scholarship programme in the Czech Republic at HAMU, where she researched Gideon Klein, a Czech composer deported to Theresienstadt in 1941. With KOA she has already performed Sibelius's Violin Concerto, Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Brahms's Violin Concerto.

The orchestra is conducted by Ondřej Hnízda (*1998), a graduate in music education, choral conducting and trumpet from Ostrava University, who is currently completing his conducting studies at Prague Conservatory under Prof. Miriam Němcová, Jaroslav Brycha and Jakub Zichy. Previously he conducted the Youth Wind Orchestra at the Krnov Music School (2016–2019) and the Harmonie 1872 Kolín wind orchestra (2022–2024); since 2023 he has been choirmaster and artistic director of the ROSA chamber mixed choir. From January 2026 he takes over as chief conductor of KOA from Pavel Hryzák, who led the orchestra since 2004 – this concert marks his first major appearance with KOA in this role.

KOA was founded in 1987 at the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and has approximately 40 permanent members – amateur musicians, students and music teachers.

The hall opens to the public at 19:00. Children under 10 have free admission.