The main artistic inspiration of the Ostrava Klezmer Band was the emotional Jewish music of Central and Eastern Europe called klezmer. The originality of their arrangements of Jewish songs in Hebrew or Yiddish is contributed, among other things, by the wide range of styles of the ensemble members, who have extensive experience not only in the field of classical music, but also jazz, rock, country and folklore. In their joint musical creations, a unique tension arises between emotional Yiddish ballads, freylekhs-style dance compositions and elements of jazz and Latin American music. The members of the ensemble are graduates of prestigious Czech music schools (Janáček Conservatory Ostrava, Faculty of Arts of the University of Ostrava, etc.), who further expanded their interpretation skills at master classes led by leading world performers. They have successes in international competitions (e.g. Karel Ditters from Dittersdorf in Vidnav or Josef Muzika in Nová Paca), they have worked or are currently working in leading artistic ensembles (Janáček’s chamber orchestra, Moravian-Silesian National Theatre, etc.). In addition to classical musical training, they are united by rich experience in the field of klezmer.
Johana Černohorská (soprano)
Johana Černohorská graduated from grammar school and then from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ostrava in the field of opera singing. Already during her studies, she started collaborating with the Czech Ensemble Baroque, the vocal ensemble Adash and the klezmer group Naches. Thanks to the last two named, she came into contact with Jewish music and the Yiddish language, which she later studied at the Jewish Music Institute in London. She successfully participated in the VI. year of the B. Martinů Song Competition in Prague (1st place and Prize for the interpretation of B. Martinů’s song), the Janáčkova Hukvaldy International Singing Competition (1st place and the Prize for the best interpretation of L. Janáček’s composition) and the Olomouc Singing Competition (1st place) . During her opera studies at FU OU, she appeared in the title roles of several operas. She portrayed, for example, Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi or Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. As a soloist, she performs with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, the Janáček Chamber Orchestra, the Benda Quartet and the Moravian-Silesian Sinfonietta. She also collaborates with the Ostrava composer Pavel Helebrand, for whom she played the main character Angel in the Infant Jesus at the Moravian-Silesian National Theatre.
Ostrava Klezmer Band:
Johana Černohorská – vocals
Jaroslav Podžorski – violin
Ondřej Janča – clarinet
Anežka Gebauerová – accordion
František Panáček – keyboards, cajón
Přemysl Mixa – double bass
Photogallery
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