Pianist Lenka Meurders and vocalist Zdeňka Procházková.
By Sheila Turabaz.
On the evening of 13 December, the H.H. Jacobus- en Augustinuskerk in The Hague — an impressive old-catholic clandestine church — served as the venue for the annual Christmas concert organized by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in The Hague and the Czech Centre in Rotterdam.
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The Ambassador of the Czech Republic, H.E. Ms. Jana Reinišová, opened the evening with a word of welcome to guests, along with expressing well wishes for the new year and in particular more stability in certain regions of the world currently facing difficulties.
Guests were treated on wonderful performances within the sphere of Christmas by vocalist Zdeňka Procházková , pianist Lenka Meurders and violinist Ivan Illiev.
Zdeňka, who is currently studying at the vocal department of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, also studied violin and viola at the Brno Conservatory in her native country the Czech Republic and currently performs with Collegium 1704, the Czech Ensemble Baroque and Les Vents Atlantiques.
Czech pianist Lenka studied piano at the Music School of Prague, the Prague Conservatory and Master of Music at the Utrecht Conservatory. She is a member of many musical ensembles and forms a duo with clarinetist Harm Meurders.
Ivan is a Bulgarian violinist who studied at the National Academy of Music in Sofia and graduated from the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He is a member of the Ensemble Cordevento.
Zdenka and Lenka also performed classical music masterpieces at the Czech Presidency of the Visegrad Group piano concert in June 2016.
The audience was impressed by their excellent performances of Mozart’s Laudate Dominum K. 339 along with a selection of notable Czech composer Vítězslav Novak’s work, such as Písně Zimních Nocí (Songs of a Winter’s Night). The evening was concluded with traditional sing-along Czech Christmas carols. Following the concert, guests enjoyed glühwein and traditional Czech pastries at the reception.
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Photography by Roy Strik.
