Looking Back at a Successful International Concert Tour
Date of Event: 03/04/2026 19:00
On Wednesday, 4 March, Choral Festival 2026 culminated in Prague with an extraordinary collaboration of three university choirs. In the final concert, the impressive halls of the Czech Museum of Music resonated with the voices of 146 singers from the following ensembles: Collegium paedagogicum, the mixed choir of the Faculty of Education at Charles University in Prague; the Concert Chorale from the University of Findlay (Ohio, USA); and the Mixed Choir of the University of Hradec Králové (UHK). Together they created an unforgettable musical experience for all those present.
The third edition of the festival began on 1 March in Ravenstein, Germany, where the sixty-member choir from the University of Findlay and the Mixed Choir of the University of Hradec Králové performed together in the Evangelical Church in Merchingen.
Both choirs then presented themselves to audiences in Hradec Králové on Tuesday, 3 March, at the ceremonial hall of Campus Building A. The concert was opened by the Vice-Rector of the University of Hradec Králové, Prof. František Vaníček, while the guests were also welcomed by the Dean of the Faculty of Education, Dr. Nella Mlsová.
On Wednesday, the choirs travelled to Prague, where they first held a joint rehearsal with the Prague-based mixed choir of the Faculty of Education at Charles University, Collegium paedagogicum, in the historic premises of the Carolinum.
The evening concert at the Czech Museum of Music represented the central moment of the entire festival and carried a shared message of mutual enrichment – both musical and human. New encounters, new friendships and moments shared through music created lifelong memories for all participants. The fully packed concert hall responded with enthusiastic and prolonged applause, a beautiful confirmation of how powerfully music can connect cultures, universities and performers. We are already looking forward to the next Choral Festival in 2028.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the outstanding success of this event. Special appreciation goes to the initiator of the tour and organiser on the American side, Associate Professor SeaHwa Jung, DMA, from the University of Findlay. I would also like to thank choirmasters Jiří Skopal, Ph.D., and Marek Valášek, Ph.D. for organising and promoting the Czech part of the tour.
My sincere thanks also go to the Department of Music, the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Education, and the Rectorate of the University of Hradec Králové for their moral and financial support.
On behalf of the organising team
Mgr. Kateřina Andršová, Ph.D.
Coordinator for Internationalisation, Department of Music
