Outstanding achievements of teachers at the Faculty of Music of JAMU
Prof. Miloslav Jelínek is a world's leading double bass tutor. During his many years at the
Faculty of Music of the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, he has trained tens
of renowned double bass players who perform with the most prestigious world orchestras
and achieve great results in their solo careers. Prof. Jelínek is also a prominent international
personality in the field of organizing double bass related music life – he is involved in
developing double bass companies and organizes master classes, lectures, workshops,
interpretation competitions, etc. Thanks to his artistic and teaching experience, he is a
frequent guest to tens of international panels and committees. In terms of the current
university tutor requirements, Prof. Jelínek is nearly a model person who, thanks to his
international artistic and teaching abilities, is capable of raising double bass players that may
compete with the best artists of the world.
His creative and teaching activities leave a substantial imprint also through his role as the
Head of the Department of String Instruments of JAMU FM.
Prof. Jelínek has brought tens of first-rate double bass players to graduation at FM (one of
his most famous graduates is Gunárs Upatkiens, currently a member of the Berlin
Philharmonic and a double bass professor at Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Berlin).
Particular teaching results (in the last three years):
Mentoring Einars Everss, a JAMU FM student who became the deputy head of double bass
players of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen in 2019.
Prof. Milan Polák has achieved extraordinary results in teaching clarinet at the Faculty of
Music of JAMU in Brno. In the course of his teaching career, he has managed to raise a
number of top-ranking graduates who have achieved international recognition. His work is
made unique by the fact that these top results have been achieved continuously, throughout
his activity at FM. Prof. Polák thus significantly shapes the clarinet class of our institution,
keeps bringing innovations in the teaching process and demonstrates an excellent capability
of evaluating the individual talents of each student and developing them to the maximum
within their artistic growth. He is capable of reflecting his own concert experience, which
includes many international activities, both solo, chamber and orchestra performances, in his
teaching work and pass the most of it to his students. Therefore, in the context of JAMU FM,
he is a striking teaching and artistic personality who contributes to its prestige to a great
extent.
Doc. Zdeněk Šmukař is a significant singing tutor at the national level. At the JAMU Faculty
of Music, he has been raising leading Czech singers long-term, who have achieved
international recognition. The teaching work of Doc. Šmukař is closely connected to his
extensive art experience gained not only in the Czech Republic, but also in a number of
foreign countries. His organization legacy is considerable as well. In his role of the Head of
the Department of Singing, he managed to include the Department in the European elite; he
has also been very noticeably in a number of boards, art panels and organizational
committees.
Doc. Zdeněk Šmukař has been raising excellent singers at the JAMU Faculty of Music longterm
who are able to achieve significant international successes.
Particular teaching results: Mentoring Tadeáš Hoza, a student of singing at the JAMU
Faculty of Music, who has achieved significant success in international competitions as well
as within his artistic career – in 2018 he won the 1st prize in the junior – male category of the
International Antonin Dvorak Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary, 2nd prize of the Czech
Music Fund Foundation (song category) and the Czech Radio Pilsen Manager Award.
Moreover, Tadeáš Hoza is also a guest performer at the National Theatre Brno Opera and
works with Collegium 1704 of V. Luks and the Czech Ensemble Baroque Brno.
Prof. Alena Vlasáková has achieved extraordinary success in piano teaching, both in
raising individual graduates who can boast with excellent international accomplishments, and
in building a general concept and didactics of piano teaching. Her lifelong contribution to the
field is unique and perpetual. Prof. Vlasáková keeps bringing new impulses in piano teaching
and didactics and therefore is one of the key tutors not only at JAMU FM but also within the
field in general. Her teaching work is organically intertwined with extensive art activities, her
publication work is significant as well.
Prof. Vlasáková has created and practically applied an innovative piano playing
methodology.
The results of her lifelong activities can be presented in the form of specialized publications –
Komplexní estetická výchova klavíristů ("Complex Aestheric Education of Pianists") (Prague,
1977); Klavírní pedagogika I. – elementární stádium (“Piano Teaching I. – Elementary
Stage”) (Prague, 1991); Klavírní pedagogika – první kroky na cestě ke klavírnímu umění
(“Piano Teaching – First Steps towards Piano Art”) (Prague, 2003); as well as by the most
striking successes in practical teaching – see particular results:
Mentoring Pavel Zemen (Piano Teaching Programme), a student of JAMU FM who
graduated in the follow-up Master's Programme in 2019. Pavel Zemen has recently ranked
among the top young pianists of the world. One of the most significant of the many
successes is the participation in the semi-final of the Leeds Piano Competition 2018, one of
the largest interpretation competitions in the world (see the reference in Part 3 for more
details).