Annual Report
2019
Contents
1. Foreword of the Rector
2. New structure of study at Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno (JAMU) for students and
the public
3. Internal quality assurance system
4. Festivals and competitions
5. School scene
6. Science, research, publications
7. Internationalization
8. Congratulations to…
9. Financial and technological support of activities
10. Farewell to…
Foreword of the Rector
2019 was the year when we commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution of 1989. In the university and artistic
communities, these events have a special ethical civic historical significance, which is particularly strong at The Janáček Academy
of Music and Performing Arts Brno (hereinafter JAMU), where the two communities come together. Every year, the life of JAMU
involves a connection between the continuity of the constantly evolving process of teaching and study, their institutional and
organizational background and extraordinary events beyond everyday activities, especially towards Czech society and the
international community. Although the events dedicated to the 30th anniversary took place in the second half of the year, the
vitality of the then process leading to the restoration of freedom symbolically permeated through all the school’s activities.
In terms of school management, 2019 was a period of further development of continuity. The composition of the management of
JAMU and both faculties remained unchanged and worked on the previous year’s efforts towards creating and approving new
internal regulations and created a stabilized framework for the activities of JAMU and its two faculties. There was a small change
at the JAMU Board of Trustees, which welcomed the Rector Emeritus of Masaryk University and the current senator for the Brnoměsto
district, doc. PhDr. Mikuláš Bek, Ph.D. as its new member, replacing the director of CEITEC MU Mgr. Jiří Nantl, LL.M. after
the end of his second six-year period of successful and active membership in the Board of Trustees. Due to his rector’s experience
and current senatorial work, Mikuláš Bek will now be a beneficial force in decision-making of the school’s top board.
An important step in the budgetary area – albeit in a conceptual rather than a nominal sense – was a change in the perception by
the Ministry of Education of the artistic and creative activities of art higher education institutions. For several years, four art higher
education institutions have engaged in expert discussions to achieve the recognition of their specificities and the importance and
equality of artistic creative activity and scientific research. For 2019, art higher education institutions received a one-off increase
in the special contribution to compensate for a significant increase in financial flows to research and development, in which these
higher education institutions cannot participate given the criteria for assessing scientific activity. During the first half of the year,
four art higher education institutions held negotiations with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and managed to negotiate
the establishment of the Arts Activities Fund (AAF), which became part of the higher education institutions funding rules and is
used for the first time in the 2020 budget. Artistic activity at art higher education institutions and art faculties in the Czech Republic
thus becomes not only recognized and laid down in the Higher Education Institutions Act, but also a specifically supported creative
activity. In 2019 JAMU was also successful in obtaining other funding, especially in the next wave of the Operational Programme
RDE and obtaining all submitted centralized development projects, as well as grants from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech
Republic, South Moravian Region and the city of Brno.
It was the success in the above-mentioned selection procedures in 2019 that enabled a fundamental renewal and purchase of
new instruments and technological equipment, which was funded mainly from the Operational Programme Research,
Development and Education (OP RDE), both at the faculties and in both school theatre facilities, in the Divadlo na Orlí school
theatre and in Studio Marta, managed and used by the Theatre Faculty. Within the OP RDE, JAMU has for the third year been
implementing two individual projects: “Improvement of the infrastructure of the study programme Music Arts at JAMU” and the
project “Improvement of the infrastructure of the study programme Dramatic Arts at JAMU” at the Theatre Faculty. (In total,
almost CZK 120 million have been invested so far in these projects). A large investment project promoted among the general
public, made possible by operational programmes funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), was the unique
JAMU event called The ceremonial christening of master instruments and technologies. It was conceived as a representative
practical demonstration of the current excellent instrumental and technological equipment of the JAMU Faculty of Music, which
took place on 6 December with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Education and a number of important guests.
The event, symbolically dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s accession to the European Union, was repeated
again for the general public on the same day and received positive coverage in the main news of the Czech Television and in other
media.
The condition for obtaining the above-mentioned funds from the OP RDE, as laid down in the specification of this programme,
was the accreditation of new study programmes and specializations at both faculties, which required extreme professional and
organizational effort and became one of the key activities throughout the year. In parallel – especially in the second half of the
year – detailed preparations were made for the international external evaluation of both faculties, which was contractually agreed
with foreign agencies for the beginning of March 2020. An important step towards the internationalization of JAMU was the
accreditation of the joint study programme Historical Performance of the Faculty of Music and the Royal Conservatory Den Haag,
which is the first international cooperation of this type in the history of JAMU. International activities were also an important part
of the teaching process – whether they took the form of presentations, concerts and workshops of visiting foreign artists and
teachers or, conversely, JAMU students and teachers visiting art schools in Europe and overseas.
After long preparation, JAMU made a very fundamental change in improving the visibility and public communication of the school
in 2019 by successfully completing the creation of a new logo and by the subsequent creation of JAMU’s new visual style, followed
by a new website to be launched in the spring of 2020.
The new visual style will be reflected in all areas of the school’s activities, but it will be most visible to the general public when
presenting the artistic outputs of both faculties. In 2019, these artistic performances included more than 250 concerts and over
170 theatre performances. In addition to their unmistakable role that these concerts and performances play in the teaching
process and especially in graduation, they also offer the public qualitatively and quantitatively significant cultural events, whereby
JAMU fulfils the third role of higher education institutions. This is because the above-mentioned numbers rank JAMU among the
most frequented concert and theatre stages not only in the very culturally rich Brno, but also in the entire South Moravian Region.
In addition to this regular artistic presentation of its educational activities, JAMU organizes traditional international events of
fundamental importance not only for Brno and the region, but also for the entire Czech Republic. These events have already
achieved European and in many cases world prestige in their fields. 2019 saw the 29th International Festival of Theatre Schools
SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER and 25th year of the Leoš Janáček International Competition, as well as the 52nd International master
interpretation courses and the 21st International Music Festival Setkávání nové hudby Plus (Meeting of New Music Plus). Also
exceptionally successful was the participation of students of the Theatre Faculty in the scenography programme at the world
scenography show Prague Quadrennial 2019.
Another event with an international dimension, at least as regards the contact with the world-famous writer, was Nine hours of
reading of Milan Kundera to celebrate the 90th birthday of this famous Brno native and son of the very first rector of JAMU. In
addition to international events, other traditional events which, however, are always artistically new and their creative potential
goes beyond the school itself, include 26th year of the Salon of Original Creations and 17th year of the Sítko festival.
The year 2019 again brought JAMU a number of achievements in the art world – especially a regards international competitions
or the invitation of students and recent graduates to prestigious stages, but also in the works of art and activities of members of
the academic community. It can be expected that these diverse achievements will be reflected in the collection of Register of
artistic performances and, in addition to creating the undoubted prestige of JAMU, they will also bring funds to next year’s budget.
Especially significant among the individual achievements is the Minister of Education Award, which was given to last year’s
master’s graduate and winner of the JAMU Rector’s Award in 2018, Pavel Zemen, for his study results and repeated
achievements in international piano competitions and at renowned music festivals, as well as the victory of the third-year
student of the Faculty of Music Katarína Slavkovská in a very well-attended Leoš Janáček International Competition in flute
playing and also success in European Young Theatre Groups Competition 2018 in Spoleto, Italy, where the master’s student of
directing, Theatre Faculty, BcA. Jiří Liška placed first and received the Rector’s Award 2019.
As it was mentioned at the beginning, the winter semester of the academic year 2019/2020 was a period full of events to
commemorate the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Several of these events took place at JAMU and JAMU or its
representatives took part in a number of others. In the summer grant procedure, JAMU received financial support from the
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports from the project A call to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the events of 1989 in
Czechoslovakia. With the help of this grant, on 30 September the Theatre Faculty organized a theatre parade through the streets,
squares and parks of Brno’s city centre, which aimed to recall in an unconventional artistic form the role of students as drivers of
social change in 1989 and preceded other autumn events dedicated to the 30th anniversary. First on 15 November in the streets
of the city and then on 17 November (with the participation of students of the Faculty of Music) in Studio Marta, the Theatre
Faculty organized two parts of an event called VELVET through the eyes of students – reflections, lyrics, songs, documents,
memories. JAMU students and teachers thus celebrated a significant anniversary with this creative event, which takes place in a
public space and is open to the public. Also on the anniversary of 30 years of freedom and also to commemorate 80 years since
the closure of Czech universities in 1939, a large exhibition Insignia and archives of Brno universities was held in the Moravian
Museum, which was attractive due to the high artistic quality of the JAMU insignia (grand opening with a speech by the rectors
on Friday, 15 November). JAMU students played an important role in organizing a large all-day event “Brněnský sedmnáctý” taking
place on 17 November 2019 in the streets of the Brno city centre, which culminated in a meeting of many thousands of students
and citizens on the Freedom Square, where the Rector of JAMU spoke together with the rectors of all Brno universities. As one of
the theatrical protagonists of the historical events of the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the Rector of JAMU participated as a panellist
in a number of conferences and thematic discussions dedicated to the 30th anniversary (Conference 30 years of transformation
of the Czech economy and society – on 7 November at the Faculty of Social Studies and ECON MUNI, Underground university – on
14 November at the British Embassy and Charles University in Prague; Festival of 30 Years of Freedom – November in National and
International Contexts – on 16 November at MUNI Thirty years of freedom or democracy is not a given – on 18 November at Faculty
of Law MUNI and many others). Before the end of the year, as the third part of the project supported by the MEYS call, a CzechEnglish
publication Divadlo za demokracii/Theatre for Democracy was published by JAMU (author: Oslzlý, Petr, translation: Day,
Barbara, Brno: JAMU, 2019), which symbolically completed JAMU’s considerable contribution to the celebrations of the
anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.
Ensuring a diverse teaching and study process, institutional and organizational operation of JAMU and organizing extraordinary
events, whose creative connection gave rise to the rich activities of JAMU in 2019 spreading the good name of our university in
the Czech Republic and the world due to their quality and success, required maximum effort of all academic staff, school staff, as
well as students. Many thanks to everyone for the work done in 2019.
Prof. Mgr. Petr Oslzlý.
New structure of study at
JAMU
for
students and the public
for students
The main activity of JAMU enshrined in its vision is educational activity. How to teach well – this is what practically all other
activities of the school aim at. Over the decades, a system of study fields has been created at both faculties, which has been
gradually evolving since the 1990s, adding new fields until it reached the form of a standard European art school. The application
of the amendment to the Higher Education Institutions Act, which brought a fundamental change in the concept of fields of study
at higher education institutions, became an opportunity to reflect on the structure and content of individual fields with regard to
current conditions in the professional community and society. Related fields are gradually – as the end of their accreditation period
approaches – merged into study programmes with specializations. Dozens of fields will be gradually transformed into fourteen
study programmes at the Faculty of Music and six programmes at the Theatre Faculty.
The creation of new study programmes with specializations opened up the possibility of critically assessing the composition of
existing study fields and newly conceiving study programmes and their specializations with regard to the current state and
development in artistic, artistic-pedagogical and artistic-management professions in theatre, music and audio-visual arts. Through
this process and the gradual accreditation of individual study programmes, the fundamental structure of studies at JAMU will
again be fixed for a longer period of time.
This is one of the reasons why JAMU is not yet considering an application for institutional accreditation, and still expects that the
newly created programmes will be gradually accredited by the National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education and will
maintain this structure for many years. For study programmes carried out at both faculties, JAMU has appointed study programme
coordinators from among its academic staff in accordance with the rules set by the Higher Education Institutions Act and JAMU’s
internal regulations, who mainly coordinate the preparation of the content of the study programme, oversee the quality of its
implementation, evaluate the study programme and develop it.
The process of creating new study programmes and their specializations is gradually taking place at both faculties of JAMU.
Already in 2018 TF JAMU received accreditation of post-bachelor master’s degrees of study programmes and their specializations
Scenography, Dramatic Production and Media and Theatre Production. In the same year, further applications for accreditation
were submitted, and in 2019, TF JAMU was granted accreditation for bachelor’s degrees in these study programmes, accreditation
for bachelor’s and master's degrees in the study programme Directing and Dramaturgy and the study programme Acting. In 2019,
an application was also submitted for the bachelor’s and post-bachelor degrees of the of the TF JAMU’s last study program Theatre
and Education. TF JAMU is preparing an application for the accreditation of the doctoral study programme Dramatic Arts and an
application for accreditation of habilitation procedures and procedures for professor appointment.
Faculty of Music JAMU received in 2019 the accreditation of the post-bachelor master's study programmes Historical
Interpretation and Playing Wind Instruments and the accreditation of the doctoral study programme Music Production in full-time
and part-time form. The post-bachelor study programme Historical Interpretation is a “joint programme” in cooperation with the
Dutch Royal Conservatory in The Hague (Koninklijk Conservatorium den Haag). In 2019, Faculty of Music submitted further
applications for accreditation of two five-year study programmes and their specializations Conducting, Singing and Opera Directing
and Composition.
The transition from study fields to study programmes consists in the merging of related fields and the search for their common
theoretical and practical basis at both JAMU faculties. This brings about a wide discussion, starting with reflections on the
professional employment of graduates through the definition of learning outcomes (the “qualification framework”), revision of
the composition of theoretical and practical subjects of the field and specialization-specific subjects to innovation of objectives
and content of subjects and the creation of their new syllabi. Detailed self-assessment reports of study programmes are prepared
for the submitted applications for accreditation, based on long-term monitoring of the quality of educational and creative activities
in previous fields of study. These self-assessment reports provide valuable inspiration for completing the new concept of study
programmes and their specializations. The creation of study programmes is supported by multi-annual OP RDE projects:
− Improving the quality of education at JAMU
(CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_015/0002245)
− Improving the infrastructure of the study programme Music Arts at JAMU
(CZ.02.2.67/0.0/0.0/16_016/0002246)
− Improving the infrastructure of the study programme Dramatic Arts at JAMU
(CZ.02.2.67/0.0/0.0/16_016/0002469)
− Improving the quality of education at the Theatre Faculty JAMU and its relevance for practical applications
(ESF II) CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_056/0013257
− Further development of the educational infrastructure at the Theatre Faculty JAMU with regard to practical applications
(ERDF II).
(For more information about OP RDE projects, see section Financial and technological support of activities.)
… and for the public
JAMU is also significantly focused towards the public. Many activities in the field of education are from the “third role of the
university” and are focused not on students, but on the public – whether the professional community looking for further
education, prospective students, or the general public seeking interesting information.
Theatre Faculty
The Theatre Faculty involves a number of Czech and foreign artistic and pedagogical personalities in teaching in the form of
workshops, courses, lectures and cooperation on graduate projects (directing, dramaturgy, scenography). At the beginning of the
holidays, the Theatre Faculty hosted the traditional Summer Acting School, which is intended for all those who want to develop
their acting skills. As usual, the full capacity of the course was reached.
The programme #buďjamák (become a JAMU student) was organized by JAMU in cooperation with the Department of Theatre
Studies, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University. It is intended for high school students, young people aged 15–20, and contains 6
meetings during one school year (usually Saturday, #buďjamák always takes place in the period from September to June). Meetings
take place on the premises of TF JAMU or in other exceptional places (theatre rehearsal rooms, etc.). Latest information:
https://studujdf.jamu.cz/budjamak
In 2019, as in previous years, U3V was based on the accredited study programme Dramatic Arts at TF JAMU. The aim of the U3V
was to provide its students not only with a way to learn about the sources of theatrical art in various historical periods, but also
to connect it with the issue of finding and fulfilling the meaning of theatre in modern society.
A three-part series called How to Create Theatre VII, VIII, IX subtitled Secrets of Creative Procedures of Contemporary Theatre
(key inspirations, important personalities, the influence of related arts, historical sources) involved twenty-six professional
lectures and seminars organized by internal and external teachers of TF JAMU. It also offered students three lectures by
practitioners of theatrical art (doc. PhDr. Milan Uhde, Ph.D., MgA. Milan Šotek, Ph.D.).
The students made excursions to important theatres in Brno (Husa na Provázku Theatre, Radost Theatre, Janáček Theatre and
their buildings with a detailed backstage tour, which were accompanied by an expert lecture. They also visited the Brno Television
Studio of Czech Television. Naturally, the admission to the performances of TF in Studio Marta and in the Divadlo na Orlí Theatre
is free. Most of the lectures were accompanied by audio-visual demonstrations and students received a syllabus for each lecture.
At the end of the cycle, students submitted a final thesis on the topic of one of the lectures of their choice. The one-year study
was concluded with a graduation ceremony.
The Studio of Theatre and Education annually produces a number of performances, presented to children and young people.
The Studio is visited annually by groups of spectators from pre-schoolers to high school and university students. Publicly presented
performances have the form of theatrical productions (often with an accompanying programme for spectators) or workshops for
professional productions and productions of students of graduate years on school theatre stages (Studio Marta and Divadlo na
Orlí). In 2019, 11 such performances were produced from the subjects Bachelor’s Graduate Project, Forum Theatre (theatrical play
Never disappoint), Theatre for Children and Youth (a play of the Vivat Mythologia participatory theatre), Theatre in Education
(workshop for the production of The Nutcracker by the Brno National Theatre), Theatre Project – workshops for the plays of JAMU
(workshops for the plays World Soul and Game Over), Theatre project – regular text (play I, Eve) and Landscape, place, history
(production of Sexmise).
The subject Theatre project – audience engagement
Involved “Festival plus minus 15+”, which offered to this age group selected theatrical performances from the work of students
of the studio. All these creative outputs are presented at the end of the academic year at the Sítko festival. The aim of the festival
is to enable the meeting of all those interested in theatre education, current and future students of the Studio and its graduates,
teachers, students of other fields and experts in the field of drama education.
Faculty of Music
For the fifth year in 2019, the Faculty of Music offered lifelong learning courses – University of the Third Age. The courses offered
this year were Piano Poets III (SS 2018/2019 and WS 2019/2020), Unusual perspectives on composition, conducting and opera
directing (SS 2018/2019) and Something for everyone (WS 2019/2020). There was great interest in the courses, so the classes
were always divided into two groups.
Piano Poets III
(coordinator: Department of Piano Interpretation)
The course Piano Poets III builds on the successful courses Piano Poets I and II. It specializes not only in Czech and world piano
composers (S. Rachmaninov, P. Haas, J. Novák, B. Martinů, J. Geršovic, etc.), but also, for example, in piano competitions, the
phenomenon of the last half century, or piano manufacturers (Petrof, Bechstein, Steinway, Bösendorfer, Yamaha etc.). Selected
lectures will also acquaint students with one of the most basic forms of music – piano étude, or crimes committed by great
musicians and pianists or the mental and physical nature of piano technique, the most common diseases of pianists, their
prevention and treatment. The lectures were given by: prof. MgA. Jan Jiraský, Ph.D. (Piano competitions, Concert of concerts,
Suite for one life, Looking for the best piano!, Poets in jail, Great American Jákob Geršovic, There are different kinds of poets, or
How to make a Chopin, How to make a poem... "so it doesn’t hurt”), Mgr. Helena Weiser (Famous piano performers of the past
III), MgA. Dominik Gál (Piano works by Jan Novák), MgA. Alice Rajnohová, Ph.D. (Piano étude – its specifics and development),
MgA. Kristýna Znamenáčková (Piano works by Bohuslav Martinů). Some lectures also involved students MgA. Pavel Zemen, MgA.
Viktor Vojnovič. 110 students completed the course.
The lecture Looking for the best piano! was followed by an excursion to the Petrof factory in Hradec Králové, followed by a visit
to the Petrof Museum and the “showroom” with a practical demonstration of piano play on various types of pianos (MgA. Pavel
Zemen). The excursion was attended by 36 students.
Unusual perspectives on composition, conducting and opera directing
(coordinator: Department of Composition, Conducting and Opera Directing)
The course offers students an insight into composition and multimedia, orchestral and choral music and the opera world. The
lectures focus on the need for music education, helping to release fears or resistance to contemporary music by understanding
how and why it is made. The multimedia composition shows the possibilities by which it is possible to make special music, presents
current trends in the development of means of expression in art on the borderland between various forms, formats and types or
using their permeating and fusion. The theme of orchestral work reveals the secrets of orchestral conducting and introduces the
essence of conducting “magic”. As part of choral music, students get acquainted with the most famous Easter compositions of
various style periods and reflect on the question of why choral singing is a phenomenon that is so hugely popular among people.
Finally, students will be able to think of opera as a highly stylized synthetic musical-dramatic unit, combining types of art into one
whole.
The lectures were given by: doc. MgA. Jaroslav Šťastný, Ph.D. (What do we need music education for anyway?), doc. Martin
Smolka (Contemporary music can be beautiful), Ing. MgA. Edgar Mojdl, Ph.D. (Contact points of traditional music around the
world and contemporary music compositions), doc. Mgr. MgA. Ing. Dan Dlouhý, Ph.D. (Is it a musical instrument, an artefact or
a device?), doc. Mgr. Richard Fajnor (Multimedia creation and time-dependent art), prof. Rostislav Hališka (Issues of orchestral
conducting), prof. Mgr. Jan Zbavitel (Characters of kings in opera literature), doc. Mgr. Emil Skoták (Ave Maria in music), Mgr.
MgA. Jan Ocetek, Ph.D. (Easter message in choral music), MgA. Gabriel Rovňák, Ph.D. (About choral singing with emphasis on
the Slovak choral tradition), doc. Alena Vaňáková (How is it with the blowing up of opera houses, or quo vadis 21st century
opera?). 31 students completed the course. Something for everyone (course of lectures offered from various departments)
The one-semester course offers topics chosen by the lecturers themselves. This created a cycle of 12 completely unique lectures.
An interesting “pall mall” offers a tour of the lesser-known corners of music history.
The lectures were given by: Mgr. Jana Michálková Slimáčková,
Ph.D. (Mendelssohn and the Romantic Symphony, Händel and the English Oratorio), PhDr. Petr Lyko, Ph.D. et Ph.D. (“Sorela”,
or Music and Socialist Realism, The Second Viennese School – How to Seek and Find Beauty in 20th Century Music), MgA. Jan
Dalecký (Broadway by jazzmen, Hollywood by jazzmen), prof. MgA. Jan Jiraský, Ph.D. (From the street on 1 October 1905), doc.
Mgr. Daniela Velebová (20th Century American Piano Music from the Perspective of Charles Ives), Mgr. František Dofek (Baroque
dance forms, or what was danced in the Baroque, Minuet – the king of dances, or when Europe danced the minuet), prof. Mgr.
Jan Zbavitel (An Insight into the Opera Work of Richard Strauss – Salome Part 1 and 2). 66 students completed the course.
Other educational activities of the MF:
Methodical centre – piano: a total of 258 students (SS of academic year 2018/2019 – 128 students; WS of academic year
2019/2020 – 130 students)
International students – a total of 4 students
International interpretation courses – a total of 100 participants
Interpretation course for students of Kyoto art schools – 40 participants
Internal system
Internal quality assurance
system
Teaching in art study programmes is closely linked to creative activity. That is its content and goal. Thus, quality indicators are
mainly considered to be artistic outputs from courses as learning outcomes. Art is not defined as a fixed and unchanging system
of knowledge and skills. Respect for diversity, difference and dynamism is a basic prerequisite for free artistic creation and free
development of students’ talents. The education and artistic creation lies between classical methods and traditional methods on
the one hand and constant experimentation in the search for new forms on the other. Respecting these principles is also a starting
point for designing the System of Internal Assurance and Evaluation of the Quality of Educational and Creative Activities at JAMU.
Artistic education is characterized by a form of individual teaching, based on a personal relationship between teacher and student,
or groups of a small number of students and evaluation based on mutual discussion, providing teacher feedback to students,
among students and providing reflection on teaching by students towards teachers. Due to these specifics, at JAMU it is not
possible to use quantitative assessment methods and anonymous questionnaire assessment methods, but rather qualitative
methods and especially the evaluation of creative learning outcomes as an indicator of the quality of educational activities that
preceded them.
JAMU has a nine-member Internal Evaluation Council, which participates in the further development of the system of quality
assurance and evaluation of educational and creative activities and prepares internal evaluation reports and amendments to these
reports. The Internal Evaluation Council participated in the drafting of the document “The system of internal quality assurance
and evaluation of educational, creative and other related activities“. The document describes the main principles of evaluation
specific to an art higher educational institution, where publicly presented and evaluated outputs from most subjects are
considered an indicator of the quality of the educational process that preceded them and an indicator of the quality of creative
activity that was the content and goal of the course.
Attachments are attached to the document, namely: field accreditation standards (Performing Arts, Music, Dance, Film and
Television), learning outcomes for individual study programmes and their specializations for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral
degree studies (qualifications framework), requirements for graduate performances and description of learning outcomes for all
practical subjects (these are various types of outputs from the presentation of skills to comprehensive works intended for the
general public).
Traditionally, public evaluation of graduate projects and performances takes place in Studio Marta, on the concert stages of the
Faculty of Music and in Divadlo Na Orlí. The evaluation of graduate performances on school stages of TF JAMU students was the
subject of discussion of doctoral students with teachers. Its subject was the search for meaning and mission of these evaluations
and their optimal form.
JAMU participated in the nationwide survey Graduate 2018. The results of this survey were received by JAMU at the beginning of
2020 in the Individualized Report of the survey Graduate 2018. The report sets out the following main findings:
“The Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno shows differences in the monitored areas of the survey Graduate 2018, which can be explained
by the artistic focus of this higher education institution and the related type of profession and specific labour-law culture. Different results can
be identified especially for economic status, type of employment contract, classification of employment, etc.
The evaluation of university studies is a bit more favourable for JAMU graduates in comparison with the whole group, it is mainly a hypothetical
possibility of re-election of the same school and more or less also an evaluation of the quality of teachers. Respondents also assessed the extent
to which the study was able to prepare them for the challenges of working life. The evaluation of JAMU graduates is similar to the whole of all
higher education institutions, but in all areas it is more positive. The development of the ability of further education and the possibilities of
personal growth are evaluated as the best. Conversely, the ability to adapt to the work schedule and understand the possibilities of job offers is
evaluated the worst. As expected, the best rated skills of graduates include social and artistic skills.
JAMU graduates declare great readiness in the case of artistic and social skills, but, on the contrary, low readiness in the case of entrepreneurial,
advanced mathematical and ICT skills. JAMU graduates more often struggled with unemployment, but at the same time at the time of graduation
they more often had a job and, compared to the total of graduates, more worked as self-employed or entrepreneurs. Among employees, there
was a lower share of those who had an indefinite contract. Compared to graduates of all higher education institutions, it was more often a job
of the appropriate level and field, with the average income a year after graduation being lower than the reference value; unlike most fields,
bachelor’s degree graduates had a higher average income than master’s degree graduates (and, as in other schools, men had a higher average
income than women).
JAMU graduates report higher satisfaction, more frequent employment in the public sector and a slightly lower share of graduates with jobs
corresponding to the field and level of education in their work several years after graduation. Other characteristics of the work remain one year
after graduation.
In terms of achieved competencies, JAMU graduates report that one year after graduation their biggest deficit is in advanced ICT skills and
foreign language skills, the smallest deficit being in planning and organizational skills, teamwork skills and creative skills. As seen by graduates,
employers’ demands for competencies in current employment more or less correspond to the self-assessment of graduates.”
In 2018, a public contract was announced for the external evaluation of JAMU. The subject of the public contract was the external
evaluation of The Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts Brno. The main goal is to assess the educational and creative
(artistic) activities of JAMU and related activities according to the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European
Higher Education Area, ENQA (hereinafter “ESG 2015”), taking into account the fundamental specific aspects and differences of
education in the field of art and assessment of the quality system of these activities at JAMU in accordance with the requirements
of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the National Accreditation Bureau for Higher Education. The agency MusiQue
was selected in the tender. It approached the agency EQ-Arts, which deals with the evaluation of theatre schools, to cooperate.
The year 2019 was marked by preparations for external evaluation. Both faculties prepared Self-assessment reports according to
the specification sent by the agencies. Both reports, including all other annexes (Internal Quality Assurance and Evaluation System,
Annual Reports, JAMU Strategic Project, JAMU Internal Regulations, JAMU Internal Evaluation Reports) were translated into
English and sent to the agencies. The visits of the evaluation teams were scheduled for the beginning of March 2020.
Building and developing a system for ensuring and evaluating the quality of educational and creative activities and external
evaluation of JAMU is supported by the OP RDE project Improving the quality of education at JAMU
(CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_015/0002245). The project supported the creation of internal regulations of JAMU, the System of Internal
Assurance and Evaluation of the Quality of Educational and Creative Activities of JAMU, and the preparatory phase of the external
evaluation of JAMU in 2020.
Festivals and
competitions
Important platforms for systematic artistic communication among students, and between students and the world’s leading
personalities in the field include international festivals and competitions at both faculties.
The month of April is dedicated to the annual International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER and 2019 saw the
XXIX. year, with the participation in the main programme of 11 schools from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany,
Croatia, Bulgaria, the Philippines, Latvia, Russia and Austria. The theme of the festival, which is organized annually by students of
the Studio of Theatre Production and Stage Technology, was “Meeting heals“, with the actor and mime Bolek Polívka, a graduate
of JAMU, as its ambassador. The festival was held under the auspices of the Governor of the South Moravian Region JUDr. Bohumil
Šimek, Mayor of the City of Brno Ing. Petr Vokřál, under the auspices of the Mayor of the Brno-střed City District Bc. Martin Landa,
and under the auspices of the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic Mgr. Daniel Herman. Furthermore, under the auspices of
the Czech Commission for UNESCO and the ENCATC network (European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres). In
2019, the festival also received the EFFE label (Europe for festivals, Festivals for Europe).
The SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER festival is non-competitive; however, several prizes are awarded. They do not serve to create an order
of individual productions from the main program of the festival, but they highlight the inspiring and discovering artistic works of
young theatregoers. The award is given by a jury, which consists of professional and student juries.
Both are represented by 4 members from the Czech Republic and abroad. The professional jury involves theatre experts and the
student jury includes students of art higher education institutions. The Marta award, which is presented by the professional jury,
is connected with a specific artistic performance, i.e. as an expression of recognition for extraordinary artistic performances of
students participating in the creation of productions from the main program of the festival. The student jury gives the award The
SWAG of SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER, which is awarded for the original use of staging means, originality and a strong generational
statement. In addition, the festival director has the right, at his discretion, to give the Festival Director’s Award. In 2019, the
“Marta” award was given to Peter Martinček from the Academy of Performing Arts for an extraordinary portrayal of an ordinary
person in the production Accordance!, to Maja Wolski for a true, sensitive and secretive performance in the production of My
anxiety pax and weapon, which very strongly represented the dynamic and inspiring acting ensemble of the Polish National
Academy of Theatre Arts in Krakow, to Pamela Butane from the Latvian Academy of Culture for imaginative creation of various
stage concepts in the production Disappearing Future and to the couple Paul Ölinger and Andre Menrath from the University of
Music and Performing Arts Graz for stage music in the production Romulus the Great. The SWAG of SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER was
awarded to Uziel Delamide from the distant De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the Philippines for a strong representative
performance which was the centrepiece of an imaginative retelling of the classic story of Oedipus. Festival Director Award was
granted to Peter Erbes and Boris Jedinák from DAMU for an extraordinarily original and self-ironic brutality reflecting Czech
national history, which they used to deconstruct the cultural treasure of the Czech nation in the productions The Bartered Bride
on the Stages of the Provisional Theatre, Estates Theatre and National Theatre from 1868 to 2018.
March 2019 saw at the Theatre Faculty the 26th year of Salon of original work, a festival of stage reading and productions based
on students’ original works. For the first time, the texts were also made into short films, thanks to the active involvement of
students in the field of Audio-visual Production and Theatre. All thirty-eight texts were posted on the festival’s website and
published.
As part of the above-described concept of the entire festival, students could try other roles in the art team than those of their
studies. Thanks to this, more creative groups were created on the premises of the Theatre Faculty, which together created valuable
artistic outputs with their own ideas, opinions and motives.
The Sítko Festival is held annually within the Studio of Theatre and Education at the Theatre Faculty JAMU. XVII. year took place
in June 2019 in the premises of TF JAMU and Divadlo na Orlí. The aim of the festival is to enable the meeting of all those interested
in theatre education, current and future students of the Studio and its graduates, teachers, students of other fields and experts in
the field of drama education. An important part of the festival is the presentation of graduate projects and productions by students
of bachelor’s and master’s programs, as well as the presentation of outputs that were created by students of the Studio during
the academic year. Sítko also represents a space for performances by amateur ensembles under the direction of Studio graduates.
Sítko means several days of meetings, many intense discussions, confrontations, inspirations and a supply of current information
for all those who are close to drama education. The theme of the 2019 Sítko was RE-ZONANCE.
Other activities of the Theatre Faculty, which have the nature of a festival or show, were the second year of JAMŮví, the festival
of student work focused on audio-visual and sound works, and Monodramata, a regular show of cooperation between acting,
directing, dramaturgy and theatre production studios.
The Faculty of Music is a co-organizer of one of the two international music festivals focused on contemporary music held in Brno
– Meeting of New Music Plus. 2019 saw the 22nd year, which was again attended by important artists who, in addition to
performing at the festival, organized workshops and individual lessons for students of Faculty of Music. In 2019, foreign artists
from the field of interpretation, improvisation and multimedia presented themselves at the “Meeting”. The most prominent
personalities of the year included the pianists Tomer Lev from Israel, dean of the famous Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel
Aviv and professor of the Ghent Academy Daan Vandewalle, French cellist Séverine Ballon and Carmina Escobar from the California
Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles and many top Czech performers – pianist Jan Bartoš, singer Irena Troupová, MOENS ensemble,
etc., including young artists (Opera trio, Trio Apperto). From September 24 to 29, young performers from all over the world
gathered in Brno to attend Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno (MSLJ) and compete in both clarinet and flute. The
Faculty of Music of The Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts Brno, in cooperation with the City of Brno, the South
Moravian Region and the Leoš Janáček Foundation, already organized the 25th year of this prestigious interpretation competition.
This year, the renowned competition saw the highest number of clarinet contestants in the history of the field – a total of sixtynine.
The competition involved contestants from thirty countries, which speaks volumes about the growing international response
to the competition and also means a significant promise for the successful continuation for future years. In addition to Czech
musicians, Slovakia, the competition involved artists from Poland, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Germany, Norway,
Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Israel, Turkey, Macedonia, Montenegro, Australia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong,
USA, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand and Canada.
The first prize, with a financial remuneration of one hundred thousand CZK, went to the Italian Alessandro Beverari in the field of
clarinet. In addition, he also got a master instrument Buffet Crampon RC from model, model BC1114L-2–0, worth 77,000 CZK. This
year also brought indirect success to the organizer, JAMU. Clarinettist Aleš Tvrdík, who placed 2nd, is a graduate of the Prague
Conservatory and is starting his first year at the Faculty of Music. Third place went to Bogdan Sydorenko from Ukraine. Lev
Zhuravskii from Russia was awarded honourable mention. Clarinettist Gervasio Tarragona Valli from Uruguay won the award for
the best performance of a composition by Bohuslav Martinů.
53 players competed in flute play. JAMU was very successful here. Katarína Slavkovská, the current third-year JAMU student,
became the absolute winner in this category. Second place went to Yuan Yu from China and third place went to Daniel Mieckowski
from Poland. Izabela Brodová, a graduate of the Brno Academy, received an honourable mention for the fourth place. Janette
Levan from Finland received another honourable mention.
According to the president of the entire competition and the dean of the organizing faculty, Professor Jindřich Petráš, the year
2019 once again put the event among the most prestigious international competitions in the world, both in the number of
competitors and the excellent level of interpretation of the candidates. The jury was composed mostly of renowned foreign artists
and, in addition to the Czech Republic, it included personalities from Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Finland and Slovakia. All
awarded contestants can now enjoy the title of “Laureate of the Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno”.
The LJIC was held under the auspices of the Governor of the South Moravian Region and the Mayor of the City of Brno. The
competition was held with the financial support of the City of Brno, the South Moravian Region, the Leoš Janáček Foundation, the
Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Czech Music Fund Foundation, the State Culture Fund of the Czech Republic and the
Artist’s Life Foundation.
JAMU school theatres
If JAMU is to fulfil its mission responsibly, fundamental emphasis must be placed on the artistic outcomes of students, which are
direct study outcomes and whose quality is a basic measure of the quality of the entire educational process. In order for the art
higher education institution to be able to provide these performances on a professional level, it must be able to implement art
projects in its own premises – in the case of JAMU these are drama, opera and musical theatres and concert halls with professional
parameters. As far as theatres are concerned, JAMU manages two – the oldest one is Studio Marta, which was founded in 1952.
The newest is the opera and musicals theatre Divadlo na Orlí subtitled “Music and Drama Laboratory”, involving the area with the
main hall, rehearsal rooms, costume production, management rooms, but also a top-notch recording studio in the basement,
which, in addition to activities for both JAMU faculties, regularly cooperates with foreign companies Parma Recordings LLC (USA),
First Creative (UK) and in the Czech Republic with Czech Television, Czech Radio, Brno Philharmonic, Moravian Philharmonic
Olomouc, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava and others. The theatre enables students of a number of professions to prepare for a
professional career in an environment corresponding to current world trends. The Theatre Faculty and Faculty of Music JAMU use
Divadlo na Orlí primarily as a student music stage for operas, musicals, concerts and other projects. Divadlo na Orlí also serves as
an alternative stage of young art for the general public in Brno. In 2019, the interior of Divadlo Na Orlí was chosen among the 50
most beautiful interiors of South Moravia and became part of the unique photographic publication Interior Design Guide South
Moravia.
Performances of the Theatre Faculty, which have more of a nature of final exams or projects, take place directly in the buildings
of both faculties. At the Faculty of Music, concerts and other events take place in four venues – Concert Hall, Chamber Hall, Organ
Hall and Vaulted Hall. Larger chamber and smaller orchestral concerts also take place in the theatre hall of Divadlo Na Orlí, which
may be acoustically adjusted for these cases via an acoustic shell above the stage. Opera productions of the Faculty of Music has
for more than 60 years been carried out by JAMU Chamber Opera using both Divadlo Na Orlí and its own small stage directly at
the Faculty of Music – studio Devítka. The platform for performing contemporary music is New Music Forum, also involving
Contemporary Music Studio with more than fifty years of history, presenting in particular the new work of students and teachers
of the study fields Composition and Multimedia Composition. Students of jazz interpretation often perform in MusicLab – a music
club located in the basement of the Faculty of Music which also serves as a music club for the public.
In total, in 2019 the stages of JAMU saw 147 theatre performances, 4 operas and 240 concerts, of which 5 orchestral with the
Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc, 2 concerts of the Janáček Academic Orchestra and 4 multimedia concerts. Among the most
watched events of the year – as every year – were the premières of drama, opera and musical and gala concerts on the occasion
of important anniversaries.
In January, it was the première of Cabaret by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff at Divadlo Na Orlí, which was performed
by the graduating year of the Studio of Musical Acting of doc. Sylva Talpová and directed by guest director Martin Vokoun. The
production was very popular, and was seen by more than 2,100 spectators and was successfully performed on the stage of the
Žižkov Jára Cimrman Theatre in Prague.
Cabaret was followed in February by the première in Studio Marta of Faidra’s Love by the British playwright Sarah Kane, a key
figure of the “coolness” drama style, written on the motifs of Seneca’s Roman tragedy Faidra. The production was directed by
Alexandra Bolfová.
In February Divadlo Na Orlí hosted JAMU Ball entirely organised by students; it was themed “SPACE DISCO” and turned the theatre
premises into a big space party for one evening.
The activities of the studio of the physical theatre were represented by graduate projects of the studio, which took place both in
February in Buranteatr, and then in Studio Marta a month later.
The exceptionally rich February program was concluded by the première of the production of Offline! in Divadlo na Orlí. This
author’s musical reflecting current social issue was the last première of the 2018/2019 season at Divadlo na Orlí. Martin Sládeček,
a graduate of the Theatre Faculty and the current dramaturge of the Husa na Provázku Theatre, in collaboration with Mario
Buzzim, the author of the music and a teacher of the Faculty of Music, wrote a theatrical script based on a reportage book by the
German journalist Alex Rühle. The successful play directed by Lukáš Kopecký was also presented on the stage of the Disk Theatre
in Prague and at the Plzeň festival On stage!.
In the Italian original, students of both faculties of JAMU staged the chamber opera by Doménico Cimarosa Il Matrimonio segreto
(Secret marriage). The latest production of the JAMU Chamber Opera was presented in two premières by Divadlo na Orlí. Almost
two dozen performers in various alternations were accompanied by the chamber orchestra.
As soon as the international festival SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER ended in April (see above), the première of Antigone took place at the
Buranteatr (directed by K. Dimitrov)
JAMU was also significantly involved in the international
scenographic show Prague Quadrennial 2019, with the winner of the IDU call in connection with the Czech exposition within the
student section being the team “Intellectrurally” composed of students and graduates of the Scenography studio of TF JAMU with
the project “Prague is not the Czechia“. Musicians from JAMU, on the other hand, prepared (directed by the Slovenian director
Rocco, graduate of JAMU) the ceremonial opening of the festival of performances in Křižík’s Fountain.
The summer semester ended with the première of Goldoni’s Brawling in Chioggia in Studio Marta under the direction of the
teacher of the upcoming graduate year doc. A. Bergman.
The new academic year was opened at Studio Marta by the October première of the production Drunks by the contemporary
Russian author Ivan Vyrypajev, directed by Petr Akimov, 5th year student of directing.
Mid-October saw the second year of the festival JAMŮví, which has become an event which, in the minds of students, begins to
be an integral part of the beginning of the academic year. The festival was established primarily as a show of the work of students
of audio-visual studios at the faculty; however, it is gradually opening up and becoming a festival of audio-visual production of all
JAMU students.
In November, the Chamber Opera of the Faculty of Music presented Gioacchino Rossini’s comic opera The Touchstone in Czech
translation by Václav Málek and directed by Kateřina Křivánková.
The last première of 2019 was the December production of Mejerchold in Studio Marta. With the text by Jakub Kostelník and J.A.
Pitínský as guest-director gave the entire acting year space for intensive cooperation.
There was also a lot of artistic activity in music. In May 2019 at Divadlo Na Orlí, Janáček’s academic orchestra, the Faculty of Music
ensemble conducted by doc. Vít Spilka, Patrik Červák and Filip Urban performed an orchestral concert with works by Rossini,
Dvořák, Haydn and Janáček. The traditional Christmas concert of the Faculty of Music took place two evenings in a row. For
example, the Brass Ensemble, Wind Harmony, the Old Music Ensemble, the Percussion Ensemble JAMU and also the Rehearsal
Choir performed on the stage of Divadlo na Orlí.
December saw an unusual event – the christening of master musical instruments and technologies at the Faculty of Music, which
were acquired for almost CZK 70 million from the European Operational Program Research, Development and Education (OP RDE),
and which took place in the form of a commented concert in several places of the Faculty of Music.
In 2019 Studio Marta saw a total 72 performances with 6 premières. Next 2 premières were performed at the Buranteatr with a
total of 7 performances there. Another 4 productions presented by Studio Marta premièred in 2018.
The productions were visited by a total of 4,392 viewers, which means an average attendance of 80.7%.
In 2019 the big stage of Divadlo na Orlí hosted the students of the Theatre Faculty in a total of 57 performances, with another 18
performances on stages in rehearsal rooms. The productions were visited by a total of 5,723 viewers, i.e. an average turnout of
78.5%.
As in previous years, JAMU holds its events not only on its stages, but also in public space. An example is the second year of the
parade through the city of Brno full of theatre, mysteries, legends and magic organised for the public under the auspices of
students of later years and with the involvement of their newly matriculated colleagues, which was held on the occasion of the
2019/20 academic year.
JAMU has been significantly involved in activities commemorating the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Reflections, lyrics,
songs, documents, memories… how do today’s students see the Velvet Revolution? On Friday, November 15, a parade of
spectators set out from the Theatre Faculty (Mozart Street), through Astorka (Novobranská Street) and Divadlo na Orlí (Orlí Street)
to Alfa gallery (Poštovská Street), which was a journey into history before the November Revolution. On Sunday, November 17,
teachers and students met at Studio Marta to commemorate the significant anniversary.
On the same anniversary, the Faculty of Music organized a November gala concert reflecting 100 years since the birth of the
important “Terezín” composer Gideon Klein, who was part of the international festival Meetings of New Music Plus, with
performances by leading Czech and international artists.
Science, research,
publications
The year 2019 was a year when JAMU introduced a new methodology for evaluating research organizations (Methodology 17+)
for the field of science and research at JAMU, as well as at other Czech higher education institutions. The ambition of this
methodology is to radically change the current evaluation based on the mechanical counting of research results (nicknamed
“coffee grinder”) and replace them with a much more sophisticated system that comprehensively evaluates the quality of selected
results, international relations, doctoral studies, internal organization and strategic management of research areas, which is
undoubtedly necessary and positive. However, as this methodology is built primarily according to the activities and needs of large
research universities, it raises concerns at art schools about its possible negative consequences, such as the gradual reduction of
support for their research activities. Throughout the year, JAMU has tried intensively to influence the final form of the
methodology so that it respects our specifics as much as possible and also that it is able to evaluate and appreciate our strengths
and quality – about which we have no doubt. This has been consistently proven, for example, by our specialised monographs,
which inevitably contribute to the development of Czech theatre, music and film science. In 2019, the JAMU Publishing published
several exceptionally high-quality and unique publications, such as Pavel Aujezdský: Audiovizuální propaganda. České země a
Československo mezi Sovětským Svazem a Německem 1914–1989, Luboš Mareček: Příběh totálního herectví. Divadelní herečka
Vlasta Fialová (1928–1998), Petr Oslzlý: Divadlo za demokracii / Theatre for Democracy and Břetislav Rychlík: Sestup ke kořenům.
Divadlo jako hledání jedinečnosti lidské identity, and in cooperation with the KANT publishing house it published a unique and also
visually very impressive publication by Marie Jirásková and Pavel Jirásek Uměni loutky.
The quality of our publications was also confirmed by the Josef Škvorecký Award for extraordinary literary work in the field of
audio-visual production awarded to the monograph by Marek Hlavica Dramatická tvorba ostravského studia Československé
televize (1955–1991) or the nomination of the publication by Andrea Buršová Herečka Nika Brettschneiderová v exilu aneb Portrét
divadla Theatre Brett do pádu „železné opony“ to the Divadelní noviny Award in the category Theatre publication.
The participation of a number of significant international guests testifies to the high quality of our international conferences, which
took place at the Theatre Faculty (themed Experience as a Research Method in Performing Arts) and the Faculty of Music
(Symposium: Arts/Music/Management and International Doctoral Conference).
In relative comparison with other universities, we are still among the leaders in the field of obtaining external research grants
from the most important national research agencies, which was confirmed in 2019 by the start of the project of Lucie Repašská
Development of communication competencies with a new educational methodology supported by the Technology Agency of the
Czech Republic in the Zéta program, which thus joined two already implemented projects also supported by TAČR.
Another achievement testifying to our quality is the fact that in 2019 invitation to participate in the international evaluation panel,
which will evaluate the quality of research at JAMU according to the already mentioned Methodology 17+, was accepted by such
important personalities of world theatrical and musical art and artistic research such as John Butler, Paul Christiansen, Paul Fryer,
Johan Haarberg and Patrice Pavis. Their visit to Brno will take place in 2020 and we believe that these world experts will confirm
the quality of our science and research.
Internationalization
International exchanges of artistic and pedagogical experience are important aspects of improving the quality of study and related
creative activities and are also an important element in benchmarking. Student and teacher mobility is an integral part of studying
at JAMU. In 2019 there were a total of 63 outgoing students and 43 incoming students. It is necessary to consider that due to
the artistic outputs accompanying the completion of both bachelor’s and master’s degrees and requiring year-round preparation,
the opportunity to travel abroad focuses mainly on the 2nd year of bachelor’s programme and 1st year of the post-bachelor
master’s programme. For linguistic reasons, it is also clear that music students dominate in mobility.
On the one hand, teacher mobilities make it possible to bring in the world’s top personalities – this is also facilitated by the
attention paid to financing these mobilities – with money being concentrated from several sources – e.g. centralized development
projects, specific research projects, the Fund for the Development of Scientific Activities (FDSA) and Fund for the Development of
Educational and Artistic Activities (FDEAA) and the funds from “indicator D”. In 2018 there were 67 incoming international guests
and 37 outgoing JAMU teachers. Given the size of JAMU, this indicates a great interest in its teachers.
The development of internationalization through mobility is directly related to the conclusion of new bilateral agreements with
partner institutions, which significantly expands the possibilities of cooperation between students and teachers in individual
specializations. In 2019, new bilateral agreements were concluded with the following institutions within the Erasmus+ program:
University of Gothenburg (Sweden), Haute École die Musique de Lausanne (Switzerland), Conservatorio di Musica “F. Cilea ”,
Reggio Calabria (Italy), Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático de Sevilla (Spain).
In connection with the definition of mobility categories, JAMU determined the area of group artistic activities in the form of
participation in a major festival, exhibition or event of a similar type. Among the most important were the participation in the
European Young Theatre Festival 2019 (Italy), UWE - DER FESTIVAL 2019 (Germany), Verscio Summer Camp in Verscio
(Switzerland) or Campus in Rome (Italy).
Naturally, internationalization is not just mobility. Already in 2018, a bilateral agreement was signed between Faculty of Music
and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague which reflects the will of both institutions to implement a joint study program Historical
Interpretation in the post-bachelor master’s programme. On the basis of this agreement, the accreditation of the abovementioned
joint study program was submitted in 2018, and subsequently this process was completed in 2019with accreditation
granted to the study programme Historical Performance.
An important example of international cooperation was the project RC – JAMU Connections between the Royal Conservatory
Hague and the Faculty of Music, where 6 compositions by students from both institutions were performed by six musicians and
staged by a conductor from the Royal Conservatory. The output of the project was joint rehearsals and a concert in The Hague,
Brno and as part of the festival Meeting of New Music Plus. Another important activity was a joint concert and teaching project
with a partner University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, Texas, where UNT teachers and students visited JAMU and organized
concerts and a workshop.
Congratulations to...
Pavel Zemen, a student of the doctoral program of the Faculty of Music received a significant award. The young talented pianist
has added yet another achievement to his collection – the Award of the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports for outstanding
students and graduates in the study program and for extraordinary deeds of students. The 2019 award was handed over to
Zemen personally by Minister Ing. Robert Plaga, Ph.D.
JAMU students have also won a number of awards in national and international competitions. These include, among others:
Drahoslav Bango (piano)
2nd place (The Budapest Liszt Ferenc Piano)
Robin Červinek (singing)
2nd place (Imrich Godin International Singing Competition "Iuventus Cantti" Vráble)
Magdaléna Hrudová (piano)
1st place (The 21st Century Art Competition Lempäälä, Finland)
Vladimir Jindra (singing)
1st place and absolute winner (International Singing Competition “Prague Singer”)
2nd place (A. Dvořák International Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary)
Michaela Koudelková (KVHI)
1st place (International Flute Competition in Tel Aviv, Israel)
Kateřina Potocká (piano)
1st place (Vienna-Klosterneuburg International Interpretation Competition)
1st place (XXVI Concorso Internazionale Anemos Rome)
1st place (Concorso Internazionale Premio Accademia Rome)
Ondřej Sejkora (double bass)
1st place (International Competition for Creative Double Bassists, Szczawno Zdrój, Poland)
Martin Schubert (violoncello)
1st place (XIX International Julius Zarebski Music Competition Warsaw, Poland
Achievements of the students of Theatre Faculty include especially:
Award for Imagination at the Student Exhibition of the Prague Quadrennial, which was given this year to the TF students’
installation Prague is not Czechia (A. Chrtková, J. Matýsek and A. Dudková – the authors of the project from the Scenography
Studio), with contribution by the students of the Theatre Production Studio;
Tereza Agelová
1st place – Evald Schorm Award for the original play Like you, Mom
Štěpán Vranešic
1st place – Evald Schorm Award for the original play Indian princess
Hana Drozdová
1st place (for the second time in a row) at the European Young Theatre Festival in Spoleto (IT) for monodrama This is not your Karenina
Financial and technological
support of activities
For an art higher educational institution, instrumental equipment and audio, video and stage technologies are just as important
as state-of-the-art laboratory for science, research and development in research universities. It is necessary to keep up with the
professional scene with constant development, especially in technology. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously invest in
renewal in all these areas. To do this, JAMU uses funding:
− from the European Structural and Investment Funds under the Operational Program Research, Development and Education
− from the Centralized Development Project
− from the Institutional Plan
− from own investment funds – the fund for the reproduction of fixed assets
JAMU received the largest amount from the Operational Program Research, Development and Education to implement five
individual projects financed from the European Regional Development Fund:
Project “Improving the infrastructure of the study programme Music Arts at JAMU”, project registration number
CZ.02.2.67/0.0/0.0/16_016/0002246 with the total eligible costs of CZK 79,373 thousand enabled the purchase of almost thirty
new pianos and other musical instruments, including historical, HW and SW equipment for electroacoustic music, stage, lighting,
sound and image technologies for classrooms, halls and mobile rental facility at the Faculty of Music and for Divadlo na Orlí.
Project “Improving the infrastructure of the study programme Dramatic Arts at JAMU”, registration number
CZ.02.2.67/0.0/0.0/16_016/0002469 with total eligible costs of CZK 78,135 thousand enabled to finance the completion of
building conversion in the Astorka building to teaching areas of the Theatre Faculty, overall modernization of the theatre, lighting,
sound and image technologies in Studio Marta, lighting equipment for musical studios, sound technology in Divadlo na Orlí,
photographic technologies, digital archiving artistic performances, powerful multimedia stations for processing 3D records,
modernization of multimedia technologies and installation of air conditioning in classroom 104 of the Theatre Faculty.
Project “Improving the quality of education at JAMU”, registration number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/ 0.0/16_015/0002245 with the total
eligible costs of CZK 44,799 thousand enabled the transformation of the original fields falling under the study programs Dramatic
Arts and Musical Arts into new study programs and specializations. Furthermore, subjects can benefit from electronic aids and the
expansion of specializations to include subjects newly taught in English or guaranteeing students competencies in “soft skills”.
Another important goal was to start international cooperation with the University of The Hague. Finally, a system of evaluation
and quality assurance has been established and developed, which also includes an external evaluation of JAMU by the MusiQuE
agency.
Project “Improving the quality of education at the Theatre Faculty and its relevance for practical applications” (ESF II),
registration number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_056/0013257 with the total eligible costs of CZK 7,805 thousand. The project is
focused on the study program Theatre and Education and its specialization in order to connect as much as possible teaching with
pedagogical practice directly in schools and in leisure activities, transfer knowledge from practice to study plans of the study
programme and at the same time influence the possibility of expanding artistic educational disciplines in general education by
involving students in practice. In 2019, on the basis of the first findings from the connection with practice, we will prepare an
application for accreditation of the study program Theatre and Education. Later in the project, the system of connecting the study
program with practice will be examined and further improved. Another part of the project is aimed at all study programs of Theatre
Faculty and it aims to expand the offer of professional literature in electronic form.
Project “Improving the quality of education at the Theatre Faculty and its relevance for practical applications” (ESF II),
registration number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/18_056/0013257 with the total eligible costs of CZK 7,805 thousand. The project is
focused on the study program Theatre and Education and its specialization in order to connect as much as possible teaching with
pedagogical practice directly in schools and in leisure activities, transfer knowledge from practice to study plans of the study
programme and at the same time influence the possibility of expanding artistic educational disciplines in general education by
involving students in practice. In 2019, on the basis of the first findings from the connection with practice, we will prepare an
application for accreditation of the study program Theatre and Education. Later in the project, the system of connecting the study
program with practice will be examined and further improved. Another part of the project is aimed at all study programs of Theatre
Faculty and it aims to expand the offer of professional literature in electronic form.
The above investments made it possible to fundamentally innovate the equipment of JAMU and to provide students with the
opportunity to work with top-notch instruments and with top technologies in theatres and concert halls for the next few years.
Farewell to…
Professor of the Theatre Faculty
František Derfler
Unfortunately, JAMU, and especially its Theatre Faculty, had to say goodbye forever to the great actor and leading figure of the
Brno theatre Divadlo u stolu – Professor František Derfler, who died on August 17 after a serious illness at the age of 77. This
extraordinary theatre actor and an excellent man graduated from JAMU in 1964, and taught there from 2003. The actor, director,
playwright, reciter, founder and principal of the U stolu theatre, theatre organizer and excellent pedagogue was born on 12
February 1942 in Pilsen.
His early childhood was significantly influenced by Christianity and scouting, which after 1948 was not very compatible with the
official communist ideology. In 1960, Derfler began studying acting at the JAMU in Brno, and graduated four years later. After
graduation, he first began performing at the Jiří Wolker Theatre in Prague (1964–1975), then until 1980 he worked at the Husa na
provázku theatre in Brno. From 1980 he was a member of the National Theatre in Brno, being its artistic director from 1990 to
1997. In 1969, he co-founded the experimental White Theatre, inspired by Antonin Artaud, and the Physical Action Theatre, in
particular by director Jerzy Grotowski.
At the turn of 1988/89, he founded the U stolu theatre and became its principal, director, playwright and actor. He closed the
theatre last year after thirty years. Its productions included the stories of the Old and New Testaments, Sophocles' Oedipus,
Calderón’s Life is a Dream, Goethe’s Faust, Grabbe’s Don Juan and Faust, Macbeth, Old Testament Job, Dostoevsky’s works,
Mácha’s Máj, Deml’s Forgotten Light, Jaroslav Durych’s God’s Rainbow, prose and essays of Jan Čep, poetry by Vladimír Holan, Jan
Zahradníček, Czeslav Milosz and others. Derfler’s chamber scene was conceived and always remained a theatre of the word –
poetic, spiritual or dramatic. He often worked with regular texts or classical models, which were difficult to stage, because they
were often written in an interesting but almost literary, and therefore difficult-to-stage language.
Derfler’s contribution to anti-communist activities is important for artistic and cultural activities. Probably the most important was
his signing of Charter 77. It resulted in Derfler’s forced restriction of work for television and film in the 1980s. Especially in the
second half of the eighties, he was a significant member of the Brno dissent, organising discussions with banned authors and their
readings in his apartment, he became a co-creator of the samizdat edition Studnice. This was the inspiration for Divadlo u stolu.
In 1989, he co-founded the local Civic Forum in Brno and became its spokesman.
His most important roles in addition to dozens of significant performances at Divadlo u stolu include the character of Eržika’s
father, Uncle Drač in Uhde’s Ballad for a Bandit in Divadlo na provázku. Other roles include the character of Uncle in Uhde and
Pospíšil's Play on the Fairy Tale of May, The Godfather Vávra in Tálská’s play Jako tako, Quijote in Přidal’s Comedy with Quijot,
Matti in Brecht’s piece Mr. Puntila and his servant Matti, Genadij in Ostrovskij’s The Forest, Tevye in Gorin’s Tevye’s daughters,
Anne Vercors in Claudel’s The Tidings Brought to Mary, Shakespeare’s Lear and Polonius or King John in Dürenmatt’s eponymous
play. For this role he was nominated for the Thalia Award in 2000. Derfler was also a director outside of Divadlo u stolu. Examples
include the play Medieval Anonymous: A play about Lancelot and Alexandrina, Jiří Wolker Theatre, 1969, Cason's Lady Dawn, NDB
1997 or Williams’ Descent of Orpheus, NDB 2000.
František Derfler devoted his life to artistic recitation, collaborating with Czech Radio (Wanderings through the Czech Past, reading
series, poetry). His speech was especially appreciated for his ability to sensitively capture the content and tempo-rhythm of the
text and for the distinctive, attractive colour of his voice. His stage performance was described as unpretentious, thoughtful acting,
focused on the content of the play and the inner world of the character. Derfler was known for his ability to depict detailed
psychological character traits.
From 2003 Derfler worked as a teacher at the Theatre Faculty JAMU, where he received associated professorship two years later
and professorship after another three years. He was also a member of the Arts Council at the JAMU Theatre Faculty from 1995.
An excellent pedagogue and theatre performer, only last year František Derfler won a prestigious award Living Treasure at the
festival “....next wave 2018”. The long-term JAMU teacher won this award as a personality who becomes a living treasure in his
field.
Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Music
Rostislav Fraš
After a long, serious illness, a teacher of the Department of Jazz Interpretation and one of the prominent figures of the Czech jazz
scene, the great saxophonist and composer ROSTISLAV FRAŠ, died in late autumn. He played with such jazz greats as Peter Erskine,
Maria Schneider, George Mraz, Fred Wesley, Antonio Farao, Jeff „Tain“ Watts… He died at an early age of 44, with the whole world
and his artistic career still ahead. He was not only one of the top European jazzmen, but also an extremely popular artist, who
combined friendship, humility and “heart on the sleeve” with great interpretive and compositional erudition. He was extremely
popular among students and his colleagues for his friendly nature and sensitive pedagogical approach.
List of used photos
P. 6
A: Rector of JAMU prof. Mgr. Petr Oslzlý at the opening of Václav Havel’s bench in Brno. PHOTO© MMB archive
B: Visit of the Mayor of Brno JUDr. Markéta Vaňková at the JAMU Rectorate. PHOTO© MMB archive
P. 9
A: Dean of MF JAMU prof. Jindřich Petráš and Rector of JAMU prof. Petr Oslzlý at the ceremonial christening of master instruments and
technologies. PHOTO© by Vojtěch Kába
B: Awarding an honorary doctorate of JAMU to actress Vlasta Chramostová. PHOTO© JAMU archive
P. 13
A: Parade of the JAMU Theatre Faculty to open the academic year. PHOTO© TF JAMU archive
B: Brno Seventeenth – JAMU stand, PHOTO by: Luboš Mareček
P. 14
Parade to commemorate 70th anniversary of the founding of JAMU. PHOTO© by Luboš Mareček
P. 17
Hall of the Faculty of Music. PHOTO© MF JAMU archive
P. 24
A: Parade on the occasion of the International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER, PHOTO: festival archive
B: Photo from the production of Mejerchold, TF JAMU. PHOTO© Studio Marta archive
P. 27
A: A photo from the Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno. PHOTO© by Lenka Kožuchová, MF JAMU archive
B: Photo from the MF JAMU Christmas concert. PHOTO© JAMU archive
P. 29
A: Katarína Slavkovská – student, laureate of the 25th Leoš Janáček International Competition in flute
B: MF JAMU – with the Rector of JAMU PHOTO by: Lenka Kožuchová, LJIC archive
P. 30
Photo from the production Drunks, TF JAMU, PHOTO: JAMU archive
P. 34, 35
Images from the International Conference of Doctoral Studies, TF JAMU. PHOTO©: conference archive
P. 38
Photo from the closing ceremony of the International Festival of Theatre Schools SETKÁNÍ/ENCOUNTER. PHOTO© JAMU archive
P. 39
A, B: Genre photos. PHOTO© JAMU archive
P. 43.44
From the ceremony of Minister's Award for Pavel Zemen, student of MF JAMU in the Senate of the Czech Republic. PHOTO© MŠMT archive
P. 47
From the ceremonial christening of master tools and technologies at MF JAMU. PHOTO© by Vojtěch Kába