The Janáček Academic Orchestra (JAO) was founded in the 20th century to educate young promising musicians for their future professions. From the very beginning, it became an integral part of the Faculty of Music of the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts.
The players of the orchestra are mostly students of the faculty themselves. As part of their studies, they participate in several orchestra-related projects, such as two solo concerts and several concerts and performances in collaboration with other ensembles or groups. Players are thus provided with a wide range of repertoire that can be used for their future employment.
6 reasons to be part of JAO:
- With us, you will gain experience not only in orchestra repertoire but also in opera repertoire.
- We are one of the few professional student orchestras in the Czech Republic.
- We are not afraid of new ideas.
- We are a super team.
- We consult with each other and gain experience together.
- The best of us have the opportunity to play solo accompanied by our teammates.
Chief Conductor
MgA. Jakub Klecker is a renowned conductor who became the main conductor of JAO in 2019. He studied conducting at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Prague in the class of Jiří Bělohlávek and Tomáš Koutník. Since 2004 he has been the main conductor of the ensemble of the Janáček Opera of the Brno National Theater, later he also held the position of music director of the Moravian-Silesian National Theater Opera in Ostrava and from 2019 he became the chief conductor of the Moravian Philharmonic.
He has gained several foreign experiences during his career so far. He was the first to perform Antonín Dvořák’s opera Rusalka on the Arabian Peninsula, in addition to conducting in countries such as Japan, Germany, Poland and at prestigious music festivals such as the Prague Spring, Smetana’s Litomyšl and Janáček Brno.
Chamber opera of Faculty of Music and JAO
An important part of JAO projects is the cooperation with the Chamber Opera of the JAMU Faculty of Music. Not only our orchestra participates in the projects, but also conducting students, who can try out what it’s like to have a real ensemble under the baton.
