Carnegie Hall

The Prague Philharmonic Choir (PPC) was founded in 1935 by choirmaster and teacher Jan Kühn. Now in its 90th season, it is the oldest professional choir in the Czech Republic. The choir is celebrated beyond Czech borders, especially for its interpretations of oratorios and cantatas. Lukáš Vasilek became principal conductor and artistic director in 2007, and he is joined by Lukáš Kozubík as the choir’s second main choirmaster.

Under Mr. Vasilek, the choir has built its reputation as a highly respected performing partner of leading international orchestras. At home, the ensemble collaborates regularly with the Czech Philharmonic and, for its own choral concerts, with the Prague Philharmonia. Internationally, the PPC has worked with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Dresden Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and has collaborated with top conductors who include Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Jakub Hrůša, Sir Simon Rattle, and Michael Sanderling. The choir also regularly appears at the Czech Republic’s most renowned festivals, such as Smetana’s Litomyšl, Prague Spring, and Dvořák Prague. It has served as choir in residence at the Bregenz Festival since 2010.

This season, the PPC presents programs focused on demanding and lesser-known compositions of the choral repertoire, including both a capella and instrumental works; makes its BBC Proms debut with the Czech Philharmonic; performs at home with orchestras based in Prague as well as on tour in Dresden and Hong Kong; and appears at the Lucerne and Bregenz festivals.

Each season, the PPC presents a cycle of educational concerts for children, both for school groups and for families. The Prague Philharmonic Choir Academy gives students the opportunity to gain real-life experience as part of a professional ensemble, participating in large-scale projects and learning from collaborations with leading artists.

This season marks Lukáš Vasilek’s 17th as the Prague Philharmonic Choir’s (PPC) principal choirmaster, conductor, and artistic director. Whether exploring a capella repertoire or larger cantatas and oratorios with instruments, Mr. Vasilek brings his innate knowledge and understanding of choral music to everything he does. Together with the PPC, he regularly collaborates with leading Czech and international orchestras and conductors, and they have received acclaim for their interpretations of choral works by Mahler, Dvořák, and Janáček, as well as Britten’s War Requiem and Poulenc’s Stabat mater. No stranger to less-conventional programming, Mr. Vasilek has also presented jazz and spirituals with the PPC.

Mr. Vasilek studied conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and musicology at Charles University. His first experience of choral singing dates to his time as a member of the boys’ choir Boni Pueri, and he later became the choirmaster of the Foerster Female Chamber Choir and Prague National Theatre Chorus. In 2022, he was a guest of the French chamber choir Accentus. In addition to the PPC, he works with the vocal ensemble Martinů Voices—which he founded in 2010 and which focuses on chamber works from the 19th to the 21th centuries—and teaches choir conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts.

Mr. Vasilek’s choral and orchestral conducting can be heard on numerous recordings from labels such as Decca Classics and Supraphon. Most recently, his recordings of works by Martinů have been recognized internationally, with awards from Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and Diapason.

A Grand Finals winner at the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, American tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven is a rising Wagnerian star. Praised by The New York Times for his “steady, burnished sound” and by the Bay Area Reporter for “his clarion Wagnerian power,” he has earned acclaim for roles such as Rienzi with San Francisco Opera, which the San Francisco Chronicle described as “gleaming” and “potent.” Recent engagements include Chekalinsky in The Queen of Spades with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos with Cincinnati Opera, the title role in Act III of Siegfried with New York Repertory Orchestra, and Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Livermore Valley Opera.

In the 2021–2022 season, Mr. van Schoonhoven joined the Metropolitan Opera for Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice, debuted as Laca in Jenůfa with Opéra de Rouen, and returned to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer and the role of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. In 2022, he performed Don José in Carmen with Hawaii Opera Theatre. Other highlights of recent seasons include Don José with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Hades in Julian Wachner’s Rev. 23 at the Prototype Festival, and Rodolfo in La bohème with Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra.

As an Adler Fellow with San Francisco Opera, Mr. van Schoonhoven debuted as the Young Servant in Elektra and covered roles that included Froh in Das Rheingold, Siegmund in Die Walküre, and Cavaradossi in Tosca. Other credits include Alfredo in La traviata, Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann, and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In January 2025, he collaborates again with the Prague Philharmonic Choir, performing the role of Porcus in Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher.

Mr. van Schoonhoven is the recipient of a 2019 George London Award and the Nicolai Gedda Memorial Award. He received a Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College and a Bachelor of Music degree from Fredonia School of Music.