About Us
Czech Double Reed Society
About Us
We support oboe and bassoon playing in the Czech Republic, helping the art of double-reed playing to thrive.
We aim to strengthen the field and help ensure that there are enough highly skilled oboe and bassoon players in the Czech Republic. We support pupils, students and young musicians in developing their oboe and bassoon playing. We also seek to inspire a new generation of players through educational concerts at music schools, where children often encounter the oboe and bassoon for the very first time and have the opportunity to discover these instruments at their very best. We also support music schools and teachers. We organise educational projects focused both on the further development of young musicians and on sharing knowledge and good practice in music education. We organise performance competitions for oboe and bassoon players and regularly keep our newsletter subscribers informed about important news, events and developments in the double-reed community.
What We Organise
History
The Czech Double Reed Society was founded at the end of 2015 with the aim of supporting, as broadly as possible, activities related to oboe and bassoon playing in the Czech Republic.
Its founding members are Czech oboists and bassoonists Jana Brožková, Vladislav Borovka, Tomáš Františ, Ondřej Roskovec and Kateřina Kmínková. Today, the Society brings together many Czech oboists and bassoonists, including professional musicians, students, teachers and enthusiasts who share a passion for these instruments.
The Society’s first project, originally organised under the auspices of the Čtrnáctka Rataje nad Sázavou association, was the Summer Bassoon Academy, held in 2013.
Our Activities
Academy and Symposium
We organise educational events for young oboists and bassoonists, including the Czech Double Reed Academy, our summer course for oboe and bassoon players, and the Czech Double Reed Symposium, a weekend programme featuring workshops, seminars, masterclasses and discussions.
Educational Events and Concerts
We organise educational concerts for pupils and children at primary schools, music schools and kindergartens, helping to raise awareness of the oboe and bassoon and inspiring young people to discover these instruments. We also organise concerts for the general public with an educational focus, introducing audiences to the world of double-reed instruments and their music.
Building a Community
By bringing people together through cultural, educational and charitable events, we aim to build a strong, motivated and well-informed community committed to supporting and developing oboe and bassoon playing. We also support double-reed teachers and music school leadership, helping to create the best possible conditions for teaching and nurturing the next generation of oboists and bassoonists.
Partners of the Czech Double Reed Society
The Czech Double Reed Society is supported by a network of partners, sponsors and donors who provide financial and material assistance, helping to ensure the continuity of our activities.
Many of the programmes we organise are also supported by public funding and grants awarded each year by ministries, regional and local authorities, foundations and charitable funds.
We are deeply grateful for the support we receive and would like to thank all our partners, sponsors and donors for helping us pursue our ambitious goals.
Our main partners include the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Central Bohemian Region, the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic, the Life of an Artist Foundation, the Czech Music Fund Foundation, OSA Partner, the Czech Philharmonic and the Prague Spring International Music Festival. We also cooperate with leading musical instrument manufacturers and retailers, including Püchner, Buffet Crampon, Schreiber, Bernd Moosmann, and many others. Oboissimo.cz is another important partner and co-organiser of our events.
We also build partnerships within the field of music education, particularly with the Association of Primary Art Schools of the Czech Republic (AZUŠ), the Grammar School and Music School of the City of Prague, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and the Prague Conservatory.