svatobor@seznam.cz
Mixed Choir Svatobor Sušice, Czech Republic
A Bit of History
The male choir was founded in Sušice in 1860 under the name Svato-Vácslav. In 1921 it was transformed into a mixed choir and adopted the name Svatobor after the hill rising above the town. From the very beginning, the choir was closely connected with the cultural life of Sušice – it performed at many concerts and even accompanied the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the National Theatre in Prague.
Present Days
Since 1976, the choir has been led by conductor Josef Baierl, under whose leadership Svatobor began performing regularly both at home and abroad. Since then, the choir has given more than 1,000 performances and made 58 international tours. In 2021, conductor Andrea Sušilová joined the artistic leadership. Today, the choir has around 40 active members, who meet for regular rehearsals at the František Stupka School of Arts in Sušice.
Repertoire – from Classics to Musicals
Svatobor’s repertoire is wide-ranging, including sacred and classical music, arrangements of folk songs, spirituals as well as musical and theatre projects in cooperation with amateur drama groups. Folk song arrangements by Miroslav Raichl and Jaroslav Ježek are among the most popular. In the field of sacred music, notable works include Gloria in D major by Antonio Vivaldi, Missa Brevis by Zdeněk Lukáš and Te Deum by Antonín Dvořák.
Svatobor Abroad
In recent decades, Svatobor has met 24 Czech and 21 foreign choirs. Since 1990 it has toured several times in Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Finland, the United Kingdom, France and Slovakia. Its most important partner choirs include Kötztinger Kammerchor from Germany, the Swiss choirs Chantevigne Mont sur Rolle and Männerchor Uetendorf.
Artistic Directors
Josef Baierl | Distinguished conductor
Josef Baierl (*1942) is a distinguished conductor and music teacher closely connected with the town of Sušice. He studied Music, Czech language and History, worked as a teacher at schools in the region and since 1973 he has taught at the František Stupka School of Arts. In 1969 he founded the Sušice Children’s Choir, and since 1976 he has been leading the mixed choir Svatobor Sušice, with which he has performed more than thousand concerts at home and abroad. He is a holder of the František Lýsek Award, the Medal of the Czech Ministry of Education, and is an Honorary Citizen of Sušice.
Andrea Sušilová | Conductor
Andrea Sušilová (*1980, Prague) is a choir conductor and a music teacher based in Sušice. She has been involved in music and choral singing since childhood – she sang with the Children’s Choir Radost Prague and studied choir conducting at the Faculty of Education of Charles University. Since 2010 she has been living in Sušice, where she teaches choral singing at the František Stupka School of Arts and works with the Sušice Children’s Choir. Since 2021 she has also been a conductor of the mixed choir Svatobor Sušice.
Jaroslava Hanusová | President (since 2013)
Jaroslava Hanusová graduated from the Secondary Pedagogical School in Karlovy Vary, where she sang in the choir under the direction of Jiří Štrunc. She worked in the Sušice Children’s Choir as a rehearsal accompanist for the preparatory group Broučci. She has been a member of Svatobor since 1982 and has been leading it as president since 2013.
Zdeňka Milotová | Piano accompaniment (since 1997)
Zdeňka Milotová studied piano at the Elementary Art School in Sušice. She accompanied the preparatory groups Broučci and Sluníčka of the Sušice Children’s Choir. She has been a member of Svatobor since 1988, has been providing piano accompaniment since 1997, and also takes care of the choir’s chronicle.