Partners & Supporters

American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR) is an independent American non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the relationship between the United States and Czech Republic. AFoCR fosters communication, encourages understanding, invites friendship, and promotes mutual respect between the two countries and their peoples, governments, economic enterprises, civic and cultural institutions. Nationwide in scope, AFoCR is the voice of the American constituency that supports close and strong relations with the Czech Republic and its people.

www.afocr.org

In 973 AC, the first Prague bishop, Dětmar (Ditmars), was instated. His successor Vojtěch (St. Adalbert) is the patron of the Archdiocese of Prague. Thanks to the initiative of Czech King and Roman Emperor Charles IV, the Diocese of Prague was upgraded to Archdiocese. The first Archbishop of Prague was Arnošt z Pardubic (Ernest from Pardubice), who also initiated the building of St. Vitus Cathedral. The Archbishop of Prague obtained the right to crown the Czech kings and queens. Since 1348, when Charles University was established, the Archbishop has also served as the Great Chancellor of the University. Since 2007, the Archdiocese of Prague has consisted of 247 parishes with 889 churches situated in the center of Bohemia.

St. Vitus' Cathedral

Ecclesiastical History

Christianity in the Czech Lands

 

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a Catholic church dedicated to the patroness of our nation, is a place of worship, pilgrimage, evangelization and reconciliation. It offers visitors the occasion for a deepening conversion, a step forward in the journey to God, with Mary as the model for that journey.

www.nationalshrine.com

Gather during Antonín Dvořák's Lužanská Mass services in the presence of Dominik Duka, the 36th Archbishop of Prague, to celebrate the 170th anniversary of the birth of the composer in the center of catholic life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, at 10 a.m. on September 25, 2011.

The Cathedral Choral Society is the resident symphonic chorus of Washington National Cathedral. The 160-voice chorus is the oldest choral group in Washington, having been founded in 1941 by Paul Callaway who served as music director until 1984. Since 1985, J. Reilly Lewis has conducted the Society in musical masterpieces from plainsong to the classics to contemporary works. Since its founding, the Cathedral Choral Society has presented numerous world premieres, many of them commissioned by the Society, and has maintained a tradition of showcasing both promising young soloists and internationally known artists.

www.cathedralchoralsociety.org

Hear the sounds of Antonín Dvořák's Te Deum performed by the Cathedral Choral Society at the sacred spiritual location and resource for people of all faiths in America, the Washington National Cathedral, on October 28, 2011, being also the National Day of the Czech Republic.

Classical WETA and WETA Television are public broadcasting stations serving the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia with high-quality programming.  Classical WETA 90.9 FM is the exclusive classical music radio station in the nation’s capital and is consistently one of the most-listened-to stations in the market. Classical WETA can be heard at 90.9 FM in the Washington area, 88.9 FM in Frederick, Maryland, and 89.1 FM in Hagerstown, Maryland, as well via Internet streaming at www.classicalweta.org. VivaLaVoce — The Station That Sings — is Classical WETA’s all-vocal classical music channel available by live stream at www.vivalavoce.org and via the HD2 signal of 90.9 FM.

The Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles has a number of festivities celebrating the 170th anniversary of the birth of Antonín Dvořák. Celebrate Dvořák birthday on the West Coast!

Click here to download the pdf program of events in Los Angeles.

The SVU is an independent non-profit international cultural organization dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, the free dissemination of ideas, and the fostering of contact among people. It brings together scholars, scientists, artists, writers, students, lawyers, businessmen and others, throughout the world who have, because of their ethnic background or professional calling, have an interest in the Czech Republic and/ or Slovakia, their histories, peoples or their cultural and intellectual contributions.

www.svu2000.org

The Czech Center New York (CC NY) is a meeting place for Czech and local culture, a place where artists and professionals, Czech and non-Czech alike, can get to know each other and talk about their work, and produce work together, when the chance presents itself. Though of course our focus is on contemporary Czech artists, we are open to any idea that addresses current cultural or social themes, and are committed to the support of new international projects.

new-york.czechcentres.cz

Czech Radio is the only public service radio in the Czech Republic. Next to its main 4 nationwide full service format stations, Czech Radio offers also 4 special stations focusing on news and current affairs, classical music, popularization of science and applied technical sciences, and young audience. Further, Czech Radio broadcasts abroad in 6 languages including Czech (service for compatriots living abroad).

www.rozhlas.cz (Czech version)

www.radio.cz/en (English version)

The DC Youth Orchestra Program provides affordable, accessible, quality music instruction and performance opportunities for young people in the DC Metropolitan area; develops a youth orchestra capable of competing successfully at the national and international levels; and instills in their students the discipline and focus necessary to succeed academically as well as musically. The DC Youth orchestra Program provides music education for all ages and ability levels and the Youth Orchestra is the most advanced of 10 major ensembles in the program.

www.dcyop.org

Delight in a special perform of the DC Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Maestro Jesus Manuel Bernard, as they perform the New World Symphony at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater on October 27 at 6 p.m. 

The Embassy Series promotes international understanding and global cultural diplomacy through music and the Arts, by extending public access to Washington, DC's embassies and ambassadors' residences, highlighting their music and culture and showcasing American and international artists.

www.embassyseries.com

Relish the vibrato sounds of violinist Josef Špaček who will perform a selection of work by Dvořák, Janáček, and Smetana at the Embassy of the Czech Republic on October 21 at 7:30 p.m.

The Frostburg State University Foundation is the not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that supports the goals and objectives of Frostburg State University, a comprehensive university in Western Maryland that is part of the University System of Maryland. FSU is a student-centered teaching and learning institution that is becoming a leader in preparing students to live, work and lead in a global environment. 

www.frostburg.edu

The virtuosic Czech dances of Dvorak and his teacher, Antonin Liehmann, will be performed by Dr. Joan DeVee Dixon and Alice Fiedlerova, duo-pianists, at the Embassy of the Czech Republic on October 2 at 3 pm.

Other USA performances will include:
Saturday, September 24 at 5 pm at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Spillville, Iowa.
 
Sunday, September 25 at 2 pm at the Scottish Rite Auditorium, 616 A Ave., NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
 
Friday, September 30 at 8 pm at the Lyric Theatre, 20 East Main Street, Frostburg State University, Frostburg, Maryland.
 

Daniela Cermanova (designer) and Michaela Schwartz founded Green and Blue, a boutique clothing store for men and women in Washington, DC. Green and Blue is showcasing Cermanova's labels Ela Ela, custom made clothing Ela Ela Couture and Ela Ela Jewelry. Daniela Cermanova designs clothes and jewelry for women that are functional as well as elegant using expert tailoring and beautiful fabrics and interesting combination of colors. Michaela opened Green and Blue to provide Washington women with an oasis in which to shop where every client is treated to a personal shopping experience.

www.greenandbluestyle.com

Honeywell is a Fortune 100 company that invents and manufactures technologies to address tough challenges linked to global macrotrends such as safety, security, and energy. With approximately 122,000 employees worldwide, including more than 19,000 engineers and scientists, we have an unrelenting focus on quality, delivery, value, and technology in everything we make and do.

www.honeywell.com

The Library's mission is to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people.

www.loc.gov

In 1923, the Czechoslovak government decided that Czernin Palace would be alloted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offices of which were dispersed in several places in Prague. State rooms of Czernin Palace host many significant negotiations, and serve for the purposes of multiple conferences and sessions. It is not by accident that it was here where the Warsaw Treaty was dissolved at the beginning of 1990s.

www.mzv.cz

Click here for a virtual tour of the Czernin Palace.
 

The mission of the National Gallery of Art is to serve the United States of America in a national role by preserving, collecting, exhibiting, and fostering the understanding of works of art, at the highest possible museum and scholarly standards.

www.nga.gov

The Prague Spring International Music Festival, founded in 1946, showcases talented performing artists, orchestras, and chamber music ensembles from around the world. The festival commemorates important musical anniversaries and presents Czech as wells as world premieres of compositions by contemporary artists. Prague Spring's traditional venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. Since 1952, the festival has opened on May 12, the anniversary of the death of Bedřich Smetana.

www.prague-spring.net

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of the Native cultures of the Western Hemisphere, past, present, and future, through partnership with Native people and others. The museum works to support the continuance of culture, traditional values, and transitions in contemporary Native life.

www.nmai.si.edu

Supraphon Music Publishing is the most significant Czech record label, and has a distinguished history. The artistic direction of the firm gave rise to a broad catalog of titles, which ultimately mapped out the works of Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, and Leoš Janáček, as well as other giants of both the Czech and the international music worlds.

www.supraphon.com

The Avalon Theatre has been a cornerstone of northwest Washington DC since the theater opened in February 1923. In April 2003, the Avalon became a nonprofit theater operated by The Avalon Theatre Project. As an independent, nonprofit theater, the Avalon offers exciting and diverse programming that includes outstanding first-run commercial films, independent and foreign films, documentaries, film festivals, and special programs for families and seniors. The Avalon Café opened in April 2009 in one of the theater’s retail spaces and will enhance the movie-going experience with outstanding food and beverages.

www.theavalon.org

As the national university of the Catholic Church in the United States, founded and sponsored by the bishops of the country with the approval of the Holy See, The Catholic University of America is committed to being a comprehensive Catholic and American institution of higher learning, faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ as handed on by the Church. Dedicated to advancing the dialogue between faith and reason, The Catholic University of America seeks to discover and impart the truth through excellence in teaching and research, all in service to the Church, the nation and the world. The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music remains the preeminent Catholic center for music study in the United States and is internationally recognized for perpetuating the Church’s historical role in uplifting the human spirit through the study and performance of music.

www.cua.edu

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts continues its efforts to fulfill President Kennedy's vision by producing and presenting an unmatched variety of theater and musicals, dance and ballet, orchestral, chamber, jazz, popular, world, and folk music, and multi-media performances for all ages. Every year the institution that bears President Kennedy's name brings his dream to fruition, touching the lives of millions of people through thousands of performances by the greatest artists from across America and around the world. The Center also nurtures new works and young artists, creating performances, broadcasts, and touring productions while serving the nation as a leader in arts education.

www.kennedy-center.org

The National Museum is the largest museum in the Czech Republic. As the central state museum with collecting, scientific, educational and methodological functions it seeks to enhance the sense of national identity and awareness of being part of the whole framework of European and world community and culture. It is a polythematic institution, which comprises a large number of scientific disciplines and areas of collecting ranging from natural sciences to specialized fields of social sciences.

www.nm.cz
Photo courtesy of Che from Wikimedia Commons

Study the original New World Symphony manuscript composed in the United States, yet on loan for the first time ever to the United States from the National Museum of the Czech Republic at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on October 1, 2011.

The Phillips Collection is an exceptional collection of modern and contemporary art in a dynamic environment for collaboration, innovation, engagement with the world, scholarship, and new forms of public participation.

www.phillipscollection.org

Enjoy a U.S. premiere of the Homage to Dvořák composed by Miroslav Srnka and performed by the Fama Quartet as a part of the Leading European Composers’ program at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, on October 13, 2011.

Furthermore, hear a special performance of the Fama Quartet as part of the Sunday Concerts' program at the Phillips collection on October 16, 2011.

Washington Musica Viva, Inc. (WMV) was incorporated in Montgomery County as a non-profit arts organization in July 1998. Its mission is to produce public performances of a broad range of classical, jazz-based, and contemporary chamber music. Washington Musica Viva has a special focus on local composers, women composers, African-American composers, composers suffering under political oppression, and unfamiliar masterpieces of all kinds.

www.dcmusicaviva.org

Washington National Cathedral is a church for national purposes called to embody God’s love and to welcome people of all faiths and perspectives. A unique blend of the spiritual and the civic, this Episcopal Cathedral is a voice for generous-spirited Christianity and a catalyst for reconciliation and interfaith dialogue to promote respect and understanding. We invite all people to share in our commitment to create a more hopeful and just world.

www.nationalcathedral.org

Enjoy the performance of international organist Pavel Kohout who will perform the New World Symphony on the grand organ of the Washington National Cathedral at 5:15 p.m. on October 9, 2011.