Jana Boušková Explained

Jana Boušková
Birth Date:27 September 1970
Birth Place:Prague, Czechoslovakia
Occupation:Musician
Alma Mater:
Spouse:Jiří Kubita
Children:2
Mother:Libuse Vachalova
Father:Jiří Boušek
Module:
Embed:yes
Genre:Classical
Instrument:Harp

Jana Boušková (born 27 September 1970) is a Czech harpist and pedagogue. She has been the principal harpist of the Czech Philharmonic since 2005. Boušková is also a professor at the Royal College of Music in London since 2019, the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague since 2007, and she was the harp teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels from 2005 to 2020.

Early life and education

Jana Boušková was born in Prague on 27 September 1970. She is the daughter of flutist Jiří Boušek and harpist .[1] She began playing the harp at a young age and gave her first recital when she was seven years old.[2]

Boušková attended the Prague Conservatory and the University of Ostrava, where she studied under her mother. She graduated from the University of Ostrava in 1998, after years of distance learning.[3] She recalled in 2017 that her mother was more demanding of her than other students, and that retrospectively, she is grateful to her for this.[4] She also attended classes given by Alice Giles in Bayreuth, and studied under Susann McDonald at Indiana University Bloomington on a Fulbright scholarship.[5]

Music career

Boušková won the Maria Damm Rensch Prize at the first USA International Harp Competition in 1989.[6] Three years later, she won the gold medal at the second USA International Harp Competition.[7] She later became the official soloist of the harp maker Lyon & Healy and plays the Lyon & Healy Style 30 concert harp that she received as a prize for winning the second USA International Harp Competition.[8] Also in 1992, Boušková took second place at the eleventh Israel International Harp Competition. She won first prize at the Grand Prix Concours International de Musique de Chambre de Paris in 1998 and the Torneo Internazionale di Musica in 1999. Boušková also received the Czech Republic's 1996 Talent of the Year Award and the 2002 Czech Music Council Award, in recognition of her representation of Czechs on the international stage.[9]

As a soloist, Boušková has performed with the Czech Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others. She was chosen to premiere Sergiu Natra's Sonata in One Movement in 1999.[10] Other works Boušková has premiered include Ravi Shankar's Sonata for Cello and Harp, alongside Mstislav Rostropovich, and Benjamin Yusupov's Concerto for Flute, Violin, Viola, Harp and Orchestra, alongside Maxim Vengerov and others.[8]

Boušková was harp professor at the Prague Conservatory from 1993 to 2012. In 2005, she became professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and the Erasmus Brussels University of Applied Sciences and Arts. She was appointed professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 2007 and took up the role of professor at the Royal College of Music in London in 2019.[8] She has also taught at Indiana University Bloomington and the Geneva University of Music.[11] [12]

Personal life

Boušková is married to Jiří Kubita, a violinist with the Czech Philharmonic. As of 2010, the couple have two sons, and both children play the violin.[2]

Selected discography

Boušková has contributed to numerous recordings for Czech and international record labels.[13] The following list is compiled from her official website.[14]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jana Boušková: "Hudba je potřebná pro náš rozvoj". Jana. Vašatová. Český rozhlas. 2 January 2017.
  2. Web site: Interview with harpist Jana Boušková. Jitka. Novotná. Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. 29 October 2010.
  3. https://www.idnes.cz/ostrava/zpravy/ostravske-stopy-harfistka-jana-bouskova.A161203_2290392_ostrava-zpravy_jog Ostravské stopy: Posluchači se nebojí emocí, říká harfistka Boušková
  4. Web site: La harpiste Jana Boušková joue Ma Patrie de Smetana. Magdalena. Hrozínková. Radio Prague. 26 November 2017.
  5. https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/lide/jana-bouskova1/ Jana Boušková
  6. http://publikacie.hc.sk/sfku-allegretto/05-sfku-1995.pdf Stredoeurópsky Festival Koncertného Umenia, 24 – 29 Apríl 1995
  7. https://usaihc.org/2nd-competition-1992 2nd USA International Harp Competition
  8. Web site: Harpist Jana Boušková joins RCM Strings Faculty. 21 December 2018.
  9. Book: International Who's Who in Classical Music. Routledge. 2009. 25. 978-1857435139. 98.
  10. Book: Rensch, Roslyn. Harps and Harpists, Revised Edition. Indiana University Press. 2017. 978-0253030290. 300.
  11. https://operaplus.cz/harfistka-jana-bouskova-profesorkou-londynske-royal-college-of-music/ Harfistka Jana Boušková profesorkou londýnské Royal College of Music
  12. News: Harfistka Jana Boušková profesorkou londýnské Royal College of Music . operaplus.cz . 21 December 2018 . 20 November 2022 . cs . Harpist Jana Boušková, professor at the Royal College of Music in London.
  13. https://harpsociety.org/pdfs/conferenceinstitute/conference/conference%20program%20book.pdf Conference Program Book – 36th National Conference, June 23–26, 2004
  14. Web site: Recordings. JanaBouskova.com.