The folk ensemble Melodika was established in the autumn of 2002 by Veronika Chudobová. In the national competition organised by the Ministry of Education, the ensemble won the first prize in the regional round three times and the first prize in the national round in 2009. Melodika participates in many festivals and organises thematic performances reflecting old daily life folk customs and Christmas and Easter folk traditions. The ensemble regularly attends an intensive workshop, where children not only rehearse their performances, but also enjoy a variety of sport and fun activities. Younger children can gain experience with collective games and folk music in the folk ensemble Melodinka, which is a preparatory ensemble.
Both ensembles perform songs from Bohemia and Moravia and use replicas of well-known and not-so-well-known folk instruments.
The Big Band was established in September 2006 by Jan Hykrda, who is a member of Czech National Symphony Orchestra today.
In 2008, Robert Pečiva took over the conducting of the orchestra. Robert Pečiva was a member of Central Music of the Army of the Czech Republic and is a member of the Vladimír Brož Big Band.
The first performance of the Big Band took place in the Libeňský Castle. Other performances and activities include the opening of the cycleway Prague-Vienna in Hůrka, concerts at the City Hall in Prague 13, and a workshop in Račice-u-Berouna.
The Big Band also compared favourably at the showcase of orchestras of elementary schools of arts in Prague.
The members of the orchestra are exclusively students of our school; this allows them to gain invaluable experience for their potential music career. The orchestra plays music of all genres, but it focuses mainly on swing and performs works of authors such as Glen Miller, Billy Vaughn, Walter Dobschinski, and Jimmy Forest.
The Children’s Choir Stodůlky was established by Dragana Novaković-Vitas in October 2004. The choir accepts pupils from five to eighteen years of age. It has two sections: the preparatory choir and the concert choir. The choir is open to both current students of the school who are learning to play a musical instrument and pupils who are interested in choir singing only.
The repertoire of the choir consists of works of Czech and world authors and includes adaptations of folk and modern songs.
The choir performs regularly at concerts and events organised by the school.
In 2007 and 2010, the choir won the silver prize in the Prague regional round of the national showcase of children’s choirs.
The Accordion Ensemble was established by Václav Mlejnek in 2011. Currently it has nine accordionists, mainly younger pupils. The ensemble occasionally cooperates with players of other instruments. The repertoire of the ensemble is varied: the members play classical and entertaining music and regularly perform in concerts with great success. In 2012 the ensemble won the first prize at the Prague Accordion competition.
The Guitar Ensemble was established by Milada Karez in February 2012.
The members of the ensemble come from all classes in the Guitar Department. The repertoire of the ensemble includes Czech and Spanish Baroque compositions, Romantic transcriptions, and Spanish folk songs.
In May 2012, the ensemble performed at the gala concert of the school, which took place in the Bohuslav Martinů Hall at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Since then, the ensemble performs concerts regularly.
Since September 2015, the ensemble is led by Róbert Rovina.
The Brass Band was established in the autumn of 2012. The make-up of the band is developing continuously and includes enthusiastic students that play wind instruments, keyboards, string instruments and percussions. The repertoire is varied and reflects ideas of the members of the band. Popular genres include rock, jazz and pop music. In September 2015, the conducting position was taken by Jan Řeřicha.
The Dance Ensemble was established in 2013 as an accompanying ensemble for pupils of the Voice Department, in order to provide experience with accompanying music to students of all departments of the Music Specialization. The orchestra has a classic rhythm section – the bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, and percussions – and a large wind section – flutes, saxophones, the trumpet, and the trombone. The Voice Department is represented not only by soloists, but also by an accompanying vocal trio. This make-up allows to practise interpretation of genres such as pop, jazz, and rock, which is both beneficial and motivational for all members of the orchestra. The orchestra is led by Michal Studničný.
The Chamber String Orchestra provides opportunities to practice playing in a group for older violin and cello players. They play together simple adaptations of both well-known and not-so-famous works of composers of all music periods. The orchestra is led by Milada Procházková, a cello player with concert experience in a string quartet.
