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Folk Czech band ready for Texas tour
That's thanks to the University of North Texas endowment. The Petr Micka Cimbalom Orchestra, a Moravian folk orchestra from the Czech Republic, will tour Texas in October, giving a series of performances made possible by a $500,000 University of North Texas endowment that supports sharing Czech music and culture throughout the state. Czech National Television will film the tour for a documentary about the orchestra and UNT's endowment, known as the Czech Educational Foundation of Texas (CEFT) Frank J. and Hermine Hurta Kostohryz Residency in Czech Music and Culture. The tour starts Saturday, Oct. 6 at UNT. "As we continue to emphasize the importance of international participation in the world of music through exchanges and special projects, it is very gratifying to learn that the film crew from Czech National Television wishes to come here and film the cimbalom orchestra performing and interacting in Texas," said Dr. James Scott, dean of the UNT College of Music. The Petr Micka Cimbalom Orchestra consists of Petr and Ales Mic¡ka on violin, Martin Drlik on clarinet, Pavel Valíc¡ek on cimbalom, Frantis¡ek Sup on viola, and David R¡ic¡ica on bass. In addition to the six musicians and the four-person camera crew, former UNT exchange student Vilem Spílka will accompany the group as tour manager and translator. Spílka is co-owner of 24-7 Promotion s.r.o., the largest music booking agency in the Czech Republic. The orchestra arrives on the UNT campus on Oct. 5, with its first performance scheduled for 8 p.m. the following day in Winspear Hall of the Murchison Performing Arts Center on the UNT campus. Sovik initiated the studentexchange program between UNT and the Janacek Academy in 1990. Since 1990, Sovik has led 26 short-term visits to the Czech Republic, with 876 faculty members and students participating. The students and faculty performed in 94 recitals and offered 100 academic presentations. Sovik and David Huff, a UNT master's student in music theory, and a teaching assistant, will coordinate the Petr Micka Cimbalom Orchestra tour while serving as van drivers. The orchestra's performance schedule in Texas is as follows: 8 p.m. Oct. 6 (Saturday) Winspear Performance Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, located along the north side of Interstate 35E at North Texas Boulevard on the UNT campus Tickets: $7 with discounts available; call (940) 369-7802 or visit www.thempac.com 3:30 and 5:15 p.m. Oct. 7 (Sunday) "Heritage Festival" Texas State Fair, African- American (Museum Outdoor) Stage, Dallas Performance is free with fairgrounds admission 8:30 p.m. Oct. 9 (Tuesday) Cactus Café, University of Texas Campus, Austin (Not being filmed) Free 7 p.m. Oct. 10 (Wednesday) Czech Cultural Center, Houston * Museum, Library, Prague Hall, Brno Gallery, Wenceslas Chapel* 4920 San Jacinto at Wichita in the museum district Admission: $15 7 p.m. Oct. 11 (Thursday) Caldwell Civic Center, Caldwell, 103 W. Highway 21 Admission: Freewill offering 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 (Saturday) "Muziky Muziky" Amphitheater, La Grange Fayette County Fairgrounds, Highway 77 North Admission: $5 4:30 - 6 p.m. Oct. 14 (Sunday) Fund-raising concert for UNT's CEFT Dallas Sokol Hall, Dallas, 7448 Greenville $10 tax-deductible offering toward CEF |
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