CHOIR TEAM
Choirmaster
Helena Stojaníková
In the Šumperk Children's Choir she spent 12 years as
a singer. She studied musicology at Palacký University in Olomouc. Since 2005
she has been the choirmaster with the Šumperk Children´s Choir. She follows up
on her own choral experience and acquires the long-lasting philosophy of
working with children developed by Tomáš and Alois Motýl. In this perspective
child is a creative partner, not an object for choirmaster's achievement. Between
2005 and 2017 together with Tomáš Motýl, she worked with children in prep
sections and managed also the concert choir. Since 2017 she has been the
choirmaster of all prep sections as well as the concert choir. In recent years,
she has succeeded with the concert choir at international competitions in Preveza, Barcelona, Malta and Bergen. She is a member of the Expert Council on
Children's Choir Singing NIPOS ARTAMA Praha. She co-sponsors the regional
competition of children's choirs the Golden Lyre Šumperk. In 2016 she was
awarded the Choirmaster Junior Prize by the Union of Czech Children's Choirs.
Tomáš Motýl
Former and founding member of the choir who graduated from
the Faculty of Education at Palacký University in Olomouc. He has been working
with the choir since 1976 when he began acquiring new skills under the
leadership of his father Alois Motýl, choir founder. He absorbed further
valuable pieces of knowledge in cooperation with other children´s choirs and
their choirmasters, notably with Milan Uherek and music composer Miroslav
Raichl. He was in sole charge of the choir from the early 1990s. In past he organized seven international
festivals of children´s choirs "Krajina zpěvu" (the Country of Singing) in
Šumperk. Presently, he is a lecturer at national seminars for choirmasters of
children´s choirs and a jury member at national competitions of these choirs.
He is also a member of the Expert Council on Children's Choir Singing NIPOS
ARTAMA Praha. The focal point of his work lies, however, in care of his own
choir. Beside music interpretation, he prepares leisure time activities for
choral kids so they feel great about their choir and could enjoy loads of
interesting and useful stuff. In 2017 he put an end to his active choirmaster
career but remains as an advisor.
Piano partnership
Petr Vočka
He studied musicology at the Faculty of Arts of
Palacký University in Olomouc, also music education and piano at the Faculty of Education of the same university. Occasionally, he collaborated with several
chamber ensembles. Together with reciter Tereza Karlíková, he repeatedly
participated in the International Competition of Zdeněk Fibich in melodrama
interpretation (twice won the national round, placed 2nd and 3rd
in the international round). In years 2007–2011, he collaborated with Ensemble
Damian and Children's Opera Olomouc, for two years with children's choir
Arietta Mohelnice and since 2014 he has been a pianist with the children's
choir Motýli Šumperk. As a teacher at the primary art school in Šumperk, he
founded and organized nationwide Competition in interpretation of concert
melodrama for students of literary dramatic section of primary art schools.
JANA RISTOVSKÁ
She graduated from the Academy of Music in Žilina,
Slovakia. During her study, she greatly succeeded at several competitions, including
international ones. Since 1987 she has been a piano teacher at the music school
in Šumperk where she launched her collaboration with the children's choir. For
the choir she personifies a remarkably sensitive and resourceful music partner
as well as a human being who is always willing to help whenever the demanding
choir activity requires.
The founder
Alois Motýl (*1929 †2013)
He was born in Želechovice nad Dřevnicí, a village
near the town of Zlín, on September 3, 1929, with ancestry of local church
organ masters. Until recently his family held this traditional post from 1890. In
1943–1948 he studied to play the piano and organ at the Academy of Music in
Brno. Following his graduation, he deepened his music and pedagogic education
assisted by Vilém Petrželka, Jaroslav Kvapil and Josef Blatný. In early 1949 he
joined the music school in Šumperk as a piano teacher. Until the mid 1960s he
was a choirmaster of the Choir Association of Šumperk Female Teachers.
In 1962 he founded and until 1994 directed the Šumperk Children's Choir. Afterwards, until June 2012, he remained with the choir as a voice instructor. Thus, his continuous work spans exactly 50 years. He led the choir to quickly become an internationally respected ensemble. His diligence, dedication and also his distinctive style of humor influenced over 2000 little singers who ever joined the choir ranks. Many regularly and happily return and express an everlasting appurtenance.
In similar way, he influenced several generations of children's choirmasters in the entire Czech Republic. Joined by many of his friends from within this sphere, he participated in an informal movement which pursued the closest possible cooperation among children's choirs, their leadership and affiliated community of music composers.
In 1989 he was awarded the distinguished František Lýska Prize, in 2004 Bedřich Smetana Prize. Both were awarded by the Union of Czech Choirs. Alois Motýl excelled in organizing music life in Šumperk and its vicinity. From 1968 on, he annually organized the regional competition of children's choirs the Golden Lyre. In 1974 he founded Šumperské Preludium, a festival for young artists which in 2015 was named after its founder – Alois Motýl Preludium. The new name has been used ever since. In between 1989 and 2001, there were seven international festivals of children's choirs Krajina zpěvu (the Country of Singing) held, all achieved due to his idea and endeavor. Also based on the above-mentioned facts was his work honored with other distinguished awards: in 1994 Honorary Citizen of Šumperk, in 2009 The Award of the Minister of Culture for Nonprofessional Art in choral singing and 2010 Olomouc Region Award for the Outstanding Individual of the Year for Contribution in Culture.
