Irvin Venyš

clarinet / chamber music

I would like to thank the MenART Academy for inviting me to participate in the mentoring program again. I am increasingly realizing that it is very important in life who one meets in the course of one's life and who influences them and in what direction. This does not only apply to music, but to all spheres of human existence and human development, which does not cease until the end of one's life. And who knows, if it does not continue after that... I am glad that within the MenART Academy our paths will meet and we will have the opportunity to enrich each other not only on a musical but also a human level. I am looking forward to meeting all the young clarinetists and their teachers from elementary art schools for the third time.

Irvin Venyš is one of the most progressive performers on the Czech music scene. Thanks primarily to his wide range of interpretations, from "classical" music to folklore and jazz to challenging compositions from the 20th and 21st centuries, he has become a sought-after soloist and chamber musician. He collaborates with many contemporary composers and actively participates not only in premiere interpretations of compositions by foreign and domestic authors. He regularly records for Czech Radio, Czech Television, ORF, Mitteldeutsches Rundfunk NAXOS, and the companies Arco Diva and Supraphon. He released his latest CD with the Epoque Quartet Komp(l)ot on his new label Irvin Classics.

He works as a clarinet teacher at the HAMU in Prague and as the director of the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation.

He co-founded and organizes the cultural and educational project Prague Clarinet Days and the Concert against Totalitarianism, which commemorates the anniversary of November 17 and the oppression of artists by totalitarian regimes.

Applications are accepted until 31. 3. 2025.

Requirements

  • Age: 10+,
  • Recordings: 2 pieces from different stylistic periods,
  • Number of selected scholarship recipients: max 7 (+ teachers), including: wind chamber ensemble, clarinet quartet
  • Examples must be uploaded (as a public or private link) to YouTube – see Application Terms.