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Czech born Cenek J. Vrba is one of the foremost Canadian violinists, being described as a "True inheritor of the Czech string tradition... violinist of a rare distinction". (Tokyo -Japan)
He is presently concertmaster of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and guest concertmaster of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, Japan. As a soloist he performs regularly on three continents: North America, Europe and Japan. He is recognized as a distinguished teacher whose students have won prizes in both national and international competitions. Many of his graduates are members of professional orchestras, chamber groups and teaching institutions around the world.
His early music training started at the State Conservatory of Music in the Czech Republic in the class of Prof. Julius Remes, a pupil of the famous Czech violin pedagogue Otakar Sevcik. After immigrating to Canada he pursued further studies in the United States and Europe with J. Gingold, W. Primrose and H. Szeryng. Winning the CBC National Radio Competition has launched his many solo recordings for CBC Radio and Television. Since then Mr. Vrba has recorded and toured with various orchestras in North America, Japan, China and many European countries. He has appeared with conductors such as K. Mazur, Z. Mehta, Frubeck de Burgos and G. Albrecht.
His recordings have been released on the Japanese label Fontec and in North America on the Lyra and CBC SM-5000 labels. His repertoire includes over twenty-five concerti, all well-known sonatas and many other compositions, including those written for him by Canadian and Japanese composers. Mr. Vrba was honored for his contribution to the arts by the government of Canada with the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canada Confederation and later he was awarded by the Czech government of Vaclav Havel the Masaryk Prize for his contribution in promoting Czech music abroad.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T3E 6K6
403.440.6111
