Faculty of Education hosts musical talents from Czechia and Slovakia, UWB students win awards

Singing, piano performance, and other musical disciplines brought dozens of students from Czech and Slovak universities to Pilsen. At the Student Performance Competition hosted by the Faculty of Education of the University of West Bohemia, they compared their skills and talent.

Students from the Faculty of Education of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (FPE) made their mark in the Czech-Slovak Student Performance Competition on home ground. In the piano performance, Anna Koželoužková placed first in the less experienced category. Václav Šlajs was placed immediately behind her in the same category. UWB also did well in singing. Jana Šístková won second place in solo singing in the more experienced category, while Eliška Mužová finished third in solo singing among the less experienced contestants. The two then shared first place in chamber singing.

“I sing mainly for joy, but competitions have a special meaning for me. They are not like regular concerts – you stand on stage knowing that an expert jury is assessing you and that you have to give the very best you have. That is why a competition is an even greater experience for me, a kind of peak where I can make use of all the knowledge, skills and experience I have gained over the years,” said Jana Šístková.

The performance competition brought dozens of university students from music disciplines in Czechia and Slovakia to Pilsen in mid-June. Over two days, they competed in several musical disciplines – from piano performance and solo and chamber singing to string and other musical instruments. To ensure their performances could be assessed fairly, participants competed in two categories in each discipline based on their previous experience.

“The competition is exceptional because it connects young people who devote themselves fully to music with the environment of faculties of education. It is not only about results, but also about meeting others, finding inspiration and receiving feedback that can help contestants move forward,” explained organizer Jiří Polívka from the Department of Music Education and Culture at FPE UWB. “For our department and our faculty, it is important to show that music education is not just a school subject, but a living space for creation, performance and shared experience,” added department head Romana Feiferlíková.

The contestants’ performances were assessed by an expert jury made up of leading educators and artists. They evaluated the technical level of the performances, musicality, expression and overall interpretive approach. The competition took place mainly on the FPE premises, while the Pilsen Conservatory also hosted part of the programme. The two-day musical contest for young performers concluded with a winners’ concert in the faculty’s ceremonial hall.

The Student Performance Competition is a travelling event. It's hosting rotates cyclically among the faculties of education in the Czech Republic. In the long term, the competition connects academic institutions involved in training future music educators and supports the exchange of experience across universities.