Prazak Quartet & Helen Kearns
Biography Prazak Quartet & Helen Kearns
Helen Kearns
was selected as the Irish representative for the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2009 where she was awarded the Annie Sankey Bursary.
Following her very successful performance at the International Voice Masters of Monte Carlo, Helen was invited by Placido Domingo to sing at the Palau des Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, there she performed the role of Susanna from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, directed by Ruggero Raimondi and the role of Najade in Ariadne of Naxos, Strauss under the direction of Sir Andrew Davies. Helen then sang Adele from Die Fledermaus by Strauss with the Orchestre Philarmonique du Luxembourg, conducted by Patrick Fournillier.
Helen was then engaged to sing the roles of Gilda from Verdi’s Rigoletto, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Papagena from Mozart’s Die Zauberflote also at the Palau de les arts Reine Sofia, Valencia and then went on to sing Bach Cantatas with the Orchestre Philarmonique de Marseille under the direction of Kenneth Montgomery.
Since then she has appeared in numerous venues around the world including La Scala Teatro di Milan, Palais des Beaux Arts, Flagey studio, Opéra de la Monnaie, Brussels, The Royal Palace, Brussels, Auditorium de Lyon, Sala Cecilia Meireles, Rio de Janeiro, Opéra d’Angers/Nantes, Opéra de Rennes, Salle Gaveau, Paris, National Concert Hall Dublin, Waterfront Hall Belfast, Philarmonie of Cologne, Opéra de Szeged Hungary, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Paris with orchestras such as the Orchestre Philarmonique de Luxembourg, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre de Lille, Orchestre symphonique de Bretagne, Sinfonia Varsovia, Krakow Philarmonic Orchestra , Orchestra of Katowice, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, The London Chamber Orchestra, Ars Nova Ensemble…
Helen sings a large and diverse repertoire that includes not only opera, but also lieder recitals and concerts with orchestra. Recently, Helen made her debut singing the Strauss Vier letzte lieder in Brittany as well as the Bachianas Brasilieras n°5 de Villa-Lobos with the Orchestre National de Lyon, Les Illuminations, op.18 by Benjamin Britten, and Mozart’s concert aria, “Ch’io mi scordi di the” with l’Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne.
At twenty-four, Helen Kearns made her debut with Opéra de Rennes, Opéra de Nantes and Opéra d’Angers, singing the leading female role in John Casken’s opera Golem, for the French Première, She then went on to sing again at Opéra de Rennes the roles of Janthe and Emmy from Heinrich Marschners ‘Der Vampyr’ which was broadcast for Mezzo Television. She has been featured on National French, Austrian, Swiss and Irish Radios as well as on Italian, French, Belgian, British and Brazilian National Television. Helen was awarded a scholarship to study under José Van Dam at the Opera Studio of La Monnaie National Opera Theatre and La Chapelle in Brussels.
Helen Kearns has been a laureate of numerous International competitions including; Seven Feis Ceoil, the Belfast Classical Music Bursaries, the Concertante Foundation Bursary and is the first winner of the Lola Rodriguez-Aragon Prize. Among her other awards are the First Prize and the Audience Price at the Vienna International Young Singers Competition, the Grand Prix Spéciale du Jury at the Marmande International Voice Competition and at the Monte Carlo Voice Masters.
Born in Dublin, Helen Kearns commenced her musical studies at the age of seven with Daniel McNulty and continued later with Mrs Ann Mc Nulty. Aged sixteen, she was commissioned by Chromaline France to record a CD for a private collection. She later worked with Deirdre Grier Delaney and completed her studies in 2003 with Irene Sandford at The Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin. She also studied with the great Monserrat Caballé. She continues to work with the Viorica Cortez and Aneta Pavalache in Paris.
Helen has recently recorded an album of songs from the forgotten composer, Henri Kowalski with the pianist François Dumont and a new recording which will be released in the Fall of 2016 of Mozart Arias with l’Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne. She has also recorded for Naxos an album of works written by the American composer William Perry.
The Pražák Quartet
one of today’s leading international chamber music ensembles - was established in 1972 while its members were students at the Prague Conservatory, and won major chamber music prizes early on, including first prize at the prestigious Evian String Quartet Competition, along with a special recording prize from Radio France. Since then, the quartet has gained attention for its place in the unique Czech quartet tradition, and for its musical virtuosity.
For more than 30 years, the Prazak Quartet has been at home on music stages worldwide. They are regular guests in the major European musical capitals such as Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Madrid, London, Berlin, and Munich, and have been invited to participate at numerous international festivals, where they have collaborated with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Jon Nakamatsu, Cynthia Phelps, Roberto Diaz, Josef Suk, and Sharon Kam.
The quartet has toured widely in North America, having performed in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Washington, Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal and many others. The quartet returns to the US and Canada every other year.
The Prazak Quartet has recorded extensively for Praga/Harmonia Mundi which, to date, has released 50 award-winning CDs. In addition to numerous radio recordings in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, the Prazak Quartet has also made recordings for Supraphon, Panton, Orfeo, Ottavo, Bonton, and Nuova Era.
As of 2020, violinist Marie Fuxová and cellist Jonáš Krejčí joined the quartet. The new members bring their extensive string quartet and chamber music experience, having played with the Pavel Haas, Škampa, Petersen and Schulhoff quartets as well as in many chamber orchestras and ensembles. They bring their experience and energy into the group while remaining faithful to the Czech quartet tradition, character and quality which are the longtime hallmarks of the Pražák Quartet. A new CD with the last string quartets of Josef Haydn will be released on the Aparté/Praga label in August 2021.
