The Soul of Czech Music in the Heart of Reykjavík

The Soul of Czech Music in the Heart of Reykjavík

Matinée
Laugardagur 4th of October 2025 at 12hrs.
Tickets avalable at Hallgrímskirkja and on tix.is
Admission: ISK 2.900

Lenka Mátéová was born in Czechoslovakia. She completed her cantor's degree at the Conservatory in Kroměříž and earned her master's degree at the Academy of Music in Prague. During her studies, she won many awards in her home country and has performed as a soloist across Europe. Lenka has worked in Iceland since 1990, first in Stöðvarfjörður, then from 1993-2007 as a cantor at Fella- and Hólakirkja, and from 2007-2024 at Kópavogskirkja. She has also participated in chamber and choir concerts in Iceland and has performed as an organ soloist. In addition to her church work, Lenka has taught organ performance at the National Church Music School, the Iceland University of the Arts, and has been an accompanist of the Reykjavik Male Choir, the Reykjavik Boys' Choir, Motet Choir and Hljómeyki in concerts both in Iceland and abroad, including recordings for television, radio, and CDs.In recent years, Lenka has increasingly taken on choir conducting and has been appointed as the conductor of the Kópavogur Community Choir. She also has been a substitute conductor of the Reykjavik Male Choir, the Reykjavik Cathedral Choir and the University Choir of Iceland.

Viera Gulázsi Maňásková studied organ at the P. J. Vejvanovský Conservatory in Kroměříž under the guidance of Professor Karel Pokora. Upon graduation, she served as a répétiteur and actress at the Horácké Theatre in Jihlava.In 1991, she relocated to Iceland, where she pursued a professional career in music.

In Reykjavík’s Seltjarnarnes parish, she held the positions of organist and choir master, and founded—and for many years directed—the annual music festival Listahátíð Seltjarnarness. She furthered her musical education by studying opera singing at the New Music School in Reykjavík under Professor Alina Dubik. After completing this program, Viera embarked on a concert career as a solo vocalist.In 2007, she appeared as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and performed with several Icelandic chamber ensembles. That same year, she joined the chamber orchestra Virtuosi di Praga as a soloist, touring Slovakia and numerous Czech cities, including performances at Prague’s Klementinum and the Rudolfinum.

Viera continues to maintain an active concert schedule with various chamber groups, regularly performing with piano accompaniment—among other venues, she has given Open Air concerts in southern Italy. In recent years, she has collaborated in a duo with pianist Ema Jedlička Gogová, guitarist Vladislav Bláha, and organist Lenka Máteová.Since 2022, she has served as the Director of the Municipal Cultural Centre in Vyškov.

PROGRAM:
Antonín Dvořák: The Lord is My Shepherd, Biblical Songs, Op. 99
Leoš Janáček: Ave MariaBohuslav Martinů: Vigils, H. 382
Antonín Dvořák: Evening Songs, Op. 31, selection
   All You Who Are Weary
   I Am Like a Spreading
   Linden Tree
   When I Looked Up to the Heavens
Antonín Dvořák: Song to the Moon, Rusalka’s Aria from the opera Rusalka