2nd year of the composition competition

Ondřej Zámečník: Hope in Children’s Drawings from Terezín

The winning composition of the 2nd annual competition was inspired by the dreams of children from the Terezín ghetto

The winner of the 2nd annual composition competition organized by the Music for Eternal Hope Foundation is the young composer Ondřej Zámečník. He impressed the expert jury with his suite for wind quintet titled Hope in Children’s Drawings from Terezín. The composition reflects the contrast between the defenseless hope of children and the tragic fate of the creators of the original drawings.

About the Composition and Its Inspiration

The composition was inspired by a three-day musicology field trip to Terezín. The central motif of the entire work is a collection of drawings by children who did not survive the Holocaust. Since the drawings did not have original titles, the individual movements of the suite are named after the themes they depict: Black Dog, Butterfly, and Soccer Match.

“Writing this piece was not easy for me at all. The composition reflects the children’s cheerful hope in contrast to their tragic fate. The main idea is the hope these children had. For many of them, the chance to live to see the end of the war remained nothing more than a dream. The entire composition is thus framed by a motif of hope, which serves as the unifying element of the whole suite.” — Ondřej Zámečník, composer of the winning piece

The world premiere of the work was performed by the leading Czech ensemble, the Belfiato Quintet.

Who is Ondřej Zámečník?

Ondřej Zámečník (b. 1998) is pursuing a master’s degree in Musicology and Cultural Management at Masaryk University in Brno. He studied oboe at the Pardubice Conservatory, but is also proficient in the English horn, recorder, and keyboard instruments.

He began his career as a composer with a successful collaboration with the Masaryk University Symphony Orchestra, which premiered his two large-scale symphonic poems, Vodník and Krvavá svatba. In addition to music, he enjoys beekeeping, backpacking, and helping out at the family vineyard.

Other Award-Winning Compositions and Jury Commendations

Given the strong competition in the 2nd edition, the jury decided to award additional prizes for exceptional contribution and artistic quality:

• Jury’s Honorable Mention: awarded to Bc. Jan Čarek for the composition Three Terezín Sketches (also for wind quintet).
• Belfiato Quintet Special Prize: awarded to Jan Rösner for the composition On the Way to Silence.

Rules and Conditions of the 2nd Edition of the Competition

The composition competition aims to support the work of young composers and build on the legacy of the Terezín composers. The second edition was announced with the following parameters:

• Category and instrumentation: The competition was open to original, previously unpublished, and unperformed compositions for wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, bassoon).
• Age limit: The competition was open to Czech and foreign composers who were 35 years of age or younger as of the submission deadline.
• Financial reward: The competition winner received a cash prize of 10,000 CZK. The main prize for the winner was also the world premiere of the composition at an official concert of the Eternal Hope Festival.
• Anonymity: To ensure maximum objectivity, the jury’s evaluation was conducted entirely anonymously using assigned numerical codes.

Expert Jury for the 2nd Edition

The work submitted by Ondřej Zámečník was selected by a jury composed of leading figures from the Czech and international music scenes:

• Lukáš Sommer – composer and guitarist (CZ)
• Aleš Pavlorek – composer and clarinetist (CZ)
• Yuval Shaked – composer (IL)
• Martina Jankovská – member of the board of directors of the Music for Eternal Hope Foundation (CZ)
• Kristina Vocetková – program director of the Eternal Hope Festival (CZ)
• Members of the Belfiato Quintet (CZ)