On March 26, 2017, the Aaron Copland School of Music Orchestra returned to the Bohemian National Hall for a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s world-famous “Cello Concerto” under the baton of Maestro Maurice Peress.
On Sunday, February 26th, DAHA presented a panel discussion for Black History Month in which distinguished scholars and musicians explored the social and aesthetic history and outcomes of Dvořák’s significant connections with the late 19th century African-American community as he composed the “New World” Symphony.
As part of the Rusalka Celebration in the Bohemian National Hall, this special Dvořák Room presentation explored Antonín Dvořák’s beloved country house at Vysoká and its scenic surroundings in recent photographs by noted Czech photographer Eva Heyd. Finding inspiration in nature, Dvořák composed the opera Rusalka (The Water Nymph) over a period of seven months in 1900, largely in this idyllic setting. When away, he constantly longed for Vysoká, only in the atmosphere of the woods and lakes of mythic Bohemia, nourished by Czech fairy tales and the libretto of poet Jaroslav Kvapil, could Dvořák have created his universally treasured water nymph Rusalka.
Many Dvořák admirers joined DAHA and Czech Center New York on Wednesday, February 15th for a lecture by musicologist Michael Beckerman exploring Rusalka’s deeper meanings, presented as part of the month-long celebration of Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka in New York.
On Sunday, October 23rd, Antonín Dvořák’s 175th Anniversary festivities continued with an all-Czech lecture-performance of works by Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček ,and Suk featuring the violin-piano ensemble G-sharp Duo, with Emilie-Anne Gendron on Violin and Yelena Grinberg on piano. Dr. Grinberg and Ms. Gendron discussed each musical piece and the composers, providing an overview of Czech music at the turn of the 20th century.
Marking the 175th Anniversaries of both Antonín Dvořák and the New York Philharmonic, DAHA launched a multi-year concert series presenting all of Dvořák’s chamber works on Sunday, September 18th. Featuring NY Philharmonic musicians and friends.
The Dvořák Room at the Bohemian National Hall was one of venues visited by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), for an introduction to Dvořák’s life in America by DAHA Board Member Majda Kallab Whitaker.
The tradition of Sunday afternoon musicales in the late nineteenth century continued as the spirited ArtsAhimsa ensemble returned on May 1, 2016 for its sixth season with chamber works from the repertoire of Antonín Dvořák and related musical sources.
On the evening of Saturday, March 19, 2016, the Aaron Copland School of Music Orchestra under the direction of Maurice Peress presented a rousing concert “recreating” the Czech Day program of August 12, 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
On January 30th and 31st, performances of the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre in the historic ballroom of the Bohemian National Hall explored the influence of African American and Native American music upon the work of famed Czech composer Antonín Dvořák during his American sojourn of 1892-1895, telling the story with classical and jazz music accompaniment, live actors, and marionettes under the direction of Vit Hořejš.
On Sunday, December 13, 2015 guests joined in a festive celebration of the season at the Bohemian National Hall with an exciting variety of holiday presentations and gift market sponsored by the Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association; Consulate General of the Czech Republic; Czech Center New York; and Dvořák American Heritage Association.
On October 18th, the Dvořák American Heritage Society presented its inaugural DAHA Annual Lecture/Recital Program featuring Dvořák scholar David Beveridge and a vocal music performance by mezzo-soprano Mirjam Frank.
On April 26th, the Dvořák American Heritage Association celebrated its 25th anniversary with special guests Laurie Beckelman (Historic Preservation Expert & Former Chair of NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission), Carol Greitzer (Preservation Advocate & Former NYC Council Member), Anthony Wood (Founder and Chair of New York Preservation Archive Project); Professor Michael Beckerman, Conductor Maurice Peress, Design Historian Majda Kallab Whitaker, Preservationist Jack Taylor, and DAHA's President Susan Lucak.
On March 29th, DAHA hosted an afternoon of instrumental and vocal Czech chamber music. The event featured seasoned musicians and young students, evoking a tradition of late 19th century musical life, from the period when Antonín Dvořák headed the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City.
On February 27th, 2015, the Aaron Copland School of Music Orchestra, under the direction of Maurice Peress, performed works by Antonín Dvořák and George Gershwin, exploring the Czech composer and his American legacy.
On Sunday, December 14th, the Czech Holiday Party attracted over 200 families and friends to the historic ballroom of the Bohemian National Hall for an exciting program including a music performance, holiday market, light refreshments, and film screening.
Czech composer Antonín Dvořák continued to be celebrated in 2014 with the New York Philharmonic’s unprecedented Dvořák Festival, from December 4th – December 13th.
The original manuscript of the "New World" Symphony returned for the first time to New York City, where it was composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1893. On loan from the Czech National Museum, the manuscript was reunited with original orchestral parts from the New York Philharmonic, created for the world premiere at Carnegie Hall in 1893.
On October 26th, DAHA presented a program of lectures and performances around the theme of musical melodrama (the combination of speech and music) and Dvořák’s near obsession with Longfellow’s Hiawatha.
On April 5, 2014, the Dvořák American Heritage Association and the Violoncello Society, Inc. joined in presenting an original manuscript, the recently discovered solo cello part of Antonín Dvořák’s American masterwork, the “Cello Concerto in B minor,” with an exhibition, interactive performance, and panel discussion by Dvořák experts. This event offered a window into the world of Dvořák’s creative process and collaboration with his German-American colleague, cellist Alwin Schroeder, in whose personal archive the manuscript was found.