At the Midnight Hour: Christmas carols with the Moravia Brass Band
The Moravia Brass Band is the largest brass ensemble in the Czech Republic. Made up of 30 musicians led by Japanese conductor Chuhei Iwasaki, the orchestra was founded in July 2017 and since its inception has played dozens of concerts in venues around the country.
The group features leading soloists such as trumpet player Gábor Tarkövi, trombonist Zoltan Kiss, and flugelhorn player Pavel Šárník. In the short period of time since its inception, the band has taken part in national and international festivals including the Špilberk International Music Festival, Smetanova Litomyšl, and the St. Wenceslas Music Festival. In 2020, it was the first brass band to perform in the Dvořák Hall of Prague’s Rudolfinum.
The ensemble sometimes collaborates with German conductor Heiko Mathias Förster and also performs concerts of film music, on which it collaborates with popular singers Anna Juliá Slováčková and Milan Peroutka. It is also engaged in educational activities to popularise the playing of brass instruments among the younger generation.
The ensemble’s latest album „V půlnoční hodinu“ or “At the Midnight Hour”, released this year, presents well-known Czech Christmas carols in a classic brass band style.
