Get to know the musicians behind the instruments with our ‘Introducing’ sessions. First up is a new addition to the Ensemble Cymru family, violinist Katka Marešová.
Born and raised in the Czech Republic, Katka arrived in the UK last September to spend a year studying at Bangor University. And it seems that the rugged, mountainous landscape of North Wales shares some similarities with Katka’s hometown, as she explains…
Talking about home…
“I was brought up in a town in the mountains which is in the north of the Czech Republic called Jablonec nad Jizerou. Being quite a small town, I think there’s a population of just 2,000 people, it was difficult to find good music teachers. So when I was 13, I was lucky enough to be offered a place at a school in Prague which offered a broad musical education, allowing me to study music to a high standard alongside my other studies.
Family life
“I have four sisters and one brother (he’s the youngest too!) so there’re six of us altogether. Although I’m the only one to have carried on with music as a career, all of my siblings played an instrument when they were younger so there was often a lot of noise in our house!”
Musical beginnings
“Like many children, the first instrument I played was the small flute, or the recorder as I believe it’s known here, and then I moved onto the piano and also the accordion – my mother plays, although she’s a doctor not a musician, so she taught me when I was younger. It wasn’t until I was eight year old that I took up the violin.”
My kind of music…
“I suppose I most enjoy playing music from the Romantic era. However since coming to Wales, I’ve had my first opportunity to perform contemporary music when I took part in the Bangor New Music Festival this spring. One thing I’ve noticed is that everyone is a composer! I’ve met so many people who are writing their own music which is really exciting and it’s very inspiring to meet people who are creating their own works.
Music as a career?
I only decided on a career in music after I’d finished high school, up until that point, I’d been planning to become a physiotherapist! But that all changed when I met a new violin teacher. He’s been a real inspiration to me musically, and a big part of why I’ve chosen music as my career. His name is Radim Kresta and he’s still my teacher today – I’ve even been flying back to Prague once a month for the last year so I can keep up with my lessons!
What’s next?
I’ll return to Prague in September and will continue to study at the conservatoire – I will finish my Masters in music education in two years and then I’d like to split my time between performing and teaching. I’ve really enjoyed the experience of living abroad during the last year so I’d like to travel with my music – Vienna is somewhere I’d love to spend some time so maybe that’ll be my next stop.
