Viktor Vítězslav Velát

I was born in Prague one year after my parents immigrated to the Czech Republic from Russia. I started playing the piano at age six and took lessons at the Ilja Hurník Elementary Art School, but it was just one of my hobbies alongside tennis and karate until age 14. Musicians in my family come from my mother’s side; my grandfather in particular was a highly talented musician – a pianist, conductor and composer.

Having completed the fifth year of elementary school, I was accepted to the Christian Doppler Grammar School, and having completed my fourth year there I switched to the Music Grammar School in Žižkov, Prague. It was there that I firmly decided that music is the meaning of my life, that it fulfills me and that I enjoy it infinitely. I am especially grateful to my piano teacher, Ms. Hana Dvořáková, who has taught me a lot. After my school leaving exam I took the opportunity to join the fifth year of Prague Conservatory, and graduated from the school with honors in two years, having been honored to play with an orchestra twice and take part in many piano competitions in the meantime.

I have been enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music since 2016, having been admitted despite difficult admission procedures. This world-renowned school is located in New York City, which is also home to the “Meccas” of classical music – Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera (Lincoln Center). In just a year I managed to improve my piano playing, my English and my music theory, and prizes from competitions in Italy and the U.S. (2017) are proof of my efforts.

Secondary School

The City of Prague Grammar and Music School (formerly The Jan Neruda Grammar School with Music Classes) 2010-2014

Higher vocational

Prague Conservatory 2014-2016

University

Manhattan School of Music, U.S.A.; beginning 2016

E-mail

nicquitae@seznam.cz

Goals

Become a piano virtuoso and play primarily Czech classical music; perform across the globe giving people joy and pleasure with my playing.

Interests

Choir singing, reading history books and famous musicians’ biographies, swimming, and learning foreign languages