The European Medical Students' Orchestra and Choir (EMSOC) will hold three charity concerts in Litomyšl, Kutná Hora and Prague from 1 to 3 August 2024. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to ALSA, a non-profit organisation that helps patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
EMSOC is an international charity and musical project that has been bringing together medical students and junior doctors from across Europe for over 30 years. Each year, over 100 selected participants come together to prepare a musical programme for symphony orchestra and choir under the direction of two professional conductors and perform in front of an audience in two charity concerts, with the proceeds going tolocal organisations supporting people in need.
The project is traditionally organised by a group of volunteers from the current hosting country, which in the recent years has included Spain (Granada), Germany (Lübeck), Sweden (Uppsala), and the Portuguese Azores (Ponta Delgada).
This year's EMSOC will be held from the 25 July to 4 August in the Czech Republic.
The project is dedicated to the Year of Czech Music and the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. This is one of the reasons why we have decided to hold the rehearsal week in Litomyšl, a town that is not only a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but also the birthplace of this famous composer.
In addition to the musical side of the project, the participants can once again look forward to a rich leisure programme that will introduce them to the Czech Republic and its rich history and culture. They will visit UNESCO World Heritage sites in Litomyšl, Prague and Kutná Hora, experience our country's traditions through music and dance, taste local cuisine and, most importantly, make new friends and deepen old ones in the unique EMSOC atmosphere.
We are pleased to announce that this year's first official concert will take place on 2 August 2024 at 7pm in the Cathedral of St Barbara in Kutná Hora. The late Gothic cathedral, which dominates the city's skyline, is a Unesco World Heritage Site and a popular tourist destination for visitors from all over the world who come to admire its magnificent architecture, which reflects the city's former wealth and fame.
The second and final concert will take place in the capital city of Prague, at the historic Bethlehem Chapel on 3 August 2024 at 6pm. Founded in 1392 during the Czech Reformation as a place where sermons could be preached in Czech rather than German, which was the dominant language at the time, the chapel has seen many important figures within its walls, including the reformer Jan Hus, who became the inspiration for the Protestant Hussite movement. Situated in the heart of the Old Town, its halls now serve as a ceremonial space for the Czech Technical University and a unique concert venue.
In addition to the two concerts, a public open rehearsal will be held in the former castle riding hall in Litomyšl on 1 August.
The diverse musical programme will range from Czech Romanticism to the second half of the 20th century and will feature the best that Czech music has to offer, including Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Vítěslava Kaprálová, Vítěslava Nováková, Zdeněk Lukáš and others.
