Milan Vitek

Czech violinist. ilan Vitek received his diploma in 1959 from the Brno Conservatory, where he studied with Prof. Julius Remeš, a student of Otakar Ševčík. He continued his studies with Prof. Jaroslav Pekelsky at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU), where he graduated with a Soloist Performance Diploma cum laude in 1964. In [1961] he won a prize at the Thibaud Violin Competition in Paris, and in the Llangollen International Music Festival in Wales, U.K. After completing his studies, Vitek was a founding member, concertmaster and soloist with the Prague Chamber Soloists conducted by Vaclav Neumann, member of the Czech Nonet, an official chamber ensemble of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and the piano trio Pro Camera. In 1968, he won a position in the Royal Danish Orchestra and moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. From 1969 to 1972, he played in the Royal Danish Orchestra as alternate concert master, co-founded with the Director of the Royal Danish Opera and later, the Sydney Opera, John Winther piano trio as well as the Danish Chamber Orchestra. In 1972, Vitek received an invitation to join the Czech String Quartet, resident at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he also became a professor of violin. He also played as concertmaster in the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra. In 1974, he returned to Denmark as Professor of Violin at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, a position which he held until 2001.