Czech Chamber Music Society • Siempre Nuevo

The Czech guitarist Patrick Vacík, who was born in Kempten, Germany, has been playing the guitar since the age of eleven. In 2000, he began studying in Václav Kučera’s class at the Prague Conservatory, before completing his degree in 2006 at the Pardubice Conservatory under the guidance of Petr Saidl, thus concluding his studies in the Czech Republic and setting off to gain further experience abroad, specifically in his native Germany. He became a student at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar, where, in the class of Thomas Müller-Pering and Ricardo Gallén, he was awarded an artistic diploma in 2009 and subsequently continued with postgraduate studies in chamber music (in a duo with Matěj Freml). He completed his doctoral studies at the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under the supervision of Štěpán Rak.

During his studies, Patrick Vacík also successfully took part in numerous national and international competitions, including the Guitar Art Festival in Belgrade, Serbia; the John Duarte International Guitar Competition in Rust, Austria; the Concorso Mercatali in Gorizia, Italy; and other competitions in České Budějovice, Kutná Hora, Dolný Kubín and Weikersheim. Both as a soloist and a chamber musician, he has been invited to perform at a wide range of concerts and international festivals.

He is currently a member of two chamber ensembles – Duo Siempre Nuevo and the Prague Guitar Quartet. The former was formed whilst he was studying in Weimar and consists of himself and guitarist Matěj Freml. This ensemble has been active on the music scene for almost two decades, has released four albums and is highly regarded, amongst other things, for its versatility and wide-ranging repertoire, which encompasses early music as well as works by contemporary composers. Patrick Vacík has been playing with the Prague Guitar Quartet, which was founded in 1984, for more than fifteen years. He currently performs with both ensembles throughout the Czech Republic and abroad.

His role as a teacher is also significant – since 2010 he has been teaching guitar at the Prague Conservatory and works as a teaching assistant at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno. He is part of the Guitar Festival Mikulov and, since 2017, has also been leading a guitar class at the Třeboň Summer Meetings, a domestic music festival and masterclasses. “For me, this has fulfilled one of my dreams: to become part of a thriving festival that is gradually building its reputation whilst also offering lessons and lectures of the highest standard,” he mentioned in one of his interviews.

The Czech guitarist Matěj Freml is currently active as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. He began his studies at the Jan Neruda Grammar School with a focus on music in Prague, in Václav Kučera’s class, from which he graduated in 2002; two years later, he also completed his degree at the Pardubice Conservatory under the guidance of Petr Saidl. He then went on to the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, where he studied in the guitar class of Vladislav Bláha and Martin Mysliveček, completing his studies there in 2012 with the successful completion of his doctoral degree under the supervision of Barbara Marie Willi. He broadened his musical experience through a one-year internship and studies in chamber music at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar under Thomas Müller-Pering.

A native of Teplice, he has achieved numerous musical successes both in the Czech Republic and across Europe – he is a prize-winner at guitar competitions in Velbert, Erwitte and Weimar in Germany; Rust in Austria; Gorizia in Italy; Split in Croatia; Koper in Slovenia; Belgrade in Serbia; Bratislava; and Kutná Hora. He also serves as a jury member at some of these international competitions.

As a soloist and chamber musician, he performs actively both at home and abroad. With the Prague Guitar Quartet, of which he has been a member since 2014, he will appear in the 2026/2027 season at concerts in Liberec, Opava, Česká Třebová, Brno, Mariánské Lázně and other locations across the Czech Republic. Together with Patrick Vacík, he forms the Duo Siempre Nuevo, with whom he can be heard in a whole range of interesting projects, including, for example, the 4+2 project, which brings together two guitars and a string quartet – several Czech contemporary composers have written pieces specifically for this unique ensemble, formed by Duo Siempre Nuevo in collaboration with the Epoque Quartet.

In addition to his performing career, Matěj Freml is actively involved in teaching – he currently works as a teaching assistant at Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno and teaches guitar at the Elementary School of Arts in Zruč nad Sázavou, where he himself began playing the guitar at the age of eight. He is also the director of the International Guitar Competition, which took place there for the eleventh time in the spring of 2026, and whose leadership he took over this year from his father, Jiří Freml, the competition’s founder. He also regularly takes part as a tutor in a number of masterclasses (the South Bohemian Guitar Festival, the Prešov Days of Classical Guitar and others).