Petr Holub

Biography

“For me, having become a professional musician is a dream come true.”

Petr Holub, a top Czech percussionist and teacher at the Prague Conservatory, discovered his passion for percussion at age ten, when he joined the folk instrument ensemble Karmína at the Bajkalská Elementary Art School in Prague. Next came private lessons and later formal percussion studies at the Prague Conservatory under Vladimír Vlasák, Stanislav Hojný, Václav Mazáček, and Amy Lynn Barber.

Under Professor Barber’s guidance, he took part in a presentation of contemporary Czech percussion music at the Percussion Arts Society International Convention in Ohio in 1993, as well as in other solo and chamber projects (Prague Percussion Days, Bratislava Music Festival). Besides the influence of his teachers, a personal encounter with the composer Miloš Bok also strongly shaped his artistic journey.

From 1994 to 2002 he was a member of the percussion section of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and later its timpanist, and from 1995 to 2002 he served as timpanist of the Prague Chamber Philharmonia (now the Prague Philharmonia). In 2002 he joined the Czech Philharmonic as a percussionist with timpani duties. His numerous collaborations on chamber projects include appearances with the Baborák Ensemble and the Prague Saxophone Quartet. His favourite music is that of the 18th and 19th centuries, which he describes as “unsurpassed in quality, beauty, and timelessness.” Since 2006, besides working with the Czech Philharmonic, he has been devoting himself to his percussion pupils at the Prague Conservatory.

In his free time, he enjoys reading, spending time at his cottage, and cycling.