14th January 2026
Minutes of the committee meeting
Czech Handel Society, z.s. (hereinafter also referred to as the Society),
at the address: AK Janoušek Headquarters, Badeniho 291/3, Prague 6
Based on the video recording, compiled by Jan Kučera (J.K., September 17th–October 21st, 2025)
Present:
Committee:
Jiří Janoušek – Chairman
Michal Typl – Technical Director
Guests:
Věra Alves, Libor Hofman, Jan Kučera, Jana Míková, members of the Society.
Absent:
Jiří Filip - excused due to serious family reasons.
Ivo Šindelář - in an email not long before expressed his wish to resign from the committee and ČHäS; he did not report.
The remaining committee member did not report.
The committee did not meet with a quorum.
Next committee meeting
The next committee meeting will take place the day before the Members' Assembly, i.e. October 6, 2025 tentatively at 6:30 PM in AK Janoušek, see above. The agenda will be finalizing details before the Members' Assembly (J.K.: the meeting was ultimately not held due to the busy schedule and illness of the expected participants).
Preparation for the Members' Assembly
Contacting members
The chairman pointed out that for the successful conduct of the Members' Assembly it is necessary to achieve a quorum. However, even if a quorum is achieved, the more members who attend the Assembly, the better for the image and future functioning of the Society. Therefore, it is necessary to personally contact as many members as possible and invite them to come. Recommended procedure:
- Contact (preferably in person or by phone, otherwise by email or post) the relevant member.
- Inform him/her that the Members' Assembly, after a long period of silence, will discuss the necessary changes to the Statutes that should bring the company into the 21st century. New people will also be running for the committee. Her/his participation is therefore of the utmost importance.
Then ask her/him directly whether she/he will come to the Members' Assembly. - If she/he will not come to the Assembly (she/he will not have time, it is far, etc.), inform her/him of the possibility of being represented by another person.
- If she/he is not sure whether she/he will be able to come, also offer the possibility of being represented by another person, with the proviso that if she/he arrives in person, the relevant Power of Attorney will not be used.
- Offer yourself as the person who will represent her/him. In case of consent, pre-fill the Power of Attorney form if possible and send it by email, or printed (J.K.: ideally with a self-addressed stamped envelope).
- If there is little time left until the Members' Assembly, ask him/her to take a photo or scan of the completed Power of Attorney and send the photo or scan by email, and send or otherwise deliver the physical Power of Attorney (i.e. the completed and signed paper) within a reasonable period of time.
The chairman then went through the list of members and the six members present divided it among themselves, which the chairman noted in the list. The anotated list created in this way is a non-public annex to these minutes (GDPR). All those present received it by email. The chairman set a deadline of September 30th, by which the primary contact and, if necessary, agreement on the Power of Attorney and invited those present to report to him that day.
The Chairman promised to provide a sample Power of Attorney form.
Organization of voting
To ensure that everything goes smoothly, the membership entitled to vote will be numbered and an attendance list will be created with the signatures of the members present or their representatives based on the enclosed Powers of Attorney. The Chairman will bring two assistants from his office – experienced scrutineers, who will record who voted and how and whether the Resolution was adopted. The text of the Resolution, or parts thereof, candidates for the committee, etc. will be projected on a large screen so that it is completely clear at all times what is being voted on. The chairman would also like to leave legal and professional matters to his office so that the process is smooth and professional.
Other points for the organization
- It is expected that the assembly will be welcomed by councilor Jan Wolf, chairman of the Committee for Culture, Exhibitions, Tourism and Foreign Relations of the Prague City Council.
- As a part of the introduction, the chairman will remember the deceased. Photos will be provided by the wider committee and Pavel Polka's friends. A minute of silence will be held.
- The assembly will include a short musical performance. It will be organized by Věra Alves. Former (J.K.: and since October 7, 2025, returning) member of the Czech Handel Society, Karel Kekeši will perform. He will perform the aria “Ombra mai fu” (Larghetto) from Handel’s opera Xerxes.
- Refreshments. Due to the nature of the hall and the need not to get anything dirty and the difficult availability of catering in the given location, only drinks will be provided – still water in 0.5 l bottles. Věra Alves will take care of them.
- Update – candidates for the committee. In alphabetical order by surname: Věra Alves (Várady), Libor Hofman, Jiří Janoušek, Jan Kučera, Michal Typl. Substitute: Jana Míková (Hegerová).
The situation surrounding Jiří Šindelář – see below.
We will strive to change the Statutes in such a way that the Members' Assembly could elect a substitute, who would then, if necessary, join the committee without the need for co-optation.
The committee meetings will continue to be open, anyone will be able to come/join, participate in any meeting or take on any task. - Dr. Magdalena Turchich will also attend the Member Assembly as a guest. For more details, see below.
Membership fees
Amount of fee
Immediately after the membership meeting, the committee will have to set the amount of membership fees. There was a debate on this topic. The chairman stated that he considered the amount of CZK 500 to be a reasonable basis. It would be necessary to discuss the adequacy of this amount and other issues - whether to somehow differentiate the fees or, on the contrary, a uniform minimum for everyone.
Jan Kučera: The annual membership fee in the Halle Handel Society is 40 EUR, i.e. approximately CZK 1000. The average Czech purchasing power is roughly half that of Germany, which would roughly correspond to the amount of CZK 500. The Handel Society of Halle offers more services (it participates in the organization of the festival, publishes a printed newsletter), but it also has significantly more members. Moreover, almost all the services provided are charged separately.
The following debate showed that a contribution of CZK 500 should be the universally set minimum, while the recommended amount for those who can afford it would be CZK 1000.
Collection of contributions
The expulsion of members “at a stroke” for non-payment of contributions will end (mostly it is just an oversight). All former members who were expelled in the past for non-payment of contributions, as well as those who left at their own request due to disagreements, etc., are invited to re-join the Czech Handel Society and pay the contribution for 2025 by the end of the year.
Non-payment of membership contributions will continue to be dealt with individually, through personal contact.
Situation surrounding Ivo Šindelář, M.A.
The chairman factually summarized the development of communication with Ivo Šindelář, M.A. from Pavel Polka's death to the present. He then expressed a position with which more or less everyone present agreed and from which I am extracting a substantial part (with minor linguistic adjustments):
“…The chairman’s efforts should be aimed at ensuring that we do not lose membership, but at the same time it should be aimed at ensuring that the committee is in good order and pulling together. Well… I have nothing against passion and games, but it must be in a forum where… it does not threaten the functioning of the Committee. And… since Ivo wrote something quite reasonable there, that Libor (Hofman) is a member of the wider Committee and that he and Libor would run into each other anyway, then wouldn’t it be a good idea to tell him: Look, the Committee discussed it and given your expertise, etc., we think it would be a shame if you were not a member of the Czech Handel Society. We invite you to remain a member. We will be happy if you follow the correspondence, if we keep you as a reviewer. We understand that you do not have time, you are caring for a sick friend, etc. So, we would be happy if you could withdraw your resignation from the Society and remain a member. We will not keep you on the Committee. If you confirm this to me, the Committee, in its current composition, will co-opt someone from among us, who will make it to the end of this year and take up the position. And Ivo need not be on the unified candidate list at the members' meeting on October 7th…”
The Committee did not have a quorum, but those present agreed that the chairman should negotiate with Ivo Šindelář, M.A. in this spirit.
Development of the chairman's contacts with Magdalena Turchichová, Ph.D.
Again, I quote from the discussion:
Chairman: “A pleasant, constructive conversation. I invited her to this committee meeting. She can’t come because she’s producing at the Minor Theatre, where the big march will be held on Saturday with the Dejvice Theatre.… But we agreed that she would take the time to come to the Members’ Assembly to soak up the atmosphere of the renewal and then, if she wants, she can/may not join, but it could be agreed that she would be willing… either to hold a speech there, or to introduce us a little to what her research was about at one of the other Committee meetings, so that she can sense what our reaction will be and make her decision accordingly. She has a little doubt whether there will be interest in it. I told her that if someone was dealing with Handel's archives in the 19th century and the reception of Handel's music on the Czech territory in the 19th century, the Handel Society would be enthusiastic about someone dealing with it, I have no doubt about that. But she wants to find out by herself. It's not enough for the chairman to tell her twice in a café, and she has every right to do so, in order to learn that she won't get involved in anything nefarious. I told her that we have the perspective, if we take it as a good ending, that she could present it somewhere in Halle… and establish herself a little in that direction.”
Libor Hofman: “Maybe it could even be done for the public, announce it would be organized by the Czech Handel Society, and that would in turn make other people aware of it. indicated that there is a Czech Handel Society. She would also like to have more listeners.”
Journey to Italy
Libor Hofman: The journey will take place on 31. October to November 8, 2025. On the morning of October 31, we leave Prague. Everything is pre-arranged, accommodation will again be kindly provided by the Princess Trinidad di Collalto e San Salvatore at the “Sfondo” summer house in Susegana near Venice (Treviso province). We will travel by car.
Eva Lehocká, M.Sc., and correspondence for the Czech Handel Society
The Chairman and Technical Director were contacted by Eva Lehocká, M.Sc., Managing Director of Spirit Property Group s.r.o., U Dívčích hradů 1904/8, 150 00 Prague 5, mobile 602 504 121. This is a real estate agency that owns and manages the house where Pavel Polka lived until his death. Somehow, postal items destined for the Czech Handel Society arrived at the agency, probably from a new tenant. Technical director Michal Typl is tasked with making arrangements with Ms Lehocká and taking over the items from her.