Minutes of the meeting of the committee of the
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., January 15th–January 19th, 2026)
Present or connected via Zoom:
Committee:
Jiří Janoušek – Chairman
Jan Kučera – Technical Director
Věra Alves (connected via Zoom)
Libor Hofman
Substitute Committee Member:
Jana Míková (connected via Zoom)
Absent:
Michal Typl – excused due to busy work schedule.
The committee therefore met with a quorum.
Next committee meeting
The next committee meeting will take place in approximately 40 days, i.e.
on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. in AK Janoušek, see above. [
Date later changed to Monday, March 2nd 2026.]
Introductory speech by the chairman, meeting agenda
The chairman welcomed everyone present in the new year, pointed out that the committee in its new composition met effectively for the first time and presented the following meeting agenda:
- Report on the plan to negotiate with Prof. Overbeck (Karlsruhe)
- A copy of the Händel-Haus Mitteilungen has arrived
- Report on the meeting with Prof. Helena Weiser (née Suchárová)
- A planned meeting with Mr. Ondřej Dobisík
- Organization of a lecture by Dr. Turchichová in Elpida
- Organization of possible lectures by Ing. Petr Tylínek in Elpida
- ‘Pilgrimage’ for Pavel Polka (hereinafter also referred to only as Pavel) to Mšeno - date, addressing prof. Tretera
- Status of registration
- Call for payment of membership fees
- Preparation of circular
- Handel 300 in 2026
- Letter from pastor Michael Šust, preparation of concerts
Report on the plan to negotiate with prof. Overbeck (Karlsruhe)
The chairman is trying to contact prof. Overbeck, chairman of the Handel-Gesellschaft Karlsruhe, to try to arrange a visit to this year's Karlsruhe festival on February 20th, to represent the Society during the official opening. As usual, he will pay for his own accommodation and ticket by himself. The Czech Handel Society has already joined the Halle Handel Society. There is a preferential combined membership in all three German Handel societies and the Czech Handel Society in Karlsruhe will also join the remaining two (the combined membership fee is around EUR 100).
The committee took note of the information with all the votes of the members present and agreed.
A copy of the Händel-Haus Mitteilungen has arrived
The first copy of the Händel-Haus Mitteilungen has arrived from Halle to the current, correctly stated address of the Society, which is good news. It means that it is possible to stop monitoring Pavel Polka's former address.
The copy can be borrowed from the chairman of the Society.
Report on the meeting Prof. Helena Weiser (née Suchárová)
As part of maintaining business contacts on behalf of his law firm, the chairman attended a New Year's reception organized by the Verbindungsbüro des Freistaat Sachsens, where he unexpectedly met Prof. Weiser from the HAMU, where she teaches piano. The professor was pleased to receive the information that the Czech Handel Society exists. Let us quote the words of the professor as they stuck in the chairman's memory: "You know, my piano students, they all play Bach and I give each of them a Handel suite and that everyone is obliged to play a piece by Handel. So, wouldn't we like to prepare a concert where the students would perform those Handel suites and that the Handel Society would co-organize it and give out a prize or something like that?…" The chairman will discuss this or other similar possibilities with the professor.
Upcoming meeting with Mr. Ondřej Dobisík
On January 16th, 2026, the chairman intends to meet with the musicologist, perhaps a future member or colleague, Ondřej Dobisík:
Ondřej Dobisík's page at Cori spezzati
Mr. Dobisík is an exceptionally active and capable young musicologist and singer. “Lots of contacts, lots of young people. It's like, I would say, he speaks the same language as we to some extent. So, first of all, I want to discuss with him whether he would be interested in Handel, what his career plans are, whether he would be interested in connecting to the (German) Handel societies.”
Organization of Dr. Turchichová's lecture at Elpida
The chairman met with Dr. Turchichová again during an author's reading around December 5, 2025. They talked about the topic and details of her planned lecture for the Society. It would be good to discuss with Ing. Tylínek the possibility of organizing a lecture at the Elpida center.
The chairman will contact Dr. Turchichová in the near future regarding her time options, then hand over the agenda to Věra Alves and Jan Kučera, who will arrange the rest in cooperation with Ing. Tylínek.
Organization of a lecture by Ing. Petr Tylínek at Elpida
In connection with the previous point, we would like to ask Ing. Petr Tylínek to give his own lecture, also at Elpida. The topic would of course depend on him, and ideally it should be about clothing in Handel's time.
A ‘pilgrimage’ for Pavel Polka to Mšeno – date, addressing Prof. Tretera
The previously proposed date, March 29th, proved to be practically unmanageable due to multiple date conflicts. After a long debate, a new date emerged as a possible compromise, now fixed: Saturday, April 25, 2026. At that time, castles and chateaux will also be operational.
Possible meeting with Prof. Rajmund Tretera in Mšeno
Prof. Rajmund Tretera, chairman of the Society for Church Law and a Dominican priest, often stays in Mšeno, where he has a little house where he likes to receive visitors. The chairman will try to negotiate a visit by the members of the Society to him, with the understanding that we could visit Paul's grave together, which he could sprinkle and where we could pray together.
Status of the registration proceedings
As was prepared and announced in advance, after the New Year, the chairman's colleagues from his law firm submitted a proposal to register the new committee to the federal register via the Society data mailbox. Upon request to provide additional data, this was sent on January 14, 2026 (today). All documentation is available to the members of the committee.
Call for payment of membership fees
All circumstances relating to membership fees in the year were discussed again. 2026. Věra Alves promised to write and, with the help of Jan Kučera, send out a letter by e-mail, inviting members to pay their contributions. The following emerged from the debate:
- Jan Kučera will try to find out and record payments for the past period that are not yet recorded in the members' database, but the committee will not retrospectively examine who paid and who did not and how much. We will draw a thick line behind the past period. Of course, everyone has the opportunity to repay their outstanding fees additionally. Whether or not they do so and in what amount, each of these “sinners/non-payers” must decide with their own conscience.
- As from 2026, the lowest “standard” membership fee is CZK 500 per calendar year.
- We appeal to those members who can easily afford to pay more to do so. Membership fees are currently the main, in fact the only, source of income for the Czech Handel Society, z.s., and their sufficient amount is a necessary condition for the Society's functioning.
- Pensioners over 70 years of age, for whom the pension is the only source of income, are offered a 50 % discount, i.e., as from 2026, the lowest membership fee for them is CZK 250 per calendar year.
- The membership fee should be paid by the end of March.
The chairman called on the committee members to set an example and pay their contributions on time.
Preparation of the circular
Chairman: The circular should be published, but once a year should be enough. It should summarize the main activities for the past period and also contain basic data on the accounting. This data has always been published in the March circular, so it is appropriate to publish the circular in March. So there is time till the next committee meeting.
Handel 300 in 2026
The chairman entrusted Jan Kučera with the task of finding out what happened to Handel in 1726.
Letter from Pastor Michael Šust; preparation of concerts
We saved the longest and most comprehensive point for last.
History
In 2023, Pavel Polka reconstructed the programme for the little show “Orpheus of the New Age”, which he presented together with a few friends in Jaroměř in 1981 (available on the Society website in PDF format, in Czech). One of these friends was Michal Šust (born 1962), who studied singing at the Pardubice Conservatory and who emigrated from Czechoslovakia to the USA in 1986. Michal Šust, currently an active singer (bass), conductor, music professor and Protestant pastor, was contacted and the first collaboration took place in 2024. Pavel Polka and Libor Hofman, in particular, actively participated in this project on behalf of the Society.
Let us quote Libor Hofman: “Well, one thing led to another and it got to the point that we actually arranged places and suitable dates with Pavel [Polka]. It was at the Kačina castle theatre and at the Wallenstein Loggia near Jičín for two concerts, two evenings in a row. It is a group that calls itself Vertical Voices, so the church actually has a musical group. The pastor himself, his wife and daughter form it, and they have other singers attached to them, so it is a vocal group. They had a pianist as an accompaniment, who had an electronic piano, and they sang throughout the entire evening. And they sang beautifully, well, it was quite a success and they sang both… gospels, then some pieces from musicals, and they also sang Handel, as well as Dvořák. They are probably capable of learning just about anything…” The concerts were artistically totally successful, but 100% of the proceeds from the admission went to the owners of the premises in which they took place.
For more detailed information about the two concerts mentioned, see the member circular dated 21.6.2024 (in Czech).
Present
Mr. Michal Šust first contacted Libor Hofman by email, then on December 29, 2025, all members of the Handel Society – by email, in which he followed up on both successful concerts in 2024. I quote from the email:
“…I would like to bring another vocal and chamber instrumental team in the summer of next year 2026 - last week in June and beginning of July - but the exact date will still depend on the circumstances and to be clarified since we are also coordinating several performances in Austria.
In any case, I wanted to contact you with a request for help in organizing several concerts with the Society, with the proviso that these concerts would not only be an enrichment, but possibly also a financial contribution to your organization…”
Given that all members of the – rather narrow – active core of the Society (committee members and those we met a few days ago under Dračí skála) perceive the whole matter positively, the committee decided that the Society will go ahead with it. Since we do not have the extensive contacts, skills and very specific personal charm that the late Pavel Polka possessed, it will mean much more searching and work.
Libor Hofman was designated as the primary contact with Pastor Michal Šust, because, unlike the rest of us, he could at least get to know Mr. Šust a little.
The first task is to find places where they could perform and agree on when. Jan Kučera promised that he would create a sample letter without unnecessary delay, explaining what it is about, who the performers are, that they were already here in 2024, that the concerts were a success, and that we are looking for places where they could perform in the given period. So a kind of universal letter, not formulated for a specific place. This letter would be made available to all members of the Czech Handel Society, with the understanding that they would modify it as needed and help in searching in their surroundings, where they know it well and where they have contacts.
The chairman came up with the idea that P. Michal Šust might want to visit Pavel Polka's grave in Mšeno. Věra Alves suggested Portheimka in Prague 5 as a suitable place she would ask about. Jana Míková suggested the former synagogue in Hořovice, where an Evangelical congregation resides now.
A comprehensive and thoroughly constructive discussion took place on the topic, which probably makes no sense to describe in detail here.
Tasks
- Jiří Janoušek: Call the IRS, resolve the situation of the Society with them after Pavel's death.
- Jiří Janoušek: Ensure the Society membership in all three German societies.
- Jiří Janoušek: Negotiate with Prof. Helena Weiser.
- Jiří Janoušek: Arrange a possible date (dates) for a lecture with Dr. Turchichová.
- Věra Alves, Jan Kučera: Subsequently, take over this agenda and, in cooperation with Petr Tylínek, arrange a lecture by Dr. Turchichová at the Elpida Center.
- Věra Alves, Jan Kučera: Work with Petr Tylínek towards his own lecture at the Elpida Center.
- Jiří Janoušek: Contact Prof. Rajmund Tretera, prepare a possible visit at Mšeno.
- Jiří Janoušek: Provide Jan Kučera with access to the account.
- Věra Alves: Write a letter inviting the members to pay the membership fee. Jan Kučera: Help with proofreading and sending to members.
- Libor Hofman: Write an email to Mr. Michal Šust that we are willing to help.
- Jan Kučera: Write a “universal letter template” without unnecessary delay summarizing information for finding a hall.
- Jan Kučera: Find out information about 1726 for the “Händel 300” project.
- Jan Kučera, Věra Alves, Jiří Janoušek: Preliminary collect material for the Circular.