Concert:

Violinist Jakub Trasak and pianist Jiří Nedoma present the concert Upbeat String, a groovy acoustic and electric experience across genres, on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage on August 6, 2018, at 6 pm. The concert highlights virtuosic arrangements and an emotionally packed delivery of music by Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Coldplay, and more. Get into the groove with this talented young Czech duo at the Kennedy Center as part of the 100th anniversary of Czech independence. 

Event Details: 

Venue: Kennedy Center Millennium Stage            
2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566           

RSVP is not required. Admission is free.

We regret that as the theater reaches capacity, seats cannot be saved for patrons who have not arrived or are not next in line. 

No free parking is provided for this event.             

Directions: http//www.kennedy-center.org/pages/visitor/directions 

More about the Artists:

Jakub Trasak is one of the most talented and versatile violin players and producers of his generation. With more than 2,000 solo and ensemble performances at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, Puerto Rico Symphony Hall, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, as well as three solo CDs and countless appearances on national television in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and the United Kingdom, Trasak is a prolific performer and an accomplished artist.

Trasak grew up in the Czech Republic and began playing the violin at the age of three and his inborn talent for the instrument became quickly apparent. He attended the Mark O’Connor Fiddle Camp in Nashville, TN, where he studied with Mark O’Connor, Darol Anger and Matt Glaser among other notable fiddlers. Trasak graduated from the Conservatory of Jaroslav Ježek in Prague, and in 2007, he won a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. In December 2009, Trasak won a competition to perform Mark O’Connor’s Double Violin Concerto alongside O’Connor himself during the launch of Berklee’s American Roots Music Program. In November 2010, Trasak produced the first ever String Department Showcase in the history of Berklee College of Music, featuring 60 musicians from 13 countries in 13 musical acts. This event and other successes earned Trasak a full scholarship for the last year of his studies.

Since 2011, Trasak have been extensively touring around the US and the world. He believes that music instantly changes the energy in the room and how people feel. 

Jiří Nedoma was born in Prague, Czech Republic. He began piano lessons at the age of five and was soon after introduced to wind instruments, which later led to his studies on the trombone. After high school, he enrolled at the Conservatory of Jaroslav Ježek in Prague, where he studied classical and jazz music. During his studies, he became a member of the prominent Czech Radio Big Band, performing with many jazz and pop artists across Europe. Nedoma was a finalist in Belgium’s Jazz Hoeilaart International Contest, and he also represented the Czech Republic at the Visegrad Alliance meeting of four Central European states.

After receiving a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, he left Prague for Boston, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and the Claire Beskind Award for outstanding achievement and contributions to the piano department. Following the completion of his studies he received the Helena Foundation Presidential Scholarship to pursue his master’s degree at the New England Conservatory.

Nedoma has appeared at major music festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Beantown Jazz Festival and San Jose Jazz Festival. He has performed at venues and concert halls worldwide, including Jordan Hall, Berklee Performance Center, Smalls, ShapeShifter Lab, Jazz Dock, Regattabar, Scullers Jazz Club, among others. He has collaborated with Grammy award-winner Terri Lyne Carrington, jazz luminary Hal Crook and Grammy nominee Donna McElroy. He has also made multiple recordings with renowned artists Gabrielle Goodman, Albino Mbie, Jeannie Gagne, Nadia Washington, and others. His recording with vocalist Yvonne Sanchez, “My Garden,” was nominated for Album of the Year and Jazz Record of the Year in the Czech Republic.

Currently, he is an active performer, accompanist, and teacher throughout the New England. He is a highly sought-after pianist, keyboardist, and arranger who blends jazz, classical, R&B, and gospel into his own personal musical language.