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Former NYU Prague Professor Tomas Halik joins the ranks of Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and Mother Theresa as a Templeton Prize Laureate

At a ceremony at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on May 14, Czech theologian and philosopher Tomas Halik received the prestigious Templeton Prize – an annual prize for a living person who has made “exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimensions.”
Halik’s life has been dedicated to bringing people together to promote inter-religious understanding. “Tomas Halik represents the contemporary global trend of religions to find mutual cooperation and dialogue,” said NYU Prague professor Petr Mucha. “Dialogue is a key word in Tomas Halik’s life. You could call him a ‘Philosopher of Dialogue.’”
In his acceptance speech at the Templeton ceremony, Halik spoke of the dangers of losing site of the Christian concept of loving thy neighbor. The current idea of tolerance is contributing to the failure of multiculturalism in Europe. “Let everyone live as they like, so long as they don’t disturb or restrict others – this is certainly a more humane situation than constant quarrels or permanent warfare, but can it be a lasting solution? That sort of tolerance is fine for people living alongside each other, but not for people living together.”
Halik founded the religious studies program at NYU Prague in 2000 and continues to maintain close ties with NYU. Along with NYU Prague Director Jiri Pehe, he was also one of the initiators of Forum 2000 – an international conference launched by Vaclav Havel in 1997 that brings together political, spiritual and nongovernmental leaders of the world each year.
Tomas Halik has been dedicated to the idea of dialogue since the early years of Communist rule, when he organized secret underground seminars with intellectuals and dissidents such as Vaclav Havel. Dubbed an enemy of the people for criticizing the government, Halik’s seminars undoubtedly contributed to the ultimate fall of the regime.
After the Velvet Revolution, Halik became famous for his initatives promoting dialogue between athiests and people of spiritual backgrounds. He then began organizing inter-religious dialogues, attempting to build bridges between Christians, Muslims, Buddhists Jews and atheists. “By awarding Tomas Halik this prize, the Templeton Foundation is showing their support for the world global inter-religious dialogue,” says Professor Mucha.
Halik plans to use the $1.83 million prize – one of the world’s largest prizes for an individual – to develop his work promoting dialogue with people of other faiths.
Tomas Halik and Petr Mucha
Templeton Prize Laureate Tomas Halik with NYU Prague Professor Petr Mucha at the ceremony.
Along with NYU Prague Director Jiri Pehe, he was also one of the initiators of Forum 2000 – an international conference launched by Vaclav Havel in 1997 that brings together political, spiritual and nongovernmental leaders of the world each year.
After the Velvet Revolution, Halik became famous for his initiatives promoting dialogue between atheists and people of spiritual backgrounds. He then began organizing inter-religious dialogues, attempting to build bridges between Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and atheists.

NYU Prague Student Christina Karahisarlidis describes a Night in the Life of Prague’s Homeless

This spring, NYU Prague students got a chance to see Prague from a very different point of view – through the eyes of homeless people. Pragulic – an award-winning nonprofit organization in Prague- employs guides who have lived on the streets to share their experiences with their audience. Since 2012, when the organization was launched, thousands of people have gone on these tours – including NYU Prague student Christina Karahisarlidis, who shares her reflection on the experience:
With one walk-through, it’s not possible to know all of the secrets Prague’s Wenceslas Square is keeping. After going on a tour with Pragulic, my knowledge of what really happens at Wenceslas Square and beyond it increased dramatically. I hadn’t really thought about what I’d be seeing on the tour and I didn’t have any expectations.
When our small group gathered for the tour, we were standing around two men and a woman. One of the men had striking black eye shadow and false eyelashes. Looking down at his hands, I noticed his long, acrylic, purple nails and countless silver and gold rings. He wore a long black coat, carried a black messenger bag, leaned on a cane, and had cigarettes in his pocket. The other man was dressed in a plaid button-down and khaki pants. His appearance was not as striking as the first man’s. The woman’s hair was red but other than that, her appearance was rather conservative. We were introduced to our two tour guides and our translator, respectively. Our tour guides had been homeless and they were immediately open to any of our questions.
We were given an introduction to homelessness in Prague. There are about 8,500 people living on the streets for reasons such as mental disabilities, unemployment, divorce, etc. We headed to Wenceslas Square where we were told many prostitutes work. Many of the prostitutes are men and some start as young as eleven years old. Our false-lashed tour guide told us he began prostitution when he was fifteen years old. After being asked how he managed to get out, he told us he did because a client gave him HIV. I had hoped he was going to say he stopped because a client took him out of that situation. The truth saddened me.
The atmosphere of the tour was darker for me from that point on. We were shown an old hotel that used to host prostitutes. We heard about odd sexual requests that prostitutes have had; many included being beaten by clients. Hearing about these things from someone who experienced them firsthand made it all seem more tangible.
The corruption that fuels the prostitution in Wenceslas Square was difficult for me to understand. The Square is essentially divided in two legal authorities: one that doesn’t tolerate prostitution and one that does. I find this division strange, but I guess it works.
Our tour guides quizzed us to see if we knew where the homeless slept. Sometimes they sleep in airports; if they look clean, no one will kick them out. Being accepted into a squatting community is a long process, but one of our guides squatted for a while. Because of health complications, he had to move elsewhere. Luckily, healthcare in the Czech Republic is a beautiful thing and it’s available for everyone, as long as they have their card. This might have been the only positive thing I heard on the tour.
The tour was an eye-opening experience that made me reflect on my own life. Hearing about what life is actually like for those without a home allowed for a self-reflection that simply walking through Prague doesn’t permit.

NYU Prague Webzine Reaching out to local Czech schools

students visiting schoolUsually when students write for school publications, the target audience is fellow students. Not so at Prague Wandering, a student-written Webzine which covers cultural, political and social issues in Prague. “Our readership is the world,” says PW founder and mentor Professor Dinah Spritzer.
With this philosophy in mind, Prague Wandering has launched a new outreach program which targets local high schools. NYU Prague students visited Jan Neruda High School, where the high school students had read the PW articles in advance of the visit.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the prospect of speaking with students about articles we’ve published was an exciting one,“ said Alison Wallach, NYU Prague student and PW reporter. “The students opened up to us with ease, and spoke with genuine interest about the articles and Czech culture and asked eager questions about life in America. I even found myself in the middle of a heated discussion about the position of Roma in the Czech Republic, with opinions coming from all sides. “
Why did Professor Spritzer start the program? “The rule for our student reporters is to write about Czech subject matter, reflect on what’s going on around you, and practice being a real journalist. I also believe that Prague Wandering should be a teaching tool – both Americans and Czechs are hungry for interaction with each other. NYU students gained a new understanding of our readership – not only does the project get us more readers, but it also gives the NYU students new story ideas. “
Professor Spritzer plans to expand the program next semester, visiting more high schools and giving NYU students a better understanding of the culture in which they live.

NYU Prague Professor Patricia Goodson brings new acclaim to forgotten Czech composer

167556_150s.jpgThanks to NYU Prague professor Patricia Goodson, the music of the little-known Czech Romantic composer Josef Bohuslav Foerster has been brought back to the world’s musical foreground. She recently released the world premiere recording of his complete piano works on the prestigious Dutch label Brilliant Classics. The four CD set has received extensive critical acclaim both in the Czech Republic and abroad.
Foerster was a highly-respected composer in interwar Czechoslovakia, but in the second half of the 20th century his music virtually disappeared from concert halls. Professor Goodson discovered his compositions by chance in a second-hand store: “I was astonished at how lovely it was, and how completely unknown. I had never heard of Foerster. I tried to find some recordings, but found that …there was [practically] nothing. Out of some 70 pieces, only five had been commercially recorded. So I began collecting the scores- everything is long out of print – and decided to see if I could get a grant to record the complete works. I did, and the project took off.“
Experts and critics have celebrated Patricia’s efforts. “Patricia Goodson’s project is an extraordinary and unique contribution to the effort to return this music to its former popularity,“ says Jana Fojtikova, president of the JB Foerster Society. The prestigious German FonoForum magazine wrote that “Foerster’s broad body of work is still significantly under-represented … so this complete collection of his solo piano repertoire fills a massive gap.“ Professor Goodson has also received praise for her nuanced and expressive interpretations. The release has been the subject of shows on numerous classical radio stations in Prague and abroad.
Prague audiences will get the chance to enjoy some of the little-known work at a launch concert on April 29 in Prague, which will feature guests artists soprano Irena Troupová and the Stamic Quartet. Others can enjoy the CD, which is available on Amazon, Arkivmusic as well as on international websites. You can learn more about it on Professor Goodson’s website: www.patriciagoodson.com.

NYU Jazz Professor David Schroeder Teaches Czech Kids How to Play the Harmonica

jazz with children 1 jazz with children 2
On a recent visit to Prague, David Schroeder – program director for Jazz Studies at NYU Steinhardt – gave harmonicas to kids at Czech elementary schools and shared some of his harmonica-playing secrets with them.
This is not the first time that Dave has brought his love of the modest instrument to children. In addition to visiting schools in New York, Dave brought harmonicas to dozens of children in Guatemala. The idea for the Prague workshop came about after NYU Prague director Jiri Pehe saw one of Dave’s concert New York. “First Jiri [Pehe] asked me to teach him the harmonica,” said Dave, “and then when he heard about my kids’ workshops, we decided to do some here for Czech children too.”
All children received their very own harmonica: Rule #1 for the harmonica – never share your instrument (and Rule # 2 – never eat spaghetti before you play). Children learned to inhale and exhale into their harmonicas, making the sounds of trains approaching. The bravest children improvised solos- because, as Dave told them, “the fun thing about music is when you get to make things up.”
Dave ended the workshops with a solo of his own – incorporating variations on Dvorak for the most sharp-eared kids. “Keep practicing, and next time I visit, you’ll all be playing this way,” he told them.
Dave’s next stop is Mongolia, where he’s been asked to teach 70 kids. Perhaps it’s the start of a worldwide jazz revolution – one harmonica at a time. This will be a side activity as the main reason for Dave’s trip is to have his Steinhardt Jazz Faculty group Combo Nuvo, www.combonuvo.com, perform with the Mongolian National Symphony.

Europe: Identity and Integration – conference in Prague

Prague conference
For nine years NYU Prague has been organizing annual conferences, bringing faculty from other sites to discuss issues of world-wide importance. This spring, academics from several NYU global sites and other European universities came to Prague for a conference entitled Europe: Identity and Integration. Faculty from three different NYU sites attended – Prague, Berlin and New York – as well as academics from Charles University (Prague) and Central European University (Budapest) to debate topics that were particularly compelling so soon after the Russian invasion of Crimea.
Among the panelists was Joshua Tucker, professor in the Politics and Russian and Slavic Studies Departments of New York University. “Through this conference, NYU Prague is bringing people together – enhancing students’ experiences and as well as enhancing the research and educational outreach mission of the university. It is fantastic for NYU faculty who research Europe to sit down with people from local sites and exchange ideas. This is the dream of the Global Campus.“
Is it a bit strange to have American faculty from the US coming to Prague to discuss European Identity? Not at all, according to conference organizer and NYU Prague professor Petr Mucha. “This year we wanted an outside view on European identity. The European view of Federalism is different than that of the USA, which is a country of immigrants.“
“I come with a global perspective as well as an American perspective,” said John Shattuck, former US Ambassador in the Czech Republic and current Rector and President of Central European University in Budapest. Ellen Hume, journalist and currently a professor at Central European University, noted that the Central European concept of nationalism is connected to blood, not values – a paradigm that the Russians recently used to their advantage in Crimea. Professor Tucker agreed, noting that Europeans are “eons away from where we are in the US, where most people don’t identify with their states.”
Prague conference
Can a European identity be created? Ukraine showed that that people are willing to die for democracy, for Europe- “they dream of the ideals which we are not able to feel from the inside,” said Professor Jan Machacek (NYU Prague). “But it is disturbing that the European identity is at its most attractive at its outside,” said Larry Wolff, Director of the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies and Professor of History at NYU. “Ukrainians would die for Europe, but countries that are in Europe are frustrated.”
Both Gabriella Etmeksoglou (NYU Berlin) and Lenka Rovna (Charles University, Prague) were optimistic that education is having a huge impact on young people’s views of Europe- their ability to travel in other European countries, study, work, and then stay in touch with each other through social media is tremendous. “The future of Europe is a mix of nationalities,” said Professor Etmeksoglou.
Students, faculty, intellectuals, politicians attended the conference – which was streamed live and is still available for viewing online. “NYU is an exciting entity- there is a common academic culture but with a diversity of sites and local experience. Conferences give us the chance to think about deeper cooperation among the NYU European sites,” says Mucha. “NYU offers neutral soil where controversial issues can be discussed.“
Prague conference
The conference can be viewed at the following two sites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAkfOYQ_qcU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMPpBK4Sm5w

NYU Prague Student’s Photographic Talents Recognized

Roma Prague Invitation
Kieran Kesner, a student at NYU Prague in Spring 2013, had his remarkable photos of the Czech Roma community published by the World Photography Magazine in the January 2014 issue. Kieran’s project was selected for the magazine’s Student Spotlight series.
Kieran spent the semester in Prague and then a month in the summer traveling to little-known corners of the Czech Republic to learn more about the lives of Roma people. The Roma minority – also known as Gypsies – suffers greatly in Europe because of deep-rooted discrimination. Kieran’s off-the-beaten-track research resulted in a stunning and sensitive series of photos entitled Beauty in Roma Communities. His photos can be seen at his website: http://kierankesner.com/ and in the World Photography Magazine: http://www.worldphoto.org/news-and-events/wpo-news/documenting-roma-communities-interview-with-nyu-student-kieran-kesner/.
Kieran is returning to Prague for a solo exhibition of his photos which opens on 17 April.
Why did you initially choose to study in Prague? Did you have specific expectations for your photography before you came?
My entire family came from Russia and Eastern Europe at the turn of the century. Luckily all four of my great-grandparents and my immediate extended family escaped the Holocaust. Sadly, nearly all of my ancestors that remained perished by the end of World War II. I was drawn to study abroad in Prague because of my desire to trace my roots and learn a little bit more about the world my family came from.
Kieran 1
What events, experiences, or people made you aware of the Roma community?
As a U.S. citizen I never had any first hand knowledge of Roma so my impressions were neither negative or positive. I learned of the Roma first in a lecture given at NYU Prague [by NYU Prague professor Salim Murad] on minorities in the Czech Republic during our first week of classes. The Czech Republic is a very homogeneous society despite its two largest minorities, the Vietnamese (because of the relationship the two countries had with one another during the Communist era) and Roma, otherwise known as Gypsies. My impression of Roma was much like most Americans, strongly influenced by the romantic and magical images we saw in movies of the traveling vagabonds, but not rooted in any true sense of of reality.
Kieran 2
How did your Roma project develop? Did you initially plan to spend as much time with the community?
I became intrigued with the Roma, not initially for who they were as a people, but for the extreme levels of open discrimination I witnessed towards them. In conversations and observations, the unabashed hatred of Roma was shared by many people I met, from liberal Europeans to those in the ever increasing neo-Nazi movement. I was compelled to learn the truth for myself. So with some research and introductions arranged through Kumar Vishwanathan of the Roma non-profit, “Life Together”, my first trip was to Ostrava, an old post-communist coal mining city three hours from Prague. Though I didn’t speak Czech, my experiences were positive and far different than the negative stereotypes shared by those I had previously spoken too. After my studies were complete and I returned back to the U.S.; I felt my unique vantage point of living with the Roma, and being devoid of the prejudice many Europeans are raised with, could help offer another perspective on Roma society and the challenges they face. In the summer of 2013, I returned to Eastern Europe for six weeks, thanks in part to a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign. This led me to neighboring Slovakia where the Roma live in extreme poverty as well as to Serbia and Montenegro.
Kieran 3
How did your experiences in the Czech Republic affect you personally and your career as a photographer?
Every day, new doors open that I never could have imagined because of my project with the Roma and my experience studying abroad. Now that I have graduated from NYU (January 2014), I am continuing to build both personal and professional opportunities. I hope the Roma Project combined with my growing portfolio in photography, video and multimedia, will allow me the professional opportunity to continue telling unique stories of life.
Kieran 4
What are your plans for the near future? Do you plan to return to the Czech Republic?
In April I have an exhibition of the Roma project in Prague sponsored by the US Embassy. From there I plan to expand the project to neighboring Hungary and then Romania. I am then hoping to parlay my experience as a photographer and digital storyteller, comfortable in multiple media platforms including web, social, print and video, into a productive and rewarding career that fulfills my curiosity and desire to explore the world.

Dispatch from Prague

Jiri PeheIt is an exciting time as the Prague program continues to expand and opportunities for collaboration with New York and other sites increase.
Our Music Program is about to get a further boost from our new faculty coordinator, Tony Ackerman. Tony is a highly-respected jazz musician. Tony’s mission is to make the music program more unique to Prague and take advantage of Czech music’s rich history and the numerous world class musical events Prague offers. One of his hopes is to develop a core class on Czech music compulsory for all music students.
NYU Prague has also cooperated with the organizers of the Bohemia Jazz Fest, a prestigious summer jazz festival organized by Rudy Linka, a respected jazz musician of Czech origin, who lives in New York. A summer program for jazz musicians, under the leadership of Prof. David Schroeder of Steinhardt’s Music Department will benefit from cooperating with Bohemia Jazz Fest.
Tisch, too, has exciting plans for Prague. For years we have been collaborating with Tisch on their film program, which is hosted at the prestigious Prague Film Academy. In addition to exploring ways that the film program can integrate more with NYU Prague, we are also in negotiations on starting a stage design program in Prague. In November, Deputy Dean Ken Tabachnik of Tisch met with the Dean of the Prague Theatre Academy Jaroslav Dusek to discuss possibilities for a Tisch stage design program in Prague.
Prague now has been a home for a number of researchers who are part of the Global Research Institute. This year, several have come to explore issues as diverse as gender representation in media in Post-Communist Europe to cycling initiatives in Prague. Several NYU Prague professors–for example, Simon North who teaches a course about Czech art and architecture as well as another focusing on the development of cities in Central Europe, and Petr Mucha, a professor of religion and culture–have received grants to do research in NYC and enjoyed having access to NYU’s extensive library.
In addition to a number of panels and guest talks, every year NYU Prague hosts an international conference during the NYU spring break. This year NYU faculty members Larry Wolff (head of European Studies at CAS) and Josh Tucker (head of Political Science at CAS), will come to Prague to participate as panelists at a conference focusing on European Identity.
In addition to our rich academic program, we keep expanding our extracurricular programs in Prague tohat help students understand the Czech Republic. Prague Wandering, led by NYU Prague journalism professor Dinah Spritzer, is one of the only study abroad web magazines in the world. Students research controversial topics and, under the guidance of their professor, write articles that have been picked up by popular Czech websites.
Community engagement is a priority in Prague. Cultural immersion trips and other activities often provide students with formative experiences. This semester our students heard about the troubles facing the Roma minority on a trip to the industrial city of Ostrava, helped rebuild a century-old brewery, and visited village high schools. A number of students also worked with our staff members to raise funds for a local charity that helps children with cancer. Finally, our Music Program students were able to perform publicly on several occasions.

NYU Prague Community Member Wins 2014 Templeton Prize

Tomas.HalikTomas Halik, a Czech priest, philosopher, and former political activist with close ties to NYU Prague, won the 2014 Templeton Prize for religious and spiritual progress on Thursday, 13 March. The prize recognizes a living person “who has made exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical work.” Founded in 1972 and awarded by the John Templeton Foundation, the prize is one of the largest awards given annually to a single individual.
Halik has long been an advocate for religious freedom and interfaith dialogue. His work has focused on building bridges between people of different faiths and between believers and non-believers. Halik describes his work as aimed at “seekers”, meaning people who are asking questions about religious or spiritual issues. His role as a connecter has been consequential both before and after the 1989 Czech “Velvet Revolution.”
Halik taught at NYU Prague in 2000, when he created the syllabus for the Religion, Culture, and Politics in East Central Europe course that is still taught at NYU Prague by one of Halik’s former students. Even though he is no longer teaching at NYU Prague, he continues to visit the campus to give talks to the community. In early 2001, Halik traveled with NYU Prague Site Director Jiri Pehe to NYU Buenos Aires to participate in an international conference organized by NYU. He has also collaborated with Pehe and other NYU Prague professors on organizing Forum 2000 conferences, an international gathering launched by President Vaclav Havel in 1997.
“Tomas Halik is considered to be one of the top Central European spiritual leaders, and I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him closely when he served as an adviser on interfaith dialogue to President Havel,” said Pehe. “I know I speak for my colleagues on the NYU Prague faculty when I say that we have not only been privileged to work with Tomas on a number of civic and academic projects, but also to call him our friend. The NYU Prague community is very proud of Tomas and sends him our warmest congratulations.”
In winning the $1.8 million Templeton Prize, which has been called the “Nobel Prize for religion,” Halik is in very impressive company. The first prize went to Mother Teresa in 1973. Recent recipients have included Nobel Prize laureates Desmond Tutu (2013) and the Dalai Lama (2012).
>> Read more: Czech priest, philosopher Tomas Halik wins 2014 Templeton Prize (Religion News Service)

Czech priest, philosopher Tomas Halik wins 2014 Templeton Prize

NYU Prague: Tony Ackerman Ensures the Beat Goes On

Tony AckermanMeet Tony Ackerman, a world-renowned American guitarist who has lived in Prague for over 30 years. He has performed in thousands of concerts and recorded 9 albums with jazz pianist Martin Kratochvil. Ackerman is now working for NYU Prague in a newly-created position: our first Faculty Coordinator of the NYU Prague music program. The program, which was started by Dr. Lawrence Ferrara (NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development), in 2005, has enticed hundreds of budding musicians from New York City to Prague. We met with Tony to find out more about his plans for developing this highly successful program.
Tell us about some of the changes that you hope to bring to the music program.
Most importantly, I want students to get in personal contact with Czech artists– to play with jazz musicians, to work in studios… this has been happening organically, but hopefully we can formalize it, giving a structure to what is already happening.
One of the ways I want to do that is with a new course that all music students will take: The Collegium Seminar. There is a course of the same name at Steinhardt, but the Prague course is quite different. We want students to discover what is unique here, to find out what Prague has to offer. We’ll go to concerts, visit studios, invite guests here… in a few weeks we’re going to a Baroque music concert where the musicians play on historic instruments from the period. Students will get to see Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni in the same theatre where it premiered when Mozart lived in Prague.
What unique qualities do you think Prague has to offer NYU students?
Students sink into the rhythm of this cozy, welcoming, beautiful city. It isn’t New York, and it isn’t Berlin – but its small size is exactly what makes it so accessible, with lots of opportunities to collaborate with top ranking musicians. Musicians don’t need to speak Czech to integrate into the culture – they speak the language of music and can befriend Czechs through their shared passion.
Tell us about your musical background and what you specialize in.
In my life, I’ve worked in many musical areas. I’m best known as a jazz musician, but recently I’ve started a career as a solo player – I take six of my guitars, line them up onstage, and play them – in fact in one of my new compositions, I play all of them, running up and down to pick up different guitars. When I was doing my PhD at UCSB [University of California – Santa Barbara] I did my stint as a university composer, writing the kind of music no one wants to hear…
At Harvard I got music theory boot camp in 1968 – when I teach oral comprehension, it’s all from that experience. I was a rock musician in the late 60s. I’ve played in contemporary music groups, playing premiers of pieces in NYC. Playing many genres has its benefits – it’s given me a global view – but as well as perhaps its drawbacks.
You were one of the very few Americans living in Czechoslovakia under the Communist regime. How did that happen, and what was it like?
I first visited Prague at the age of 15 in 1965, a rare American tourists brought by my art-historian father to see stupendous architecture behind the Iron Curtain. Years later I married a Czech woman who I met in the USA, and because we were married, we could travel back and forth across the Iron Curtain. On one of those visits in the 1970s, I met Martin Kratochvil , a fantastic jazz pianist. Then in 1983 I moved to Czechoslovakia because I got a fellowship to study Czech contemporary music – music that was virtually unknown in the West.
So I moved here with my wife and kids, and we lived in a tiny apartment for a year. I stared playing jazz and performing with my friend Martin Kratochvil, and the work was really interesting – at the end of the year, I wanted to stay. It was a horrible time for the country in many ways – the lack of freedom to travel, people were cut off from achieving their ambitions in the external world…
But the plus side was that the energy was turned inwards – it led to amazing jokes, people had time for hobbies, like raising bees. They listened to music so much more – our concerts were packed in the 80s. I wasn’t subject to the same repression as others – I got a job teaching music at the Embassy’s high school and because of our diplomatic license plates, we could cross the border to Germany whenever we wanted. It was a bit surreal.
What has been most rewarding about teaching NYU students?
I love NYU students. There is something about the mysteries of Prague that brought them. They are very open and curious about the city. They are amazingly well trained in music as well as being open and flexible. And I like the smallness of the program – it’s very family-like.