Sylvie Bodorová (born 1954) studied composition at the Janáček Academy in Brno and as a post-graduate later on at the Music Academy in Prague. She continued her studies in Gdansk and Siena (with Professor Franco Donatoni at the Academia Chigiana) and from 1987 she regularly attended Professor Ton de Leeuw’s composition courses in Amsterdam. She taught at the Janáček Academy in Brno and, in the 90s, at the CCM Cincinnati, Ohio (Composer in Residence 1994–95, 1995–96). Her works have since the early 80s been performed in all the continents, even in the Antarctic where her “Homage to Columbus” for guitar was heard in 1997. She has received several competition prizes (Mannheim, Czech Radio Prague) and many prestigious commissions, the latest from the Warwick Festival “Megiddo — Piano Trio — 2001”. For the same festival — “Terezín Ghetto Requiem” — Škampa Quartet — 1998 and “Ama me” for Baritone and Piano — 1999.

She wrote also compositions for Buenos Aires – “Concierto de Estío” for Guitar and Orchestra – 1999 and for Bochum in Germany — Saturnalia for Orchestra – 1999. After the great success of Terezín Ghetto Requiem the International Festival Prague Spring commissioned oratorio Juda Maccabeus for the performance in St.Vitus Cathedral in May 2002 and then in Litomysl International Festival in June 2002.

Concerto dei fiori for Violin and Strings was premiered at Prague Spring Festival 1997, then performed in USA (1998) and in PONTES Festival Prague (1998).

Terezín Ghetto Requiem for Baritone and String Quartet was performed at Warwick and Leamington Festival in July 1998, Wigmore Hall in London in October 1998, again in Warwick in July 1999, other festivals in UK, in Berlin 8.XI. 1999, in Halle, Theresienstadt, at the Prague Spring Festival 2000, Coventry and Huddersfield (UK, November 2000).

In 2003 Sylvie Bodorová finished the commission of Tucson Chamber Music Festival (USA) — composition for Harp and Strings Mysterium druidum.

She finished the commission for Camerata Bern — Silberwolke – Concerto for Violin, Viola and strings, which has been performed in Bern and Germany in August–September 2005.

She wrote Piano concerto for Prague Chamber Philhamonic Orchestra and pianist Martin Kasík, premiered in February 2006, Song Cycle “Slovak Songs” for Štefan Margita and Gabriela Beňačková (the cycle was recorded in 2006) and Amor tenet omnia – cycle of choruses after Carmina burana.

At the moment she is working on the oratorio Mose for the Smetana´s Litomyšl Festival jubilee and opera after the Gogol – www.portrait.

Sylvie Bodorová is member of Quattro (Group of prestigious Czech composers – Otmar Mácha, Luboš Fišer, Zdeněk Lukáš), she is involved in the project of Gustav Mahler birthplace in Kaliště restoration, she has composed and arranged many compositions for children. Her attention is often drawn by Johann Sebastian Bach´s music (quotation of his choral “Schmücke dich o liebe Seele” at the end of Concerto dei fiori and transcriptions of Preludium c moll from Wohl Temperiertes Klavier and Toccata d minor), by Gypsy and East European Rhytms (ancestors from Hungary).

[source: www.bodorova.cz]