The Janáček Chamber Orchestra was created in 1964 from the leading members of the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava. The artistic leadership was soon taken up by Zdeněk Dejmek, whose stunning musicality, feeling for style and systematic, precise work have brought the orchestra to an excellent standard and have given it its distinctive face. The orchestra has named itself after the most significant Czech composer of the first half of the 20th century, L. Janáček, who was born in the nearby village of Hukvaldy. Janáček was always emotionally connected with this land, and his music was often inspired by it. The repertoire of the orchestra includes pieces ranging from Baroque times to the present day, pieces that were designed for a twelve-member string orchestra (though today is often expanded to include other instruments). Thanks to its high standard of performance, the orchestra has been repeatedly invited to perform at festivals both at home and abroad, with both Czech and foreign renowned soloists. Besides the Czech Radio, the orchestra has recorded also with Supraphon, Panton, Riccordi, RCA-JVC, Crystal, Stylton and Slovart Records (for the complete discography go to www.jco.cz). In the course of 2005, Zdeněk Dejmek passed the baton to a new artistic director, the violinist Jakub Černohorský, who successfully led the Janacek Chamber Orchestra already on its tour in South Korea in 2004. In the following years, the orchestra took part in a series of festivals at home and abroad (e.g. the Janáček May Festival, Janáček Hukvaldy Festival, Musica Sacra in Nitra, festivals in Poland and in the Netherlands, tours in Spain and Italy), and in 2009 the orchestra once again performed at the Prague Spring International Music Festival. In 2011, the Janacek Chamber Orchestra released a new profile CD with the prestigious British company Chandos Records. The CD was named Czech Music for Strings and it included pieces by L. Janáček, P. Haas and B. Martinů. The artistic director of the Janáček Chamber Orchestra is Jakub Černohorský, who graduated from the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava and from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under the tutelage of Vítězslav Kuzník and Petr Messiereur, respectively. Černohorský has successfully participated in several music competitions; as a soloist he has performed with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestra of the St. Gellért Festival in Szeged. He collaborates with the Czech Radio and is a member of the Ostravská banda chamber orchestra. In the summer of 2005 he took part in the festival of chamber music at the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra (Kent Blossom Festival, Ohio, USA), and in 2008 he became the concertmaster of the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava.