Vox Nymburgensis is a mixed chamber choir registered with Nymburk’s Municipal Cultural Centre. It was founded in 1988 by Dr. Jaroslava Modrochová, Doctor of Arts, as an exclusive, flexible ensemble not limited to just one period, kind or style of music. Thus, in the choir repertoire are homophonic plainsong chants, as well as polyphonic compositions from the renaissance, baroque, classical and romantic periods, and, of course, compositions from the 20th and 21st centuries. Arrangements of Czech folk songs as well as the music of many foreign nations also appear in the repertoire. The choir has performed many oratorios and cantatas by e.g. Dvořák, Pergolesi, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Gounod, Franck, Puccini etc. The choir strives to offer both sacred and secular music and to perform choral arrangements of jazz, swing, spirituals, gospel and popular music. In 2006 Vox entered the world of opera by participating in Tomáš Hanzlík´s neobaroque-minimalist opera Endymio. One year later a recording of it was made for Czech Radio.

The choir also competes with other ensembles in competitions and festivals in the Czech Republic and abroad. E.g. in 2005 it won a Gold medal at the International Choir Competition in Námestovo (Slovakia), in 2007 it won the prize for the best foreign choir at the International Choir Festival GAUDE CANTEM in Bielsko-Biala (Poland). In more than 2 decades Vox has taken part in various events in 11 European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden) and in South America (Argentina, 2003 and 2009). On average, the choir has appeared more than 30 times a year, performing approximately 400 larger or smaller works of the choral literature (by more than 100 composers). The choir can pride itself in having compositions dedicated to it or by having given the world premier. Vox is in regular touch with about ten foreign choirs and with a number of other choirs on an occasional basis. The choir was an inaugural participant in Nymburk’s “International Festival of Sacred Music – a celebration of Bohuslav Matěj Černohorský”. The number of active members is around 26 with ages ranging from 15 to 70. The average age of slightly above 40 shows the presence of many students as well as older founder members. At the head of Vox from 1988 to 1993 was Dr. Jaroslava Modrochová, from 1993 to 2000 Jan Krejčík, and the current conductor from 2000 is Jan Mikušek.

Jan Mikušek was born in 1970 in Valašské Meziříčí. He studied cimbalom and conducting at the conservatory in Brno in Evžen Holiš’s class. In 1991 he became the conductor of the Beseda Choir in Valašské Meziříčí and concurrently second conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno. He continued studying conducting at Prague’s Academy of Performing Arts with František Vajnar. He conducted the musicals Hair and Rusalka, and arranged and prepared the rock opera Juno and Avos for the Theatre in Pilsen. During his studies he also began devoting to singing, first with Marcyn B. Sczycińsky, subsequently under the tutelage of Terezie Blumová. He attended master-classes given by Mario van Altena. He has performed so-called old music (Capella Regia, Musica Florea, Ritornello, Societas Incognitorum). His repertoire includes works by J. S. Bach (St. Matthew Passion, masses), G. F. Händel (Messiah, St. John Passion), oratorios and cantatas by G. Carissimi, G. B. Pergolesi, A. Vivaldi etc. In the male quartet Affetto he has extended his range to encompass contemporary and experimental music too (M. Štědroň, M. Košut, J. Meisl, A. Pärt, etc.). He has collaborated with the National Theatre on the production of Martin Smolka’s opera Nagano (the role of Dominik Hašek, 2004), Tomáš Hanzlík’s opera Lacrimae Alexandre Magni (2007) and Aleš Březina´s opera Tomorrow will…(2008). Jan Mikušek is the co-founder of the International Cimbalom Festival in Valašské Meziříčí. As an active player of this instrument, he has premiered a number of compositions for cimbalom (by Antonín Tučapský, Svatopluk Havelka, Jan Meisl). He has been a choirmaster of Vox nymburgensis since 2000.