Phoenix Sister Cities invites you to
an Evening with Tomáš Kačo

Saturday, May 13, 2023
7 pm to 8:15 pm
Whiteman Hall at Phoenix Art Museum

Mr. Kačo expects to play a selection from his collection of compositions for orchestra from “Stronger Than Yesterday,” new compositions and selections of traditional Czech music from “My Home.”

Critics describe Mr. Kačo’s genre of music as “sui generis,” referring to his highly original way of blending classical, jazz and traditional Romani music.   Mr. Kačo started playing the piano at age five.  He later studied at the Janáček Conservatoire in Ostrava under the guidance of Professor Pavel Motloch.  He used money won in the young composers’ competition to pay for the entrance exam to the Boston College of Music in Berklee – his American chance. In the open environment of one of the world’s best schools of contemporary music he began to see his Romani descent as an appealing distinction and an asset.  This was reflected in his recital program at Carnegie Hall at Weil Recital Hall in February 2018, entitled Gypsy Soul:  a mix of his own compositions and arrangements of Johann Sebastian Bach and Frédéric Chopin, i.e., music that is neither Romani, Czech, classical, nor jazz, and in which “each of the listeners will find their own story.”

Mr.  Kačo’s debut album “My Home,” featuring multiple Grammy Award winner John Patitucci, Ondřej Gregor Brzobohatý, the Kühn Children’s Choir, and Kačo’s younger sister Veronika, was released in 2018, symbolically on October 28 – the National Day of the Czech Republic. A series of five singles followed. They show him playing around with traditional Czech carols and paying homage to Ludwig van Beethoven in the composition “For Ludwig, Yours Elise.”

As a commission from the Czech Philharmonic, Mr. Kačo wrote a piece for the Open Air concert inaugurating their 125th  season in June 2021, aptly titled “Fantasy Open Air.” For the Czech presidency of the European Union, commissioned by the Office of the Czech government, he wrote another fittingly titled composition, “Stronger Than Yesterday. ” The premiere with PKF – Prague Philharmonia, broadcasted live by Czech TV was held in Rudolfinum in Prague, then in Brussels BOZAR in 2022.

Select videos:
“Stronger Than Yesterday “
“Duj”
“Nocturne”  from “Stonger Than Yesterday

Presented in partnership with

With much appreciation to the Consulate General of the Czech Republic for supporting this performance.