Symbolically, on the day of Magdalena Kožená's performance at Prague's Rudolfinum, the Endowment Fund's Board of Trustees appointed Irena Pohl Houkalová as its new director on October 18, 2024. Irena has been leading the ZUŠ Open festival since its inception and managing various artistic and educational projects. A graduate in classical singing from HAMU Prague and a teacher at an Elementary Art School, she brings a wealth of experience to the role.

Biography

Irena Pohl Houkalová studied at the Faculty of Education at Charles University and continued her singing studies at HAMU Prague and the Karlsruhe University of Music. She is a laureate of the Antonín Dvořák International Singing Competition and a recipient of awards from Czech Radio, the Jarmila Novotná Society, the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation, and others. She has performed as a soloist in numerous productions and at several international festivals in the Czech Republic and abroad. Her repertoire includes many premieres of vocal works, and she has recorded several song cycles for Czech Radio.

She has collaborated on historically informed performances with ensembles such as Collegium 1704, Collegium Marianum, and Capella Regia Musicalis. She also focuses on interpreting song and chamber music with various instrumentalists, including prominent Czech pianist Karel Košárek.

Since 2008, she has been professionally dedicated to managing cultural and educational projects and teaching. She was a long-standing team member of the Strings of Autumn Festival and was also involved with the Dvořák’s Prague Festival. Since 2024, she serves as the director of the Magdalena Kožená Endowment Fund, where she has lead the nationwide ZUŠ Open Festival since its inception in 2016. For eight years, she also worked on building the MenART Scholarship Academy, leading its classical music section.

She teaches singing at the Pštrossova Elementary Art School in Prague and is a sought-after instructor. For many years, she was part of the creative team of the Strings for Children festival. Through her work at the Magdalena Kožená Endowment Fund and her artistic and educational activities, she emphasizes the importance of art and arts education, highlighting its role in fostering solidarity, social sensitivity, and the development of artistic talent in children and youth, regardless of potential health or social disadvantages.

She is also a frequent performer and initiator of benefit concerts and artistic projects supporting those in need. She collaborates with organizations such as Caritas Czech Republic, the Neratov Association, the Girls' Catholic Secondary School, Women’s and Girls’ Counseling Centers, and other non-profits. She is an honorary member of the Czech section of INSEA, serves on the Education Committee of the Prague City Council, and is a member of several school boards.

In 2022, she was responsible for curating a presentation of the unique Czech ZUŠ (Elementary Art Schools) system at the European Parliament, marking the end of the Czech EU Council Presidency.