The Bohemia Prague Symphony Orchestra has its origins in the former Central Bohemia Symphony Orchestra which was founded in the spa town of Poděbrady in 1961. The Central Bohemia Symphony was active in Prague and Central Bohemia until the end of the 1980s. The state-owned orchestra was dissolved after the political changes of 1989.
Renowned personalities - This period of the Bohemia Orchestra was marked by contacts with renowned musical personalities. Concerts were conducted by Yehudi Menuhin in France and Prague. There were concerts with the soprano Montserrat Caballé in Marseille and with the trumpeter and conductor André Bernard in France.
Festivals - The Orchestra has appeared at the Festival de la musique sacrée de Lourdes, and has been invited many times to the Les Flâneries musicales in Reims.
Opera orchestra - The Bohemia Orchestra co-operated with the Draguignan Opera as an opera orchestra for several years. It also appeared with the conductor Giuseppe Raffa at the megashow World Tour Aida, with publicity by concert agency Hoffmann Konzerte.
The orchestra’s most prestigious appearances in recent years were the open-air concert with José Carreras in Mönchengladbach, Germany and a year later in the Olympic Amphitheatre in Hamar, Norway. There was also a sold-out concert with Paul Potts in the Rockhal in Luxembourg. Another important event in the history of the Bohemia Orchestra was its performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo. Another highlight was the opening concert at the Cartier exhibition in the Spanish Hall of Prague Castle. Bohemia Orchestra’s work mostly consists in co-operation with choirs. The orchestra has received repeated invitations to Darmstädter Residenzfestspiele (Church music festival). Our orchestra continually accompanies choirs, especially in Germany, but also in Switzerland and France. Such concerts usually take place in churches.
The present permanent members of the orchestra are experienced professional musicians from Prague opera and symphony orchestras.
After 2010, the greatest event among a number of other concerts both at home or abroad was the co-operation with José Carreras on his tour on Germany´s metropolises under the title "A Life in Music" - The legendary Tenor José Carreras - Final World Tour.
The Czech Republic, often called “the heart of Europe”, has more than a thousand-year-old musical tradition, which extends to the present. The Bohemia Prague Symphony Orchestra is an ensemble that continues to develop and embellish this rich tradition.