The symphonic picture, Jackson'S Journey, based on the novel by Gerard Herzog about the American mountainer in the Alps, became her graduating work for which she was awarded Best Composition of the Year from the Conservatory in 1982.

Doctoral study in composition was completed in 1991 at the Academy of the Performing Arts in Prague under Dr. Vaclav Riedlbauch. Pictures of Salvador Dali, a symphonic triptych, was her crowning achievement exhibiting her mastery of composition with great sensitivity, imagination and striking contrasts.

This brilliant young talent was honored with awards since 1987 when she was given the Award of Honor in the Competition of Young Composers Generation of 1987. She also won a prize given by the Czech Musical Foundation in a competition organized by the Czech Ministry of Culture. She worked with composer Zdenek Lukas on the musical part of the children\s book, Musical Motion Games (Hudebne pohybovery v materske skole) published in 1989.

In 1991, Necasova recorded four of her chamber works on compact disc, Debut Fuse I, a Montis label from Prague--MTO(0001-2111) AAD. It contains these works: Two Piano Preludes, Variations for Flute ond Piano (1987) composed on an improvisatory, original folkoric theme, The Space Grotesques (1988) for violin and electric cembalo inpired by three stories of Italo Ca1vino, A Sign in the Universe, Plays without an End, and The Water Uncle in Grotesques. Necasova expresses her sense of poetry, irony and humor, mixing elements of reality with unreal fantasy or even total absurity and Sonata for Piano, a composition which, although based on 12 tones, does not use the strict dodecaphonic technique and often sounds very tonal.

Her latest creation for symphonic orchestra, Caves, utilizes much percussion, including the primitive Australian didjeridu, vocals, and tape. It reflects life in the caves with the aborigines.

Professionally, Jindra Necasova teaches at the Prague Music Conservatory and composes on commission.

Dialogues for Flute and Trumpet (1995) and O Great Spirit for Vocal Solo and Guitar (1996) are new USA commissions which Alliance Publications is proud to offer in their catalog. Other Necasova listings include Four Songs (Soprano solo/Piano), Two Piano Preludes and Piano Sonata.

DIALOGUES FOR FLUTE AND TRUMPET AP-238 $14.95

FOUR SONGS - High Voice / Piano (Czech poems of Vilem Zavada) AP-1049 $9.95

O GREAT SPIRIT - Solo Vocal / Classical Guitar AP-1048 $7.95

Vaclav Nelhybel (b. September 24, 1919 in Polanka, Czechoslovakia) studied composition and conducting at the Prague Conservatory of Music and musicology at the universities of Prague and Fribourg, Switzerland. As a student, he was already affiliated with Radio Prague as composer and conductor. At age 18, he was conducting the Czech Philharmonic as an assistant to Rafael Kubelik. By 1948, he had become active in Swiss National Radio as composer/conductor and from 1950-1957, he served as co-founder and Music Director of Radio Free Europe in Munich. During this time he functioned as guest conductor with numerous European Orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Symphony, and Orchestra de la Swisse Romande. Since 1957, he has lived in the USA, became a U.S. citizen in 1962, and was active as a composer, conductor and lecturer up to his death in 1996.

Among his many awards are the First National Prize for the best radiophonic composition (Prague, 1947); First Prize for the motion picture score to La Beaute des Formes (Paris, 1955); First Prize for the ballet In the Shadow of the Lime Tree at the First International Music and Dance Festival (Copenhagen, 1947); First Prize of the Ravich Music Foundation for the opera, A Legend (New York, 1954); The "Man of the Year in Music" St. Cecelia Award (University of Notre Dame, 1968) and the United States Treasury Department Award for "Patriotic Service" (1968).

Nelhybel is also the recipient of four honorary doctorate degrees here in the United States. His compositions have been recorded by Golden Crest Records, Musical Heritage Society, Serenus, Turnabout Records, Folkways and Kosei Publishing Company. [Sinfonia Resurrectionis: Music of Vaclav Nelhybel (1919-1996)-Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra conducted by Frederick Fennell - KO CD-3577]

Nelhybel's vast repertoire includes compositions of many genres. The Cock and the Hangman, a ballet-opera, was first performed at the National Theater in Prague in 1947. His Symphony No. 1 was given its premiere by the Prague Philharmonic. Virtually most European and American orchestras and choirs have performed his music. In the USA, his greatest dynamic had been, not so much on the professional stage, but in the classrooms of American schools and universities for 30 years. There hardly is an American university that has not performed at least one, if not many Nelhybel compositions. Likewise, there is hardly a junior high or senior high school in the USA that has not performed at least one of his works. Young people are attracted to the music of Nelhybel because it is characterized by such a strong inner dynamic energy.

Vaclav was an accomplished musician with a virtuoso skill in traditional music techniques, striving for his own synthesis of certain traditional trends with contemporary chromaticism. Perhaps the most striking characteristic of his music is its linear-mode orientation. Consequently, his music is never truly functional-harmonic (perhaps this can also be said of Leos Janacek, his fellow countryman of whom and for whose music Nelhybel had the greatest respect). The concern with line, modality and the autonomy of the melodic line leads to the second, but not less important characteristic, rhythm and meter. Individual lines are spun across the measures of the time signature in an elaborate complimentary rhythm. This rhythmic and metric coordination of all lines results in a strong pulsation which generates a vigorous drive which is very typical in Nelhybel's music. Now add to these elements the tension generated by the accumulation of dissonances, density of texture, dynamics and the choice of instrumental color or timbre, which combine to produce the final effect of energy in motion and duration.

A common trait in the Nelhybel "sound "would seem to be a panchromatic melodic system, not serial in the deodecaphonic sense, but one which has a strong relation to one gravitational center. This relation to the 'gravitional center ' generates and releases tensions which Nelhybel calls the human element in music and is the sine qua non of communication between composer and listener. He is not a revolutionary innovator. He is rather. a synthesist, bringing all of past techniques into a harmonious entity. He discriminately chooses existing principles and integrates them into his own concepts and art. He is a man fascinated with the joys of explorative involvement and the transmission of aesthetic excitement. His personal magnetism and dynamism encompass the entire range of human emothions-the common denominator through which his artistic expression carries its universal appeal. A desire to communicate is a real important concern of Nelhy;bel and it is his striving for reaching and touching the souls of humanity that make this man so noble-he finds it impossible to surrender his affection for humanity. It is in this 'touching' between composer, performers and audience, no matter what the method of the composition may be, that best characterizes and typifies his heart and soul; therefore, his music.

Nelhybel often employed thematic material from his Czech heritage as, eg. Music for Orchestra and Woodwind Quintet, 1987. Of the work he said: "My favorite folksong about the torment of separation of two lovers is the theme of the first movement, and the oldest Bohemian chorale, with its origin in the Middle Ages--a plea to Saint Vaclav [Wenceslas] 'not to allow us to perish, nor our children,' is the theme of the second movement." Time and time again, we can see the pride and the deep rootedness Vaclav Nelhybel had in the musical culture and heritage of his native land.

In his own words, Nelhybel said, "I am a composer 24 hours a day. . . .to make music is the best way to manifest my existence as a human being. I live with whatever my metabolism brings. I am one of the very lucky people ...when I was 5 or 6 years old, I knew I would be a composer."

The New World opened up a whole new musical world for Nelhybel. "I came to America when I was 38 years old and never had anything to do with schools. Zero. Band and wind ensemble music does not exist in European schools the same way it does here. For me, band was this thing that marched in parades and played in little villages in churches, performing arrangements of Verdi operas, and it's what you do not take seriously-half an acre of clarinets, half an acres of flutes-but not a vehicle for artistic expression."

What he saw and heard with the performance of teenage school children at a 1962 National Music Educators Convention fascinated and changed his life dramatically. That sensation opened an entire new muse in the composer. About this experience, he said, "My life has not been the same since. It is amazing to see the children blow their instruments. Every year I visit schools. I need it. I call it, 'to lick blood,' to stay in contact. I write music for those little kids, and it still is music that I sign. It is not, 'Oh, this is just some little thing for high school, junior high kids.' No, it is music. I cut the range of the instruments, cut the technique, yet still try to express something that they can take for their own. I am very lucky that my music for them was successful, that it did speak to the kids. Let's put it this way: I was asking myself, 'Do I have something that could make them excited?' Yes, and it seems that I have."

For Nelhybel, the creative process was solitary, done daily in an almost soundproof room. "My family, at times, does not know that I exist. I do not compose with piano. . .I compose completely in that room (of the mind), so to speak."

How did this man, composer of close to 600 compositions in 48 different categories who conducted in all 50 States in the USA plus many foreign countries, recipient of 4 honorary doctorate degrees, have time to compose? A typical work day schedule consisted of three 8-hour shifts. He would compose for 6 hours, sleep 2 hours, compose 6, sleep 2, and compose another 6, sleeping two. "It is amazing what I can get done with this type of schedule," he said. It was not uncommon to find him two or three days without sleep, being so engrossed in his creative process. "I am always collecting ideas, and I keep them in about 300 folders according to instruments, structure, rhythm, and so on."

Vaclav Nelhybel took everything seriously. His advice to young composers had always been: "Know the reason for each and every note you write. . . everything before it, after it, above it and below it. Economy of means .....achieve the most from the least! With the millions of notes that I have written I can tell you the exact function, life and purpose for each one!"

The Czech Republic can truly be proud of their native son whose commitment to freedom of expression led him to gift the world with his own unique musical expressions and concepts born out of deep convictions for which he lived his life. Nelhybel died in Scranton, Pennysylvania after a short illness on March 22, 1996., leaving the world with a rich treasury of music.

Music Published by Alliance Publications, Inc. BAND " Czech Suite for Band AP-688 " Prelude & Chorale (Svaty Vaclave) for Band AP-613

ORCHESTRA " Christmas in Bohemia - SATB Choir & Chamber Orchestra AP-493 " Divertimento for Strings AP-417

INSTRUMENTAL SOLOS/ENSEMBLES " Prelude & Chorale on Sv. Vaclave - Solo instrument with Piano or Organ AP-504 Trombone & Organ +Br 4(opt) AP-505/01 Trbn & Piano AP-505/02 String Bass, Tuba AP-505/03 Bsn, Vcello AP-505/04 Bb Trpt, Ten Sax AP-505/05 Eb Saxophone AP-505/06 Flute AP-505/07 French Horn AP-505/08 Oboe, Violin AP-505/09 Viola AP-505/10 Marimba, Orch Bells AP-505/11 Clnt AP-505/12 Alto Flute " Variations on a Slovak Folk Song - Cello Duet AP-4048 " Variations on a Slovak Folk Song Viola Duet AP-4047

ORGAN " Organ Prelude for Christmas AP-502 " Six Organ Preludes for Ordinary Time AP-503

PIANO " Impromptus for Piano AP-517 " Variants ona Czech Love Song - 2 pianos AP-5040 " Variants on a a Czech Love Song - Pno Solo with Woodwind Choir AP-2057 CHORAL " Peter Piper - SATB/Clnt choir AP-1677 AP-2064 Instrumental set

Commissions include Tabernaculae Dei (SSAA), How Lonely Sits the City (Solo Tenor Vocal), Psalm 100 (SATB, Recorder and Piano), Lyric (Piano Solo) and Just Yesterday (Soprano Vocal Solo and Piano). In the Beginning Was the Word, a theological tone poem in one movement, was read by the Minnesota Orchestra, Scott Terrell, Associate Conductor, as part of the annual Perfect Pitch Orchestral Reading Sessions.

Brian is a committed Catholic and is known for his cheerful, professional approach. He looks forward to responding to opportunities to compose music in any idiom or level of difficulty. He works well with professionals, amateurs and young people and feels a particularly strong commitment to local cultural life. In September 2007, he began pursuing doctoral studies in composition at Lawrence, KS.

Publications available from Alliance Publications, Inc. are:

" VOCALISE - Solo Cello AP-482 Vocalise for Solo Cello. written in 1997, was dedicated to his father, Don Nelson. Brian has always been in love with the poignant beauty of the cello. From the wonderful Bach Cello Suites to the Sonata and Concertos of Dimitri Shostakovitch, the cello has always captured his musical imagination. The title, Vocalise, refers to the innate expressive quality of the instrument and the lyrical, flowing nature of the music itself. AP-482

" PSALM 100 - SATB/Soprano Rcdr/Pno AP-1262 Psalm 100 was commissioned by Irmgard Bittar for the 1999 dedication of the new sanctuary of the Lutheran Church of the Living Christ in Madison, Wisconsin. The piece begins with bold, clanging piano chords followed quickly by a fanfare with the full choir. Slowly, the piano rhythms subside to a mere accompaniment as the rest of the piece unfolds. The overall form of the piece is that of an inverted arch, bold and strong from the beginning and winding down to perfect stillness in the middle as a single, lost sheep (personified by the soprano soloist) comes to rest on the words ?and the sheep of his hand." From here to the end, the music gathers speed and strength, returning to the bold character of the beginning and finishing with a rousing ?Amen."

" TRULY, TRULY AP-1263 SATB CHOIR The text for the motet, Truly, Truly, I Say to You, is taken from John 12:24-25a and is emblematic of the Christian life: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit." The words of Jesus continue with the great paradox of the Christian faith as exemplified by Christ's death and resurrection: "He/she who loves his/her life shall lose it: he/she who hates his/her life in this world shall keep it for eternal life." In addition to full-choir passages, the piece features several solos which call to mind the peripatetic (itinerant) style of Jesus' teaching.

It is no coincidence that a considerable share of his work is represented by vocal compositions, among which, the most numerous, are songs, choruses, and songs or cycles for children in various age groups and levels of difficulty.

Neumann?s vocal works, striking in their originality, are profoundly effective musically. High appreciation has been accorded to his chorus Soleils Couchants (Setting Suns) at the International Choral competition in Tours (1982). He was awarded prizes at the World Festivals of Democratic Youth and Students in Warsaw (1958) and in Helsinki (1962). In 1987, the Panton Publishing House Award was given to him for his Songs of Defiance and Strength while the Union of Czech Composers and Concert Artists Prize was given to him for Atlantis. Many of his songs for children have been included in various anthologies in the USSR and the German Democratic Republic where they have become a permanent feature in the repertoire of local choirs. An intimate knowledge of instruments as well as of the potentials and mentality of young instrumentalists have stimulated Neumann in writing instructive works for diverse instruments and chamber ensembles.

Veroslav Neumann began to systematically turn his attention to symphonic and chamber works during his mature creative stage. In these works, there is marked evidence of his desire to continue to be communicative in his musical expression, endeavoring to impart to the listener, in an intelligible way, the prevailing complicated language of music. A clearly positive response to his String Quartet, Symphonic Dances and other works, some of which met with appreciation in Czechoslovak competitions, have proved his approach to be successful.

A specific feature of Neumann?s work is his intelligent wit which he has shown to good advantage equally in his thirty-minute Chimney Opera and in his shorter forms, even in mixed choruses, which are traditionally considered to serious in tone. The humor, combined with his singular demonstration of feelings and expression in both his lyrical and dramatic works, point to important characteristics in Veroslav Neumann?s compositions which are interesting from many points of view and most appealing.

From 1990-1998, Veroslav Neumann was the Director of the Conservatory of Music in Prague, Czech Republic.

Music Published by Alliance Publications, Inc.

A Very Mature Gentleman's Forenoon at a Spa - Clarinet Solo with Piano AP-245

Ants' Polka / Brabenci Polka - 2 part Choir a cap AP-1115 English & Czech texts

Cancaty a jine fory / Musical Humor SA AP-1112

Czech Folksong Duets for Like Instruments - Fl 2 , Clnt 2 AP-244

Four Variations on a Brigand Theme - Clnt/pno AP-246

Marne ody na vystrelky mody / Vain odes about fashions - SSAA/pno $1.60

Pisnicka slunicek / Song to the Sun - Unison & SSA choir/pno AP-1116

Poetic Tone Picutres, Antonin Dvorak/arr. by V Neumann for Woodwind Choir AP-2042 Set AP-2042 Score

Proclamations for Tuba and Piano AP-359

Roztancime celou zem / Spring Song: We make the Whole World Dance AP-1754 Czech & English texts

Rymovacky / Humorous Rhymes Unison choir, Pno, Flute AP-1111

Sbohem Praho! Symphonic Band AP-689 Score AP-689 Parts

Svitanicko/Sunshine SSAA a cap choir AP-1114

Three Duets for Flute & Clarinet AP-243

U nas v kapele / In Our Band - unison choir with piano Czech & English texts AP-1697

As a military conductor, he spent two years in Plzen (1882-1884) and two in Prague (1884-1886). He had very good relationships with the prominent Czech composers Antonin Dvorak, Zdenek Fibich, and Karel Bendl.   

Following his military carreer, he engaged in music teaching in Bucharest, Bulgaria, and also directed music in Russia, Holland, Germany and Bulgaria. Undoubtedly, his very popular march, Castaldo, op. 40 (1884), a march Novacek wrote for the 28th
regiment as well as Na zdar nasi vystave brought him fame and invitations to conduct his music. Early publication of his music was by Hoffmann, Stareho, MU, FU, B&H and others.

Novacek composed much pianoforte music including Mala suita, a collection for young Czech piano players, Valciky (Waltzes) for an album of Czech dances, a Sonata for Violin, Romance-a Concerto for Violoncello and Piano, (1889, FU), a Symphony for Wind Orchestra (1888), Othello, and many other works.

Following his father’s death in 1890, he took over his father’s music institute in Temesvar which he managed for the next 30 years (til 1920). In 1921, he was promoted to be an army conductor, but did not except this position and returned to Temesvar. From this time on, he concentrated solely on his music. In 1929, at the age of 69, he visited Prague to undergo medical treatment but did not survive the operation. He is buried in Prague.