Laura Rosini: Why did you decide to study the guitar at ZHdK?
Hedvika Svendova: A colleague of my mother’s, a guitar teacher in the Czech Republic, told me about ZHdK. He also did an exchange here. We visited Zurich to attend a concert. When I saw ZHdK, I knew it was the perfect school for me. Especially because it’s open around the clock: I spend a lot of time on campus, preferably in the evenings when the big halls are available and it’s quiet.
Do we need art? And if so, why?
For emotions in life! Art in the form of music therapy can also help. But it also inspires and conveys feelings. Often, it adds a surprising new aspect to life, which can recolour the rigid and corset-like constructions of society.
How come you play the guitar and the flute?
I like both instruments very much, especially their diversity: I can play the guitar solo because it’s like a small orchestra of its own. The flute, on the other hand, requires me to integrate into a larger group, an orchestra — which I really like.
What are your plans after you graduate?
After this degree, I’d like to do a master’s in flute performance, as well as a teacher training course and then teach at a school. My dream is to play in a professional orchestra. Preferably at Tonhalle Zurich or the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
What are your current projects?
My sister Dominika and I are performing many different transcriptions of well-known authors as a duo — from Bach to Schulhoff. As part of my master’s thesis, I would like to create a 45-minute concert that will be performed together with dancers. I imagine playing standing up and moving to the music together with the dancers.
What does your excellence scholarship mean to you?
It makes me very grateful and happy. It’s my current income. I would feel much more stressed without it. It allows me to devote myself entirely to my studies.
What would you like to have achieved in a year’s time?
I took the entrance exam for the flute here at ZHdK and have been admitted. It would be wonderful to go on tour with a very good orchestra and play a flute and guitar concert. And I wish that there will be no more war and that we realize every day how fortunate we are to be here.