JOEL BLAHNIK from the
Smrzovice Blahnik family line of
Joseph 1854-1932.
Joel Blahnik is a talented musician who keeps the
Czech/Bohemian music and traditions alive. He lives in Fish Creek, WI and
has been to Czech many times. He has many accomplishments and one includes
his dedication to his family heritage. He traveled with Ladislav Blahnik and did a
great deal to collect the history and genealogy of the Smrzovice family.
Recently he earned the 2010 Lucis Russell Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award
at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI to add to his accomplishments.
ARTICLE FROM LAWRENCE TODAY
MAGAZINE 2010:
Joel A. Blahnik - Lawrence University
'60
Lucia Russell Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award
Blahnik served as an instrumental music
educator, clinician and lecturer in Wisconsin public schools for more than 30
years. A composer, Joel's works have been performed and recorded
nationally and internationally. He co-founded the Prague Youth Wind
Ensemble Festival and the Czech Music Alliance. He helped establish
Alliance Publications, Inc., a desktop publishing company to help further
Czecho-Slovak music. In addition, he is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed
captain on the Great Lakes. Since 1975 he has served as the Chambers
Lighthouse caretaker and historian.
Family photo taken at the award
ceremony:
Judge Bob Hawley (husband of Jennifer Blahnik),
Jennifer Blahnik, Joel Blahnik,
Mary Ann Blahnik (wife of Joel),
Jon Blahnik (son), Elizabeth ("Betsy")
Blahnik-Kuhn (daughter)
Little BIOGRAPHY of
Joel Blahnik; English/Czech
Joel
Blahnik (b. 1938)
Joel
Blahnik is, of course, a familiar name to Wisconsin music educators, and many
professional musicians across America and in Europe. Born in Door
County, Wisconsin,
Blahnik
graduated from the Lawrence Conservatory in 1961, and spent 33 years as an
instrumental music educator in Wisconsin schools. A frequent guest conductor
and clinician, Blahnik has remained
active as composer, conductor, writer, and researcher since his retirement in
1993. His compositions, over 220 of them published under the auspices of his
publishing company, Alliance Publications, Inc., have been featured at national
symposia, international festivals, and countless concerts. He has participated
in over 800 music
festivals during his teaching career. His compositions, because of their
performance excellence, appear on state contest lists across America. He has
composed 100 commissions in Wisconsin alone, in addition to other endorsements.
Blahnik has received many state, national and international awards for his
teaching visions and excellence.
Another
side of his career has been his world-wide advocacy of Czech music. He is
co-founder of the Czech Music Alliance with Anita Smisek, OP, which has
facilitated tours in the USA by Czech musicians, and publishing editions of
Czech music. He was recently titled "Mr. Czech Music of the USA"
by the Prague Conservatory and has appeared there in many successful roles of
teaching, conducting, recording, and inspiring growth of wind band music
potential in the schools of the nation.
Growing up
and living in Door County, a connection with water was inevitable. Blahnik has
been a U.S. Coast Guard Boat Captain since 1956, documenting over 12,000
excursions. In addition, he
and his family have served as caretakers and historians of the Door County
Chambers Island Lighthouse from 1975.
Being a
celebrated athlete of national acclaim in his youth, Blahnik senses the
"connectedness of everything in Life" and celebrates that joy through his
musical activities and relationships with others. . . a legend in his own
time.
In
Czech:
Kr�tk� �ivotopis
Joela Blahnika
Joel
Blahnik (n. 1938)
Joel Blahnik je znam� jm�no mezi
hudebn�mi pedagogy a profesion�ln�mi hudebn�ky po cel� Severn� Americe a v
Evropě. Narodil se v Door County ve Wisconsinu, v roce 1961 promoval na Lawrence
Conservatory a 33 let působil jako hudebn� pedagog na �kol�ch ve Wisconsinu. Po
sv�m odchodu do důchodu v roce 1993 pokračoval Blahnik aktivně jako skladatel,
dirigent, spisovatel a badatel. Jeho skladby, z nich� přes 220 jich bylo
publikov�no pod z�titou jeho vydavatelsk� společnosti Alliance Publication,
Inc., byly představeny na celost�tn�ch sympozi�ch, mezin�rodn�ch festivalech a
na nesčetn�m mno�stv� koncertů. Během sv� pedagogick� kari�ry se z�častnil v�ce
ne� 800 hudebn�ch festivalů. Jeho skladby se d�ky jejich v�born� prezentaci
objevily na st�tn�m vybran�m hudebn�m seznamu v USA. Jen ve Wisconsinu slo�il na
100
zak�zek. Blahnik obdr�el mnoho
st�tn�ch, celon�rodn�ch a mezin�rodn�ch oceněn� za svou znamenitou učitelskou
činnost.
Souč�st� jeho kari�ry je celosvětov�
prosazov�n� Česk� hudby. Spolu s Anitou Smiskovou je spoluzakladatel Česk�
Hudebn� Alliance, OP, kter� usnadnila turn� česk�ch hudebn�ků v USA a
publikovala českou hudbu.
Ned�vno mu byl Pra�skou konzervatoř�
udělen titul �Mr. Czech Music of the USA� a z�roveň v Česk�
republice �spě�ně působil v rol�ch učitele, dirigenta, ��fa nahr�v�n� a
inspirace pro růst hudebn�ho potenci�lu �esťov�ch orchestrů ve �kol�ch po cel�
zemi.
Jeliko� Blahnik vyrůstal a �il v Door
County, byl v�dy spjat� s vodou. Od roku 1956 působil jako certifikovan� kapit�n
na vyhl�dkov� lodi, se kterou podnikl v�ce jak 12000 v�jezdů. V souvislosti s
t�m Blahnik a jeho rodina od roku 1975 spravuj� maj�k na Chamber Island, jeho�
jsou i kronik�ři a historikov�.
V ml�d� celost�tně
uzn�van� atlet Blahnik vn�m� spojitost mezi v��m, co �ivot přin��, a oslavuje
tuto radost skrze sv� hudebn� aktivity a vztahy s druh�mi. . .
legenda sve doby.
also see:
http://www.windrep.org/Joel_Blahnik
