Biography EN
Juraj Křemen is a Slovak organist. He studied concert organ playing at the Church Conservatory in Bratislava (Marek Vrábel) and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Jaroslav Tůma). At this time, Juraj continues his studies at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart in the fields of organ interpretation (Jürgen Essl) and improvisation (Jürgen Essl, Johannes Mayr). During his studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, he completed a half-year internship at the University of Catholic Church Music and Music Education Regensburg (Stefan Baier), and a one-year internship at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart (Jürgen Essl).
Juraj continues to expand his knowledge at various masterclasses focused on interpretation and improvisation under the guidance of renowned organists such as Christian Schmitt, Hans Lendeers, Heribert Metzger, Marcel Verheggen, Franz Josef Stoiber, Zuzana Ferjenčíková, Wolfgang Zerer, Helmut Deutsch, Jeremy Joseph, Thierry Escaich, Thomas Ospital or Olivier Latry. He participated in the 20th edition of the Schola Arvenzis International Master Interpretation Courses 2021 under the guidance of Monika Melcová, Stuttgart Organ Academy 2023 and International Summer Academy of Music 2023 in Ochsenhausen.
Juraj Křemen has received several awards. He won the 1st prize at the 11th Joseph-Gabler Organ Competition 2023 in Ochsenhausen, Germany, the 2nd prize Justin-Heinrich-Knecht Special Prize 2023, from the city of Biberach an der Riß. He also won the 1st prize at the Competition of Conservatory Students of the Slovak Republic 2018 in Bratislava, and the 2nd prize at the Competition of Conservatory Students of the Slovak Republic 2016 in Košice. Thanks to his regular representation of the Church Conservatory and his excellent academic results, Juraj was awarded the Graduate of the Year 2018 award. He has performed multiple times at the Festival of Young Slovak Organists in Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Košice. He has performed at a number of other organ festivals such as "Young Artists in Krakow" festival, Nove Zámky Parish Music Summer, Monastic Music Festival in Šumperk, Ars Organi in Nitra, Bratislava Organ Festival, Jozef Grešák's Organ Days in Bardejov, and others.
He works as a teacher at the Private Conservatory of Prešov, where he teaches organ interpretation and improvisation. He has collaborated with the Choir of St. Cecilia at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Košice. He has held concerts across Germany, Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia. As a parish church organist, Juraj has worked at the Minor Basilica of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Marianka near Bratislava, the Parish Church of the Holy Trinity in Prešov, and in the Minor Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on the Holy Mountain in Příbram.