Ater Duo

is a dialogue between violin and cello, featuring Slovenian violinist Rebeka Kotar and Czech cellist and composer Josef Bartoň. The duo was formed during their studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU). Their repertoire focuses primarily on contemporary music.

Rebeka Kotar

is a Slovenian violinist. After graduating from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where she studied with Prof. Volodja Balžalorsky, she moved to the Czech Republic in 2023 to pursue her master’s degree under the guidance of Prof. Leoš Čepický.

She is a member of numerous musical ensembles and has participated in several concert tours abroad, including performances in Austria, Germany, Hungary, and France. In 2022, she was the concertmaster of the ESTA (European String Teachers Association) Orchestra at the 50th ESTA Conference in Graz, Austria.

In the Czech Republic, she regularly performs with ensembles such as PKO, Wranitzky Kapelle, and Collegium Stivinum. She was also a member of the orchestral academy of PKF – Prague Philharmonia.

As a passionate chamber musician, she performs with several chamber ensembles. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Aurum Piano Trio, with which she has given dozens of concerts. In 2022, the trio appeared as a soloist ensemble with the Kranj Symphony Orchestra. Among its greatest achievements are victories in two international competitions: the Oskar Rieding International Competition (2019) and Musica Zagreb (2021).

Rebeka has successfully participated in more than twenty national and international competitions, including the Ars Nova International Music Competition (Italy), Stringfest (Serbia), TEMSIG (Slovenia), and the Antonio Salieri Music Competition (Italy), among others. She regularly performs solo and chamber music recitals in both the Czech Republic and Slovenia. In April 2024, she appeared as a soloist with the orchestra of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana.

She has attended numerous masterclasses with distinguished musicians, including Liviu Prunaru, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Latica Honda-Rosenberg, Stefan Milenković, Kevin Lawrence, Vesna Stanković-Moffatt, and Lana Trotovšek, among others.

Josef Bartoň

graduated from the Pardubice Conservatory, where he studied with Josef Krečmer Sr. and Jan Zemen. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU), studying with Prof. Miroslav Petráš.

He is a first-prize laureate of the Young Musicians and Bohuslav Martinů Competition and won third prize at the Jan Vychytil Competition. He has also achieved success at the Beethoven’s Hradec Competition and the International Cello Competition in Bratislava. As a soloist, he has performed with the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, and the orchestra of the Pardubice Conservatory. He also gave the premiere performance of Concerto No. 1 in C minor for Cello and Orchestra, “Gaiano,” by composer M. Bartoň.

He has further developed his interpretative skills at masterclasses led by Jiří Bárta, Tomáš Strašil, Petr Nouzovský, and Václav Luks. He previously served as deputy principal cellist of the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra in Mariánské Lázně and currently holds the position of principal cellist with the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also a member of the chamber ensemble Barocco sempre giovane.

Alongside his performing career, he is deeply involved in composition, which he studies with Jan Ryant Dřízal at the Prague Conservatory. His composition Stained Glass Windows for Cello and Piano was performed at a concert featuring laureates of the SoundCzech Showcase festival.

Josef Bartoň’s musical interests extend beyond classical music. He has a longstanding passion for jazz and performs with the band Vlnotaj.