Don’t refuse anything, don’t volunteer for anything
Reginald Kefer was born on 27 July 1936 in Prague. His father Jan Kefer was the chairman of the Czechoslovak Hermetic society Universalia and excelled in astrology and esoteric studies. Because he refused to collaborate with the Nazis, they interned him in Flossenbürg concentration camp, where he died in 1941. Reginald’s mother died half a year after her husband, devastated by the hardships of the time. The orphaned Reginald lived with his grandparents in Prague-Smíchov. He took part in the Prague Uprising, acting as a messenger for the Vlasovites at the age of eight. After the war he studied the organ at a conservatoire. He regularly played in a number of churches and also performed around the world. In 1956 he enrolled at the Academy, where he studied conducting. He soon gained renown in this field as well. He was appointed conductor of the opera in Ústí nad Labem; he also served as guest conductor at the State Opera in Dresden. He moved to Brno with his wife and children and took up direction of the city’s radio orchestra. In 1968 he joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and was active during Prague Spring. During the normalisation period he was fired from the radio and was taken up as an assistant at the Brno Philharmonic by František Jílek, a prominent interpreter of the music of Leoš Janáček. In 1977 he moved to Olomouc, where he headed the opera. He acquired a number of excellent soloists for the institute. He performed both in Czechoslovakia and abroad, he gave lessons and received a number of notable awards. He still lives in Olomouc, where he teaches at a children’s art school.