Biografie

The guitar - Duo Manera - is comprised of Soňa Vimrová and Miroslav Žára. The Duo was founded in 2013 after both artists have cooperated regularly since their studies together at the Pilsner Conservatory and Prague HAMU in the class of professor Štěpán Rak. At first the duo mostly presented compositions of classic guitar masters, later they began experimenting in the area of contemporary composers and today they predominantly make their own arrangements of the Spanish and Latin American repertory. Duo Manera has its own sound system from BOSE and wireless microphone system - The2mics - , suitable both for concert halls and theaters as well as outside spaces or cafés... 

Miroslav Žára is a graduate of the Conservatory in Pilsen and the Music Faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he studied under professor Štěpán Rak. Within the framework of his studies he was granted a stipendium at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar, where he worked under the supervision of professor Thomas Müller Pering. From 2004 on he has devoted himself to studying flamenco. Among his lectors were e.g. Morenito de Triana, Gerardo Nunez, Antonio Rey, Carlos Grilo, Jorge Pisao, Rubén Campos, Flaco de Nerja, Miguel Angel Corral (Corralito), Francisco Morales (El Pulga), Gerardo Nunez and others. He regularly cooperates with the singer Edita Adlerová (project Spanish Night with Carmen), and the dancer Lola Karpenko, with whom they founded the ensemble La Magia del Flamenco. As of 2008 he is a member of the orchestra of Hudební divadlo Karlín (Karlín Music Theatre) - the musical Carmen (starring Lucie Bílá in the lead role). Among his other activities is cooperation with the Pilsner philharmonic orchestra in the area of film music. Since 2020 he teaches flamenco guitar at the International Conservatory in Prague. 

Soňa Vimrová studied at the Conservatory in Pilsen and the Music Faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in the class of prof. Štěpán Rak. During her studies she obtained a stipendium for a one year educational stay in Finland (Jyväskylä), where she was supervised by Vladimír Večtomov. After her studies she regularly participated in international guitar contests at home and abroad. She received 3rd place at the Guitar Biennale in Kutná Hora and a Special prize for the best rendition of a Contemporary Slovak Composition (1992 - I. category) and several times she was the finalist in the contest (1996 - II. category, 2002, 2004 - III. category). Aside from the Czech Republic she also performed in Poland, Germany, Spain, Slovenia, Switzerland and China. As a solo artist she performed with the Prague Philharmonia (2003) or the orchestra Atlantis (2004). At present she cooperates for example with the singer Michaela Katráková, or the trio Maurice Ensemble with Bledar Zajmi (violoncello) and Michaela Zajmi (vocals).