Václav Vonášek (born 1980) studied bassoon at the Conservatiore in Pilsen (with Ladislav Šmídl and Matouš Křiváček) and at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (with František Herman and Jiří Seidl). As a winner of the Czecho-Slovak competition "Talent of the Year 2002" he gained a scholarship at the Royal College of Music in London where he studied with Andrea de Flammineis and Martin Gatt. He is a prizewinner at numerous competitions - ARD Munich (2008), Prague Spring (2002, 2009), Markneukirchen (2006), Lodz (2005) and IDRS (2004). He is a member of the Arundo Woodwind Trio (2011 Czech Chamber Music Society Prize) and the PhilHarmonia Octet. With the Barocco sempre giovane ensemble he recorded a solo CD for the Supraphon label (2013). From 2006 till 2016 he was a member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Since March 2016 he has been a contrabassoonist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.