The Slovak Teachers' Choir (SZSU) is one of the top amateur male choirs in Slovakia. It was founded in 1921 in Trenčín and its founding conductor was prof. Miloš Ruppeldt (1921 – 1943), director of the first Music School for Slovakia in Bratislava. His successor prof. Ján Strelec (1945 – 1954), a renowned voice teacher, emphasized the cultured expression of the choir. Prof. dr. Juraj Haluzický (1954 – 1977) disciplined the choir in terms of intonation and rhythm and presented it successfully on several European stages. This tradition continues to be developed by the current conductor prof. Peter Hradil (since 1977), who in his artistic expression combined the soundness and intonation-rhythmic pregnancy of his predecessors.
In addition to successes at domestic festivals and competitions, SZSU won significant awards at competitions abroad: 2nd place in Llangollen (Great Britain) 1965 and 1991, in Tolosa (Spain) 1985, in Gorizia (Italy) 1987, in Athens (Greece) 1992, in Neuchatel (Switzerland) 1995 and finally 1st place in Litomyšl (Czech Republic) 1995 and in Powell River (Canada) in the jubilee year of 1996. SZSU gave concerts in almost all European countries, Canada and the USA. In 2001, he is preparing for an artistic tour to Japan. Expert criticism highlights his advanced singing culture, fullness of sound, purity of intonation, supreme harmony and depth of feeling of the interpreted compositions.
Peter Hradil is a professor of choral conducting at the Faculty of Music and Dance of the University of Performing Arts in Bratislava and at the FMU AU in Banská Bystrica. He is a graduate of choral conducting (Prof. Dr. J. Haluzický) and orchestral conducting (Prof. Dr. L. Rajter). He was choirmaster of the Slovak National Theater Opera and assistant to the chief choirmaster of the Slovak Philharmonic Choir. He worked as an artistic leader and conductor in several amateur choirs, which he brought to a top level. Among the most famous and successful are the Lúčnica choir (1983 – 1998) and the Slovak Teachers' Choir (since 1977), with which he won awards at various world choir competitions (Tolosa, Middlesbrough, Gorizia, Tours, Athens, Llangollen, Oskarhamn, Neuchatel , Litomyšl, Powell River, La Valetta) and gave concerts in almost all European countries, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, the USA, Jordan and Israel. He is the chairman of the artistic council of the Association of Slovak Choirs, a member and chairman of the juries of domestic and foreign choral competitions.