Constance Navratil

Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on April 21, 1930, to Isabella (Hoult) and Robert Row Parr, her family moved to London where she grew up, surviving the bombing of London during World War II. After graduating from high school she attended the prestigious Trinity College of Music where she earned a Fellowship diploma. Shortly after the war she met Boris Navratil, a political refugee from Czechoslovakia, when both attended French classes at the London Polytechnic. After Boris moved to Baton Rouge to attend L.S.U., she followed him to America and they were married in New Orleans on October 31, 1952. They settled in Baton Rouge where they both attended LSU and where Constance received her Master's Degree in Voice, Phi Kappa Phi. They raised four children and led active professional and personal lives enjoying many remarkable trips together to virtually every corner of the globe. Constance immersed herself in the artistic community of Baton Rouge - a commitment which continued to the present. Her many activities included appearances as a soloist with the Baton Rouge Symphony. the Baton Rouge Sinfonietta, the New Orleans, Lake Charles and Birmingham, Alabama symphonies and the Austrian Radio Orchestra in Graz, Austria. She performed leading roles in operas here and in New Orleans and in several Baton Rouge Little Theater musicals. She was the founding member of the Baton Rouge Gilbert & Sullivan Society. She collaborated with Director Robbie Giroir in producing musicals for the Baton Rouge Magnet High School Choral Department. She was the Program Director at WRKF radio from its inception and for many years hosted "Matinee with Constance Navratil". "LSU School of Music Presents" was her current and most recent radio production as well as rebroadcasts of Baton Rouge Symphony concerts. She was awarded the Key to the City for her work in promoting music in our community and in 2001 was presented the Mayor-President's Award for Excellence in the Arts.