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Bartok Bela Male Choir's visit

Béla Bartók Male Chorus, Pécs, Hungary
Concert in the Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The American Choral Directors Association / North Central Division’s (NCACDA) Conference was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 3-6, 2010. A Community That Sings! ...was the theme this year, as choral directors from across the upper Midwest gathered in Minneapolis for the North Central Division conference. As a culminating event and a kickoff to an ongoing effort to bringing song back to our society, the convention featured national and international leaders in the community singing movement.
   
   Concert Photos ►                   Read the report and watch more videos►►►
   Bordalok (Video) ►
 
 
The American Choral Directors Conference -focusing on teaching music- organized tours for the Bartók Choir. During their week stay in the USA, the Bartók Choir performed concerts at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, in the Roseville Lutheran Church. They also engaged in workshops with High School students in Apple Valley and in the Chippewa Falls Senior High School in Wisconsin. The Choir visited the University of Wisconsin- River Falls and sang in the St. Croix Falls Wisconsin High School.

The NCACDA Conference was enhanced by a special International Choral Concert of exceptional quality on March 3rd in the Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, featuring two invited foreign choruses: The Girl Choir of the Old Town Music House, Tallinn, Estonia and the Béla Bartók Male Chorus, Pécs, Hungary. These two world-renowned choirs presented an unforgettable night of traditional music from their homelands.

                         

            Dr. Tamas Lakner Conductor                    Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN

According to information from the Bartók Choir Web-site and conversations with the singers, we learned that The Béla Bartók Male Choir was founded in 1945. Since 1980 the choir has been conducted by Tamás Lakner. Under the lead of Dr. Lakner the Bartók Chorus has gained a broad international reputation in the past few years, achieving a high level in chorus performance, which is backed up by several prizes and diplomas. (Karditsa, Budapest, Riva del Garda, Debrecen, Torrevieja, Vienna, Rome, Arezzo, Apeldoorn).

In 1998, they made a highly successful tour in the United States and Canada, in 1999 in Spain. The Chorus having ever increasing number of young singers beside the more matured voices - has achieved remarkable successes, marked with not less than 30 prizes of national and international choir competitions and festivals.
 In July 2006, winning their category, they became Olympic champions of the 4th Choir Olympics in China.

The chorus often performs in oratorios, co-operating with the Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra. The "Bartók Béla" Male Choir has several recordings, among which the one, presenting all the male choir compositions by Zoltán Kodály, was released in 2005, as a world-premiere, by Hungaroton Classics. They have toured throughout Europe, as well as in Canada, the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The Bartók Chorus the host and organizer of the annual festal for all male choirs: the European Convivial Wine Song-Festivals. In 1996 the ensemble was hosting the 1st World Convivial Wine Song Festival.
 

                         

The Choir during the performance         Medley of Hungarian Folk Songs on wine

Members of the Minnesota Hungarians (MH) proudly attended to the concert at the Orchestra Hall enjoying every minute of this superior quality performance. After the concert the MH invited the choir members to a planned reception near the Orchestra Hall. Csilla Grauzer current President of MH greeted our guests with warm words and Dr. Lakner also expressed his appreciation for the attention and care that the visiting Choir received from the local Hungarian community. A pleasant surprise was to have Erika Budai- Wegman who flew from Denver, Colorado to met members of the Bartók Choir. We can view her videos on You Tube see below. It was a memorable evening for all of us.


The Minnesota Hungarians wishes much success, enjoyable career and long time achievement to all Singers, Musicians and Tamás Lakner Conductor in their lofty mission of high quality music.

Reported by Ágnes M. Fülöp

 

Videos from the concert:

videos by Erika Budai-Wegman

Zoltan Kodaly: Evening Song by Bartok Bela Mail Choir

Rakoczi megterese by Szabolcs Csajathy

Hej, a Mohi hegy boranak by Szabolcs Bognar

Bordalok

 

used source: http://www.ncacda.org/Conference2.htm
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