Slovak Hungarian Choir Movement (Kodály Days)

Kodály Days, the National Qualification Competition of Hungarian Adult Choirs in Slovakia

; With the national competition, which has been held every three years since 1969, we would like to assess the current situation and condition of the Hungarian adult choir movement in Slovakia, the quality of the individual choirs, and the professional preparedness of the choir directors, so that we can determine further tasks and objectives based on the knowledge gained in this way: organizing training courses, courses, and nominating choirs for international competitions, competitions, and festivals based on their results. ; ; The number and quality of the accompanying events of the national choir competition, rural concerts, exhibitions, and other events have increased gratifyingly. The Hungarian participants of the national choir competition of each year, as well as foreign guest choirs and ensembles, usually perform before the audience more than twenty times, and those interested can view several exhibition materials within the framework of the Kodály Days. The individual events, concerts, and choir meetings take place in settlements where the preservation, care, development, and transmission of Kodály traditions are given a very important place. The regular contributors to the individual rural concerts are small and large local choirs and folk singing groups, which can gain a lot of experience from the Hungarian and foreign choirs coming to their settlements during joint performances. With this, we would like to further develop choral art, the joy of singing together, and Kodály's ideas in Galánta and its surroundings. ; ; The number of Hungarian choirs participating in the event has been increasing and their professional preparation and standard have gradually increased. Among the members of the event's main committee and professional preparatory committee are those who have been among the organizers since the beginning, and many have contributed to the implementation of the festival more than ten times. The members of the professional preparatory committee were selected from among the members of the Slovak Hungarian Music Lovers Association, several of whom have been among the organizers of the Kodály Days since the beginning: - Szilvia Szalay, president of the Slovak Hungarian Music Lovers Association, - Mónika Józsa, member of the Presidency of the Slovak Hungarian Music Lovers, university lecturer, leading conductor of the Vass Lajos Choir of the Slovak Hungarian Teachers' Association - József Kazán, conductor, member of the Presidency of the Slovak Hungarian Music Lovers - Lajos Stirber, conductor, member of the Presidency of the Slovak Hungarian Music Lovers - Péter Erdei, Liszt Prize and Bartók-Pásztory Prize winner conductor, founding director of the Zoltán Kodály Institute of Music Pedagogy in Kecskemét, university lecturer, conductor of the New Liszt Ferenc Choir of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, president of the jury for the seventh time - Ágnes Erdélyi, conductor - Attila Kertész, Liszt Prize-winning conductor, university lecturer, conductor of the Pécs Mecsek Choir, the Pécs Béla Bartók Girls' Choir, and the Pécs Zoltán Kodály Boys' Choir, member of the KÓTA and Hungarian Kodály Society's presidency, member of the jury for the sixth time - Imre Kneifel, director of the Kodály Zoltán Singing-Music 12th Grade Art School since 1993, director of the Kodály Zoltán Elementary School and Gymnasium, which merged from the two schools in 1996 - Éva Kollár, habilitated university professor, Liszt Prize-winning and Artisjus Prize-winning conductor, president of the Hungarian Choirs and Orchestras Association - KÓTA, vice-president of the Hungarian Kodály Society. ; ; The contribution of the National Qualification Competition of Slovak Hungarian Adult Choirs, held within the framework of the Kodály Days, can be measured primarily by the fact that the number and professional level of the choirs participating in the event is increasing from year to year, as evidenced by their successes in various other competitions and festivals. In recent years, several of our choirs have participated and successfully performed at the Debrecen Bartók Festival, the Budapest International Festival of Kodály Choirs, and other renowned international festivals. ; ; Joint works performed by the choir (2017): Lajos Rajter: Mátyusföldi népdalcsokor / Zoltán Kodály: Fölszállott a páva / Zoltán Kodály: A magyarorszókh - Karnagyok: István Stubendek, Mónika Józsa, Éva Kollár ;