Bálint Vizeli

Bálint Vizeli graduated as an informatics engineer at Budapest University of Technology and Economics in 2018, but on account of his family background, he is profoundly engaged in folk music, which is proved by the fact that he became the winner of the National Folk Violin Competition in Kecskemét, in 2017. He considers helping Hungarian communities abroad of great importance, thus he plays at Hungarian dance houses in Munic and Nurnberg, among other cities, every year. He is a regular musician of the dance houses of the folk music venues in Budapest, like Fonó and Hungarian Heritage House, moreover, for the last two years, he has been running a folk club at a venue named Rácskert in Budapest once a fortnight.

CONTACT: info@folkfest.hu

Helga Debreceni-Kis

In addition to mastering and transmitting authentic folk music, I find it important to explore
all the possibilities given by the citera. I find it very important and consider it my purpose, to convince people that the citera is a very technical instrument, that has its place on stage, at festivals, and that isn’t exclusive to folk music, but can be used in anything, from jazz to classical music through blues! This is what we are trying to achieve with my duo, ZitheRandom. I have participated in several folk music contests where I earned several prizes, Golden Peacock, Golden qualification. I consider being one of the finalists of the Fölszállott a Páva folk music and folk dancing talent show to be my greatest achievement.

CONTACT: debreczenikishelga@gmail.com

Aranyalma páros

With our instruments and songs we recall the times when people still understood the language of birds, could taste the sunshine in a brunch of grape, knew the order of feasts, could cry and rejoice together and could recover by the power of music. We play music taken from the animating source of Hungarian folk tradition and following the noted days of the year to children and adults. We sing about God, love, wine, valour, Hungarian homeland, human fate, death and resurrection. Our performances and dance-houses reflect the recent and distant past of musical culture and the thinking of eastern nations. We ask for help from our tales, our folk dance treasure and from silence as well.

CONTACT: aranyalmazene@gmail.com

Zeke Band

A unique voice, or rather, three on the Hungarian folk scene: Zeke Band consists of three male singers. Active since 2017, the group accompany their singing on various instruments: flute, citera, tambura. This allows for inspiring arrangements of folk music tunes and a wide repertoire ready to draw in audiences interested in folk music. Members Ákos Gubinecz, István Hegedűs and Bálint Horváth study at the Liszt Music Academy and are dedicated to inspire listeners and pass on the folk heritage. They have been performing at prestigious venues such as the Music Academy and MUPA – Palace of Arts, and at various cultural events.

CONTACT: gubineczakos@gmail.com

Tindia

Tindia sounds like a girl’s name – sure enough, the band is predominantly female – but actually stands for a perky dance tune. They play the music of Csángó people, a Hungarian minority living in Romania – a unique branch of Hungarian folk music also conned “the heavy metal of folk”. The band formed in 2015, they met while playing in a summer camp, and decided to stick together. All members work with music and some attend the Liszt Music Academy.

CONTACT: tindiazenekar@gmail.com / +36 70 385 0800

Ritka Band

Ritka Band – ritka meaning „rare” – started in September 2017 and has 4 permanent members: Alinka Blumenschein, Petra Ecsedi-Oláh, Boglárka Szilágyi, Borbála Teszáry; current and former students of the Liszt Music Academy. They play and perform authentic Hungarian folk music from carefully selected sources. Apart from dancehouses, they regularly accompany Bihari and Bartók Folk Dance Groups, and increasingly concentrate on their own releases.

CONTACT: ritka.zenekar@gmail.com / +36 20 350 6745

Poklade

The music of Poklade is all about the Balkans: the hum of cicadas, clinking of glass, fire of rakija. Scents, flavours, colours, joy and pain and above all an ancient force that takes you by the hand and carries you away. Their music is really poklade – meaning transformation. The band is made of students of legendary masters – József Versendi Kovács, György Tiszai and István Peti Kovács – and started in 2010 in Mohács. Vivien Gráf lends her soaring voice to the band’s gigs.

CONTACT: poklade@poklade.hu / +3630 585 95 20

Parapács

The word parapács means nifty, down-to-earth, well spoken fellow in Transylvanian dialects. The musicians we grew up listening to were all such nifty fellows, and they inspired us to start a band in 2007. When Gábor Dragony on first violin joined us in 2010 the Parapács recipe was ready, we made our base in Tornalja (Slovakia) and started to collect music in the surrounding Uplands and in Transylvania, where we could learn the craft of honed village musicians. We won „Peacock”(Fölszállott a Páva) talent show in 2012 in the category folk ensemble, and released our first album Bëbocsātlak featuring authentic music from the Uplands in 2014. Bálint Tárkány-Kovács joined our ranks on the cimbalom in 2018. Playing with the National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zoltán Kocsis at the “Only from a pure source” (Csak Tiszta Forrásból) concert in 2015 was one of the proudest moments of our career so far.

CONTACT: vojtisanyi@parapacs.hu / +36 30 692 1908

Naszály Band

Members of Naszály met under Naszály Hill, studying in the conservatory in Vác. They play authentic Hungarian folk music as a band since 2013; accompany various dance troupes (Kincső, Kis-Csepel and Lenvirág Folk Dance Groups) and play at dancehouse events. As we regard it our mission to show and pass on our folk music heritage to younger generations, we like to play in schools and kindergartens, as well as play for a wider audience at cultural and gastronomic events dedicated to this tradition. We present Hungarian folk music abroad, be it for the Hungarian communities across the border, other European countries or even overseas. Teaching folk music is among our future ambitions.

CONTACT: naszalyzenekar@gmail.com //
Czaier Péter +36 30 402 2494 // Horváth Balázs +36203292595

Arató Band

What distinguishes our band are the female first violinist, Luca Réka Tóth, and the tireless diligence with which we learn, research and play folk music. We set up our band in 2009 to play authentic Hungarian folk music, and try and capture the musical essence of each region. Village musicians, revival artists and our own drive guide us on the way. Apart from playing together, we teach music, organize events and make field recordings. Concerts at dancehouses, at MUPA – Palace of Arts, at parties, weddings and marches bear witness to the band’s skill. We are keen to show Hungarian folk music to audiences at home and abroad. You can find our music on Youtube and the recordings of the Dancehouse series. Our violinist received the Junior Prima award in 2018.

CONTACT: rekatolu@gmail.com