Artist database

This is the Artist Database of BMC, which includes information about composers, musicians, orchestras, choirs and groups that are either Hungarian or Hungarian by origin or live in Hungary, as well as information about releases recorded with them.

Kodály Kórus Debrecen


Orchestra, choir, ensemble

Formed
1955
E-mail
Web
Further contact
Kodály Filharmónia Debrecen
4025 Debrecen, Simonffy u. 1/c.
Telefon: +36 52 500 200
Fax: +36 52 412 395

Kodály Kórus Debrecen
4025 Debrecen, Széchenyi u. 1.
Telefon/fax: +36 52 419 199

 
The Kodály Choir founded by György Gulyás in 1955 worked as the choir of the Secondary Music School at the time its foundation.

The choir (as a girls' choir at that time) achieved its first international success on the International Choir Competition of Llangollen, Wales in 1958. One year later its victory in Arezzo started the career as a mixed choir. The Kodály Choir has been working as a professional choir since 1971; it is sponsored by Debrecen, the second largest town in Hungary. The repertoire of the ensemble is very rich; it ranges from the unaccompanied, a'capella pieces through the European classical oratorios to the newest contemporary choral works. Several world presentation and first Hungarian presentation of compositions of Hungarian and foreign composers may be attached to the choir, but naturally the compositions of Zoltán Kodály are in the centre of the repertoire.

A non-exhaustive list of the most important guest conductors: Miklós Erdélyi, János Ferencsik, Iván Fischer, Ervin Lukács, Ádám Medveczky, András Mihály, Vilmos Rubányi, Viktor Vaszy, Tamás Vásáry, Pierre Cao, Lamberto Gardelli, Martin Haselböck, Jürgen Jürgens, Dmitry Kabelevsky, Kobayashi Ken-Ichiro, Ennio Morricone, John Nelson, Helmuth Rilling, Karolos Trikolidis, Howard Williams, Peter Broadbent, Zoltán Kocsis, Karl Jenkins, and Florian Helgath.

The choir - led by Zoltán Pad as chorus master since 2009 - has been working as Kodály Choir Debrecen since 2011, in a close cooperation with the name changing orchestra (Kodály Philharmonic Debrecen) as a part of the Kodály Philharmonic Debrecen (led by Dániel Somogyi-Tóth) by the permission of Mrs. Kodály, Sarolta Péczely. This synergy offers a huge potential; the Kodály Choir gets more space, reputation and fame in the music of Hungary, or even of the world and taking forward the mission of Zoltán Kodály together with the orchestra.

The Kodály Choir keeps in contact continuously with the leading chorus masters and conductors of the world. Since 1955 it has given more than 2500 concerts in more than 40 countries, for instance in the Kennedy Center, Washington, the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, and they gave concerts in Jerusalem, Manila, and even in Mexico City.

In 1994 the choir was awarded with Béla Bartók-Ditta Pásztory Prize.