More than 200 students from as many as twenty-four countries applied this year to participate in the International Summer Academy for Young Musicians, where 38 professors taught students in 22 different masterclasses on instruments and singing. The two-week event this year attracted a record number of participants, the highest ever.
The Summer Academy hosted young musicians from July 2 to 16. The general objective this year was once again to give participants the chance to deepen their musical knowledge and learn from each other, as well as from master teachers from home and abroad. This year, the teaching staff again provided a professional backdrop of outstanding quality and international expertise, with artists from Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Serbia and Denmark joining the members of our Faculty of Music.
The event has also had a impressive repercussion abroad, with quite a lot of people visiting Debrecen for the renowned teaching staff and others for the professional significance of the Summer Academy. There were students coming from several European countries, but also from China, the United States and even Malaysia.
Judit Váradi, Artistic Director of the International Summer Academy for Young Musicians and a professor of UD, told hirek.unideb.hu the following: the master classes attract the most talented young people from all over the world, so the summer academy has become one of the most important events not only for the Faculty of Music but also for classical music education in Hungary.
“The high number of applicants shows how much this summer masterclass series is needed. The greatest experience for our students is to play in a symphony orchestra, which they have relatively few opportunities to do during their studies. The success of this year's event has helped to raise the profile of the Summer Academy of Young Musicians and to strengthen the prestige of the series both nationally and internationally,” said Judit Váradi, Artistic Director of the International Summer Academy of Young Musicians.
The professors giving the masterclasses also performed in gala concerts in the Liszt Hall of the Faculty of Music as part of the series called Zenés Esték a Nagyerdőn [Music Nights in the Big Forest].
One of the highlights of the International Summer Academy of Young Musicians was the formation of Zoltán Kodály World Youth Orchestra, led this year by conductor Zoltán Bolyky, a professor at the Faculty of Music of UD. The organizers and participants of the summer academy paid tribute to Tamás Vásáry, the founder of the ensemble, by showing a film about his life and work.
During their tour, the young musicians in the world orchestra gave sold-out concerts in venues of three different locations: Debrecen, Budapest and Vienna.
Press Center – BZ
