On September 28, 2019 the Romungro Band gave a very succesful concert in the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre.
The “Romungro” word stands for Hungarian gypsy, and most of them are true musician gypsies. Musically and gastronomically their culture relates closely to the Hungarian one. The Romungro band was founded in 2007 by Péter Horváth and Sándor Kalányos. In 2009 they regrouped, and by 2013 they have grown into a stable, consistent band.

(Recorded by Gábor Finta) 

On September 7th Melissa-Marie Shriner gave her third concert at the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre. In the first part she sang Hungarian folk songs, arias from operettas/operas to the great pleasure of the audience. In the second section she turned to her favorite jazz music. Two Hungarian musicians from Toronto supplied the accompaniment. We are happy to present to our audience a cross section of the concert.
After the music Melissa-Marie Shriner was interviewed by Gábor Finta, while Robert Horváth and Attila Darvas conversed with Magdalena Tóth.

(Recorded by Gábor Finta) 

The Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre and the Hungarian School jointly celebrated Mother’s Day on the first Sunday of May, 2019.  On the program  there were humorous scenes, singing, dancing, piano music and a video depicting the colours of the awakening spring. After the programme, the fathers prepared a delicious supper for the mothers and guests.

(recorded by Gábor Finta)

Hungarian Folk-music from the Carpathian Basin performed by two fiddles. A concert by Tamás Nyitrai and Márton Pusko.
Hungarian Folk-music from the Carpathian Basin performed by two fiddles. A concert by Tamás Nyitrai and Márton Pusko.
One of the most popular musical instruments of the Carpathian Basin is the fiddle.
At our concert we would like to introduce you this type of musical tradition and play fiddle music preserved by the ethnicities living in the Carpathian Basin. During these compositions you can listen to the folk music of well-known, as well as lesser known regions – each of which representing the unique traditions of fiddle music. You might as well find reconstructions of traditional music in our repertoire which not only had had an effect on the works of our greatest composers in the past but also on today’s great performers of Hungarian folk music, as well.

(Recorded by Gábor Finta) 

On the 17th of March the anniversary of the 1848 revolution was celebrated in the Ottawa Hungarian Community Center. The guest speaker was László Sinka, first officer of the Hungarian Embassy. The program featured the students of the Hungarian School, Mariann Talla and a short film about the revolution was also shown. The participants concluded the event with singing songs from the time of the revolution.

(Recorded by Gábor Finta) 

docudrama by Rozália B. Brestyánszki

played by Béla Kálló and Péter Lóránt Tóth

Centered on the relatively short lived, but all the more profound friendships of two of the giants of Hungarian Literature: the ebullient radical patriot poet, Sándor Petőfi, who dedicated his life to the anti-Hapsburg Revolution of 1848-49, losing it on the battlefields of Transylvania at the tender age of 26, fighting alongside the legendary Polish General, Josef Bem; and that of the more sedate, insecure, no less of a patriot, family man János Arany, who lived an incomparably longer life, content with his position of a provincial notary. He faithfuly took under his wing his rascal friend’s widow and infant child, then managed to create and leave behind a towering body of work, decades later, matching Petőfi’s opus in epic poetry.

The written material was aptly arranged in a dramatic flow of exchanges by the young dramaturg of Szabadka’s Popular Theatre (Bácska, present-day Serbia), Rozália Boros Brestyánski, and it relies on contemporary records, memoirs, anecdotes, diaries, and the written correspondence between the poets and their friends and relatives. The novelty of the approach consisted in the successful attempt of the performers to present the more or less known material as a true-to-life happening, as an exercise in verismo. They appeared in front of us as two young men, with their hopes and doubts, with their undeserved failures and incipient achievements, insecure of their future, which for one them never played out, never occured. They both had made a conscientious choice: one challenging his fate, the other assuming a more conciliatory, subdued position. It was their own pathway to Heaven, and now, they are finally free of worries and wars, hopes and angst, i.e. earthly life, they are the courtiers of Mnemosyne, Goddess of Remembrance.

On February 16, 2019, the Three Kings formation held a concert at the Ottawa Hungarian Community Center.

(recorded by Gábor Finta) 

The Hungarian Community Center presented a Santa Claus celebration. The children baked cookies, sung and danced while waiting for the Mikulás who brought presents for them.

(Recorded by Tibor Lapohos and Gábor Finta) 

On September 29, the Hungarikum Ensemble gave a very successful concert in the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre. On the programme we found musical poems, Hungarian folk songs, own compositions and songs praising God. The Hungarikum Ensemble has been performing for over seven years, during which its repertoire has grown continuously. Hungarikum translates old folk songs into our present day lives, uses own compositions and arrangements to give momentum to our thoughts, nourishes our souls with divine songs, and highlights the literary text when adapts poetry in a musical framework. Have a look at some of their productions.

(recorded by Tibor Lapohos and Gábor Finta) 

The performance of the Vadrózsák had to be postponed because of a tornado in Ottawa. Fortunately, on Monday the electrical power was restored so the enthusiastic audience was able to enjoy the excellent performance of the group. After their program the members of Vadrózsák danced together with the public.
The Vadrózsák (Wild Roses) Ensemble was formed on the spring of 1950 through the fusion of several smaller dance groups. The goal of the founding members was to preserve and promote the values of the Hungarian folk art, music and dance. Later on they picked the name of Dog Rose for the ensemble for the qualities of the plant itself: it is a wild flower, it grows in groups, and it is very resistant.
The repertoire of the Vadrózsák is very broad, encompassing almost every corner and hidden region of the Carpathian Basin. They are striving for authenticity, purity and completeness, and they bring forward the uniqueness of the Hungarian folk dances.