The "Fili" in Ottawa

The Children’s Philharmonic Orchestra from Szentegyháza (Szeklerland, Transylvania, Romania), referred to and known as “Fili” , embarked on a concert tour in Ontario in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary. They started their tour in Ottawa. The choir sang in the Inspiration Village and the Notre Dame Cathedral but the main event was a concert at the Centrepoint Theatre. We show here a few excerpts from this concert. Ten Hungarian children from Ottawa joined the choir and it was a great experience for them to sing with such a huge ensemble. The Ottawa audience received their efforts with great enthusiasm.

(Report by Gábor Finta)

Piano Recital of Judit Gábos at the Hungarian Embassy

We had our second opportunity in two years to enjoy the piano performances of Dr. Judit Gábos. She was invited again by the Hungarian Embassy and played the works of Hungarian composers. The compositions of Liszt, Bartók and Kodály on her program represent a significant pianistic challenge. We were especially pleased to hear Kodály’s most difficult and very succesful piano piece (Marosszék Dances) that is especially popular in its orchestral setting all over the world. At the same time, we were equally happy to hear Liszt’s Les jeux d’eaux à Villa d’Este and the 7th Hungarian Rhapsody or the Rigoletto Paraphrase based on the melodies of Verd’s opera. We would like to thank ambassador Dr. Bálint Ódor for allowing us the use of Károly Dombi’s recording.

(Video by Károly Dombi)

Day of National Unity

On the Day of National Unity the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre opened its Trianon exhibition. The tableaues on display were provided by the Hungarian Trianon Museum of Várpalota.

The 31 pictures explained the reasons, consequences of the tragic events of the peace treaty. On the first day there were more than sixty people visiting the exhibition.

After the viewing the participants were shown the film prepared by the participants of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor program and the video made by Tibor Lapohos at the Hungarian Calvary in Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary.

(Video by Gábor Finta)

Concert by the "Belvárosi betyárok"

On Mothers’ Day this year, the duo of László Váray and Tamás Valastyán earned great success in the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre. The audience received the program with enthusiasm and occasionally even took active part in it. This surprised but at the same time touched the performers – as they mentioned it at the end of the evening. The songs of László Váray are meant primarily for children but the adults also appreciated the linguistic resourcefulness of the poems.

(Video by Gábor Finta and Tibor Fasanga)

Mothers' Day Celebration

On May 7th, 2017 the Ottawa Hungarian Community Centre celebrated Mother’s day according to the Hungarian calendar. The students of the Hungarian School, music students and scouts gave thanks to mothers and grandmothers in front of a full house. After a great dinner (prepared by the fathers) the evening concluded with a very enjoyable concert given by two artists from Hungary, the “Belvárosi Betyárok”. You will be able to watch their performance here as well as soon as they finish their Canadian concert tour.

(Video by Bea, Gábor Finta and Tibor Fasanga)