Karikázó, 1976. július - 1977. április (2. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

1976-07-01 / 1. szám

Published quarterly Subscr. price: $ 2/year U. S.A $ 2. 50 elsewhere .50/copy Purpose of KARIKAZO is to maintain communica­tion and update the knowledge of all interested indi­viduals and groups on the folklore, folk dance, music, art and ethnic life of Hungarians all over the world. Its content does not represent the opinion of any or­ganized group. Articles appearing in the newsletter may be copied or reprinted only if the source, pub­lisher's name and address are cited as shown above. The readers of KARIKAZO are interested in the knowledge and experiences of their fellow folklore friends and would like to read about them. If you can contribute to the newsletter by writing an article, or there is a particular subject you would like to read about, please cohtact the editor. Editor: Judith Magyar 257 Chestnut Ave As s' t. Editor: Kriszta Venczel Bogota, N. J .07603 (201) 343-5240 Karoly Falvay Budanpfíf-. 2/24/7 A In my article, published in vol. 1, no. 3 of Karikázó, I had briefly summarized my impressions of those en­sembles I had the opportunity to work with. These were the Kodály Ensemble of Toronto, the ''Hungária* Group of Detroit and the "Hungária'' Ensemble of New York. I believe I did not give enough attention to the leaders of these groups, who poured a great deal of time, energy and fighting spirit into providing the young people with the richest, most interesting cultur­al activities and programs. These experiences possess certain unwritten implications by the participants' ge­netic heritage, manifested in the life style, customs , speech patterns, movements and inner rhythm of par­ents. The living language can change, yet this inheri­ted propensity for practicing traditional culture is able to preserve a great deal for future generations and be­comes the source of a special human experience and joy. Perhaps this can explain the fact, that young Hun­garians in immigration, while speaking a new lan­guage, cultivate their cultural treasures of ancient Hun­garian folk rhythm and musical idiom with such hap­py abandonment. Composer-conductor György Zaduban. director of the Kodály Ensemble of Toronto, has sensed the im­portance of this natural human inclination. He plays an important role in the life of the Hungarian community in Toronto and its vicinity, not only as a creative art­ist, but also as an organizer. The founding and the con­tinuous activity of the group are primarily due his cre­ative and organizing effort. His task is to smooth ort and span all the problems, needs and aspirations of a few generations through setbacks and successes. The 15th Anniversary program was one of the outstanding high­lights of this intense activity. It is a great advantage for the group to have a musical director of his caliber. He has provided direction for the chorus, whose mem­bers and supporters have become an important social basis already. The presence of the orchestra adds to the prestige of the ensemble, while it also widens the social basis in the direction of the desired artistic at­mosphere. Mr. Zadubán, as musical director,is in the position to add the very best of young talent to his en­semble. Thus, he not only assures the services of an orchestra, but also provides the basis for the essent­ial creative work. Composing almost all of the musical material for the Anniversary Program was his a­­chievement. Few groups in the American hemisphere can boast with similar potentials. The efforts of the Kodály Ensemble have been gene­rously supported by the Hungarian House in Toronto. Its management deserves special credit for providing the ensemble with space and conditions for undisturbed rehearsals. The dance group is a few years younger than the "founding" chorus, although it can also look back on more than a decade of activities. Its director Kalman Dreisziger is choreographer and one of the lead-dancers of the group. He possesses very positive artistic and leadership qualities. He is required to co­ordinate the work of the rather large (20 dancing cou­ples) ensemble and organize their activities in order to realize his own artistic goals. Mr. Dreisziger ful­filled this role magnificently. For example,in the chor­eographic challenges of Grape Harvest (Szüreti and First Love (Első Szerelem) he mastered assignments previously tackled only by Miklós Rabai. The great suc­cess of the dancers justifies his work. His presence is the continuing guarantee for the existence and develop­ment of the ensemble. The "Dancers Hun­gária" of Detroit in action.

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