Hungarian Americans Together 2013 Conference San Mateo, CA 2-3 March 2013

Hungarian Music:

Zina’s Hungarian Folk Singing Circle

Zina Bozzay

I sing traditional Hungarian folk songs - meaning songs collected from rural village singers in all areas where Hungarians live, who learned the songs from generation to generation in the context of a living folk tradition.

Village singers in Magyarszovát, with Zina Bozzay

These are the songs that have been collected by Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, and many others over the last century. These source recordings of Hungarian village singers were brought to Budapest -- feeding the táncház movement of the 1970s-80s, the international fame of Márta Sebestyén and other performers, and recently the popular tv show Fölszállott a páva.

I moved to Budapest to immerse myself in this music and to learn these songs directly from archival source recordings.

Studied at Óbuda Folkmusic School Budapest, Hungary

with traditional folk singers…

with Éva Fábián of Kalamajka and Egyszólam bands

... and learned from village singers themselves.

Researched in archives at the Hungarian Heritage House Budapest, Hungary

Institute for Musicology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest

I moved back to California, and my goal here is to be a bridge between Hungary and the US. I have been sharing the songs with Hungarians in the Bay Area, professional Eastern European folk musicians, beginners, and everyone else who is interested in traditional Hungarian folk singing.

I use the same learning and teaching methods as are used in Hungary, always using source recordings, with additional support for my students stemming from my own educational and professional background in music. I teach a wide variety of songs - the many regional styles, older and newer songs, fast and slow, easy and challenging, solo and group, dance songs and rhythmically free songs, men’s and women’s, secular and religious, and special songs for each season.

• Research (gathering the songs)

• Learning songs well (melody, details, text, origin)

• Singing, sharing information in personal one-to-one interactions (private lessons, small classes, singing circles)

• Giving performances

Zina’s Singing Circle

Leading singing circle of local Hungarians Foster City, CA

I hope to

• continue to learn about this beautiful music and heritage

• pass it on in a manner authentic to its origins

• make it available and accessible to all people who may be interested in it, whether to sing, play, dance, or listen

Please contact me with any interest or inquiries: Zina Bozzay

zinabozzay@gmail.com