January 7, 2008

40th Kodaly Center Anniversary Celebration - July 24-27, 2008

Music For Everyone: Envisioning a Musical Culture
We will celebrate 40 years of professional training for music teachers during our 2008 HNU Kodály Summer Institute, scheduled for July 7-26. The summer faculty will include Gemma Arguelles, Judit Hartyányi, Erzsébet Hegyi, Anne Laskey, Helene Matters, Ildikó Salgado and Fran Smith. Those who attend this year’s Institute will receive complimentary registration for this historic 3-day celebration. The Center was founded in 1969 by Sr. Mary Alice Hein, whose encounter with Zoltán Kodály in 1966 inspired a lifelong devotion to bringing his vision of music education to the United States.

The celebration will start with a 3 day symposium from July 24-26, and end with an outing to Angel Island on July 27. Daily concerts and demonstrations will showcase the accomplishments of Holy Names alumni and those who share Kodály’s vision of ‘music for everyone’. Current and past faculty will present sessions and panels that reflect their contributions to the Kodály movement in the U.S. and abroad. Returning American faculty will include Edward Bolkovac, Rita Klinger, and Ivy Rawlins and David Xiques. Hungarians Judit Hartyányi and Erzsébet Hegyi, who will teach in the 2008 institute, will be joined by Sarolta Platthy, Helga Dietrich and László Matos who will return to help celebrate this anniversary. Judith Johnson and Anne Comiskey, from Australia, will also participate. In addition to recognizing the achievements of our faculty and alums, we will address “The Role of Music in Education” as we look forward to the next 40 years.

Because of the international importance of Holy Names as a center for Kodály studies, Gilbert de Greeve, president of the International Kodaly Society, will also be present. In 1973 Holy Names was the site for the first Kodály International Symposium, directed by Sr. Mary Alice and Erzsébet Szőnyi, then Director of Music Education at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. The symposium led to the founding of the International Kodály Society, in 1975. At the most recent IKS symposium, held in Columbus, OH in August, Holy Names alumni presented two of the keynote addresses and numerous sessions, and contributed a large group of delegates.

We invite all alums and friends of the Kodály Center, as well as those new to Holy Names, to attend this exciting celebration of one of the most influential Kodály training centers in the United States. Check back soon for a more detailed program of events. For more information please call 510-436-1234 or email laskey@hnu.edu.

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