Az észak-amerikai magyar táncház-zenészek és énekesek hálózatának bemutatkozó oldala, 2002-ből — az AHFC (AHIT / AHEA) gondozásában.

Táncház Hungarian Folk Band

TÁNCHÁZ! Hungarian Folk Dance Band has been playing traditional music since 1994. Specializing in dance music of the Hungarian-speaking peoples, TÁNCHÁZ! has played at the Hungarian Embassy, New Brunswick Hungarian Day, Washington Folk Festival, Takoma Park Folk Festival, Northern Virginia Folk Festival and plays regularly at the monthly Tisza Ensemble táncház in Greenbelt, Maryland. The band's members have studied with traditional and revival folk musicians in Hungary and Transylvania.

Balkanto

Balkanto, formed in 1994, plays traditional dance music from Central Europe. Specializing in Hungarian dance party music, the band has performed at folk festivals and ethnic venues throughout the DC area. Balkanto's members are: Steve Gayer – violin, Joan Dubinsky – cimbalom, Craig Packard – brácsa, Hungarian bagpipe, furulya, tambura, guitar, Tom Armstrong – bass.

Mezőszopor Village Musicians

The Village Band of Mezőszopor, from eastern Mezőség, is made up of traditional musicians for whom music is part of daily life. Each member of the band originally learned to play music from his father or uncle and some have since studied at musical conservatories. In the village, music is a necessity at all social rites of passage, including weddings, confirmations, funerals and holiday celebrations. This band, popular throughout Central Transylvania, has mastered the repertoire that is essential to village life. The group's members reside in Washington D.C.

Zither Ensemble of Detroit

This group of women from Detroit play the "citera," or zither, and sing, presenting the beautiful melodies of Hungary and Transylvania with their unique style.

Névtelen Ensemble

This band from Seattle plays traditional music from Hungary and Transylvania, and is led by Jerry Muhasky.

Montreal Táncház Band

This recently formed and developing group hails from Montreal, and is comprised of excellent dancers who, later in life, began to explore their musical talents as well. Its members include Andras Gal, violin; Bandi Kocsis, violin; Levente; and Jessica Paulusz, bass; Levente Garda, kontra.

Tobak Band

Led by world-renowned bagpipe and wind player Ferenc Tobak, this band from San Francisco specializes in the music of Moldva, Gyimes and Dunántúl. Its members are Ferenc Tobak (shepherd flutes, bagpipe, and winds); Ferenc Tobak Jr. (shepherd flutes, hurdy-gurdy); Mary Wallace (ütőgardon, koboz); S. R. Kelley (drums); Chris McHugh (koboz); and Alex Bernstein (shepherd flutes). Ferenc Tobak, originally from Hungary, is known throughout the world as one of the premier Hungarian bagpipe and wind players. He is also a master craftsman who prepared these instruments. He is pleased to perform with other bands as well as a soloist, and has done so on numerous occasions, including together with the Életfa and Kecskeszem Bands. A review of his life's work is as follows:

In Hungary — Theaters

Petőfi Theater in Veszprém; Hungarian National Theater, Budapest; Open Air Plays, Szeged (Szegedi Szabadtéri Játékok).

Hungarian television productions

"Honti igricek" ("The Musicians of Hont County"): TV film re-enactment of one of Béla Bartók's research trips in 1911 in northern Hungary; various seasonal programs (Christmas and end of the year holiday traditions); 1991: "Bakony Area Folk Art" program; music clips with Vasmalom; 1985: music video with dancers in Denmark, directed by Kovács Gerzson Péter and Szél Márta with Vasmalom.

Albums / CDs / Recordings

1989: Vasmalom I, first independently produced Hungarian album. 1992: Vasmalom 2, several arrangements. Márta Sebestyén's first solo album with Muzsikás: arrangement of the opening piece. "Living Village Music" series, 1st and 6th releases, solo bagpipe piece on each.

Bands worked with

1978–1981: Cinege. 1981–1986: Hajdina. 1985–1991: Vasmalom (in 1988, Vasmalom participated in Peter Gabriel's WOMAD — World Of Music, Arts and Dance — Festival in Cornwall, England). Hungarian Bagpipe Band: one of the founding members. Nomád Nemzedék: Csoóri Sándor, Éri Péter, Kása Béla, Tobak Ferenc — wove traditional Hungarian music with rock, jazz, and blues elements which were later adapted into pieces that became favorites of Muzsikás. Performed occasionally with several other bands including Muzsikás, Téka, Méta, Somogy/Zengő. Accompanied all the major dance ensembles as a solo musician, primarily on bagpipe and flutes.

Awards

1996: Grand Prize in Musical Instruments for bagpipes at the 12th National Folk Artists Exhibition, exhibited for months at the Ethnographic Museum in Budapest; Folk Craftsman Award for instrument-making. 1993: "Folk Craft Artist" (Népi Iparművész) title for Musical Instruments. 1985: Gold Medal in Musical Instruments for bagpipe at the National Folk Art Exhibition.

Interviews, research and publications

Actively researching Hungarian Csángó bagpipers in Moldavia and Transylvania, Romania. "Duda, furulya és kanásztülök" (Bagpipe, Flute and Horn), Planétás Publishers, Budapest, 2001, 500 pages — "Fújják és táncolnak utána," on Moldavian Hungarian Csángó bagpipers. 1990: interview in Folk Roots magazine, England.

Activities in the United States

Bridging The Balkans With Music Series, featured artist in inaugural series. Director, Barátság Hungarian Dance and Music Camp, Mendocino, CA. Participation in local Hungarian community events and celebrations. 1998–1999: recipient (with son, Feró) of a Master/Apprentice grant from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) through the California Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council.

The First North American Táncház Festival — Montreal, 2003

The Életfa Hungarian Folk Band of New York and the Gyöngyösbokréta Dance Group of Montreal announced the first-ever American festival of Hungarian folk music, held in Montreal, Canada, on the weekend of May 31–June 1, 2003. The gathering brought together musicians and vocalists from across North and South America for dance and music workshops, concerts and táncházes, in a festival-like atmosphere akin to the Táncháztalálkozó in Budapest each spring — arts & crafts, Hungarian food, and more.

Groups invited included: Balkanto (Washington, D.C.), Cifra Ensemble (Edmonton), Életfa Hungarian Folk Ensemble (New York), Feketeföld Ensemble (Toronto), Forrás Ensemble (Vancouver), Jómóka Hungarian Táncház Band (Salt Lake City), Kecskeszem Ensemble (Toronto), Kolorash International Folk Dance Music Ensemble (Austin), Mezőszopor Village Musicians (Washington, D.C.), Montreal Táncház Band, Névtelen Ensemble (Seattle), Rokka (Calgary), Szászka (Madison/Washington, D.C.), Táncház Hungarian Folk Band (Washington, D.C.), Ferenc Tobak and Tobak Band (San Francisco), Vadkelet (Toronto), and the Zither Ensemble of Detroit.

To mark the occasion, Hungaria Records, Inc. produced a companion compact disc featuring the participating bands and soloists, sold at the festival and afterward through Fónó Records in Hungary, with proceeds held in escrow to help fund the festival in future years. Submissions were coordinated by Kálmán "Ocsi" Magyar.

Forrás: tanchaz.com, Táncház – Musicians & Vocalists Network, © 2002 AHFC (AHIT division of AHEA).