The heroes of the day on 10 June were clearly the children who danced in Heroes’ Square before an audience of seven thousand people, performing choreography created for them by Harangozó Award-winner Bertalan Vári, to the live music of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. The young people, both Roma and non-Roma, some from disadvantaged regions and some more fortunate, spent months preparing for this day in 25 different schools around the country. The culmination of the project was their performance as a group, demonstrating what they are capable of – as in previous years, it was a cathartic moment. In addition to the performance itself, the Festival Orchestra organised cultural and community programmes for the children, who will also be able to attend the Dancing on the Square summer camp, hosted by the BFO and the Foundation for Democratic Youth.
21 Free Concerts around the Country
The Festival Orchestra will wrap up the 2016-2017 season with another Community Week between 15 and 22 June. A BFO chamber ensemble will perform in Pannonhalma, where the synagogue currently undergoing renovation will be opened just for this performance. The small building, just 150 square metres in area, stands on the side of the road leading to the thousand-year-old abbey and was built in the 1870s. Almost miraculously, it has survived the twentieth century and has awaited its revival for 70 years. Additionally, the ensemble will perform in the Mezőtúr synagogue – considered a rarity in Hungary for its neo-classicist style – and the synagogue in Várpalota, which today serves as an art gallery.
In addition to the Synagogue Concerts, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach will fill the Catholic church of Perbál, whose foundations date back to the middle ages; the church in Karcag, an example of Beaux-Arts architecture; and the Baroque church of Bag. The Festival Orchestra’s Baroque ensemble will use period (gut string) instruments to bring the music to life. As Liszt Award-winning conductor Sándor Berkesi said after the orchestra’s church concert in Debrecen in May, “I am still under the spell of that beautiful concert. One can only be awed by the world-class quality that they represent. I could not be more impressed by the mission which they pursue as they bring their high artistic standards to some of the smallest places in the country.”
The musicians of the Festival Orchestra will bring their interactive Music Castle concert to the children's home in Fót, Salgótarján and Apátfalva. Developed specifically for children, the storytelling concert will whisk young audiences away to witness a noisy parade, magic, discovery and a true happy ending. Also, four different chamber ensembles from the orchestra will perform in twelve more nursing homes, including ones in Balassagyarmat, Verőce and Veszprém.
Community Week: Detailed Programme
Synagogue Concerts
19 June, 6:00 pm, Mezőtúr, City Gallery
20 June, 7:00 pm, Várpalota, Gyula Nagy Gallery
21 June, 6:00 pm, Pannonhalma, Synagogue (Szabadság tér)
Church Concerts
19 June, 6:30 pm, Perbál, St. Anna’s Church
20 June, 6:00 pm, Karcag, Kiskulcsos Calvinist Church
21 June, 6:00 pm, Bag, Roman Catholic Church
Music Castle
15 June, 2:00 pm, Apátfalva, Village Hall
16 June, 4:00 pm, Fót, István Károlyi Children’s Centre
21 June, 11:00 am, Salgótarján
Concerts in Nursing Homes
20 June, 10:00 am, Aranykereszt Nursing Home, 1106 Budapest, Jászberényi út 82.
21 June, 10:30 am, Social Services Centre, 6400 Kiskunhalas, Nyúl u. 5-7.
21 June, 2:30 pm, Harmony Integrated Social Institution, Lajosmizse Office, 6050 Lajosmizse, Dózsa György u. 2.
19 June, 3:00 pm, Ezüstfenyő Nursing Home, 3127 Kazár, May 1. u. 82.
20 June, 10:30, Veszprém County Local Government Nursing Home, 9532 Külsővat, Béri Balogh Ádám u.1.
21 June, 3:00 pm, Napfény Home Foundation, 1083 Budapest, Illés u. 38.
21 June 10:30 am, St. Elisabeth Nursing home, 2660 Balassagyarmat, Markusovszky u. 1.
21 June, 2:00 pm, Roman Catholic Church Aid Service Home, 2621 Verőce, Migazzi u. 1.
22 June, 3:00 pm, Olive Branch Home, 1214 Budapest, Tejút u. 1.
20 June, 2:30 pm, Napfény Nursing Home, 2030 Érd, Kende u. 4-8.
21 June, 10:30 am, Veszprém County Nursing Homes Joint Social Institution, 8596 Pápakovácsi, Attyapuszta 4.
22 June, 10:30 am, Budapest Municipal Nursing Home, 1112 Budapest, Gergely u. 16.
