Zoltán Szőke

Born in Budapest in 1977, he started horn lessons at the age of eight. He was a student of Tamás Zempléni and Károly Ambrus at the Teacher Training College of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music between 1995 and 1998, and studied at the Liszt Ferenc Academy under Ádám Friedrich from 1998 until his graduation in 2002. Between 1997 and 2018, he was first horn of the Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera. In 1999 he was named the orchestra’s “Artist of the Year” and has also been successful in several international competitions (1997 Iserloh, 1998 Porcia). In 2003 and in 2009 he was among the winners of the Sándor Végh Competition for musicians of the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Since 2012, he has been playing first French horn in the BFO.