Bekescaba

Bekescaba is a small town in southern Hungary where I went for two days, alone, to a trombone workshop. The city is doing some extensive renovation of its main street – Andrassy Utca – and is using European Union monetary support for the large scale project. EU money also helped fund the trombone workshop.

The three last photos photo were taken in the church where the concert was presented at the end of the week long workshop. It is the largest Lutheran church in central Europe and is very different from the highly ornate, Baroque style, Catholic churches that one sees all over Europe. The first photo is of a Catholic church.

I had a wonderful time meeting some excellent teachers and hearing very good, young Hungarian trombonists. I heard superb playing from several players – Casterede, Grondahl, David – and Blue Bells – and the trombone choir was excellent! Superb intonation, blend, balance – everything that one would want to hear.

I was invited to Bekescaba by Gustav Hona, retired principal trombonist with the Hungarian Radio Orchestra and chair of the winds and brass departments at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest (Ferenc is Franz – in English). The Liszt Academy is the premier music school in Hungary, and there are two other good ones, as well, in Szeged and Debrecen. I met Gyorgy (George) Gyincsan, professor of trombone at Sazeged, Csaba Wagner, bass trombonist of the Berlin State Opera, and Csaba Szucs who teaches trombone in Bekescaba and, according to Gyorgy, is one of the best teachers in Hungary, who consistently sends students to the best music schools. I also met Mathias Veer, Hungarian bass trombonist, who plays in the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra  –  http://qatarphilharmonicorchestra.org/  Csaba Wagner and Mathias Veer are the two players on the left in the last photo. (We are invited to Mathias’ house this evening for dinner, here in Budapest).  

Street where my hotel was located.