The new school will officially open summer 2011, and will admit 60 talented, young Roma between the age of 12 and 20 every year. The students will receive free musical training by an experienced team within the Roma music genre.
The school will gather well-known musicians such as Kálmán Oláh, Attila László and Béla Szakcsi Lakatos, as well as international visiting professors such as Paolo Vinaccia, and Tony and Roby Lakatos. Also the famous guitarist and composer Ferenc Snétberger will play an important role both as artistic director and as initiator and founder of the school.
Welcomes Roma from all over Eastern Europe
Roma youth from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine are welcome to apply to the school, which seeks to combine music and art training with Roma culture, English, IT and management classes, as well as personal career consultations.
The European Special College for Roma Music Education had its first audition in October 2010. The next two auditions will be in November and January in the Hungarian cities of Pécs, Miskolc and Szeged. For more information on the application process, please see the school's website.
The teaching at the school will be organised into 12 week training courses, where the students will be taught over 3 weeks in autumn, 3 weeks in spring, and 6 weeks in summer. Each session will only last one week, enabling the students to also follow their regular primary or secondary education.
In addition to Roma youth, the school will every year also offer education courses in Roma music to active music teachers and students undertaking higher education.
Photo: Guri Merete Smenes / NMFA.