The joy of music from Transylvania

There is a place in the Carpathian Basin where there is no use for words such as ‘loneliness’ or ‘bored child’. Because in Sânsimion (Csíkszentsimon), this small Székely village, a hugely powerful community building programme is taking place, led by the Antal Rónai-prizewinning conductor Árpád Sándor. The village’s youth string orchestra was formed with the support of the local government in 2018, when it had 30 members. The total now stands at 96, and the group’s reputation has been growing ever since. While only a few of the members of the orchestra have studied at a music school, the rest have become talented musicians thanks to their love for music, hard work and perseverance, not to mention the expert further education programme.

The ensemble’s programme material is constantly expanding – their repertoire includes both historical marches and film music, original works written for a concert brass band, folk song arrangements, jazz, classical music transcriptions, and Hungarian and international hits. This youth orchestra is a wonderful example of joyful music. “Here in the village, children are often involved in the daily tasks of their family farms after school, while the online space has just as strong an impact on their lives here as anyone else. This makes the existence of the orchestra even more important and valuable, as they can develop spiritually and intellectually. Playing joyful music together can somehow convey the idea that members of a wind orchestra can also smile while playing music – even if not with their mouths, then definitely in their hearts,” conductor Árpád Sándor explains. The young people will bring this joy to our Open-Air Stage, where the audience will encounter the characteristic instruments of the orchestra with the help of concert teacher Ferenc Tarr.