Kecskemét's spectacularly renewed special monument building inaugurated

A handover ceremony was held in Kecskemét on 27 September. The Kodály Institute, the highest music education school in the city, part of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, moved back to its former home in the former Franciscan monastery building in the Kéttemplom.

The project was carried out by Horváth Építőmester Zrt. (HÉP), who recently received the Construction Industry Award for the renovation of the Kecskemét Town Hall renovation.

The ceremony began with a choral performance of works by Zoltán Kodály under the institution's iconic and beloved linden tree, then continued in the ceremonial hall. Judit Rajk, director of the Kodály Institute, welcomed the attendees and conveyed the greetings of Sarolta Péczely, wife of Zoltán Kodály, as reported in the hiros.hu report.

The speeches followed: first dr. Csaba Kutnyánszky, Deputy Rector for Education of the Liszt Academy, who is also the Rector of the Academy of Music, spoke. Among other things, he recalled that

In its almost 50-year history, the Institute has hosted around 2,000 students from nearly 60 countries, and nearly 5,000 students have participated in summer seminars organised by the Institute.

Dr. Csaba Kutnyányszky expressed his special thanks to the government, the city and mayor of Kecskemét, the Ybl Prize-winning architect István Mányi , who designed the renovation, and the contractor Horváth Építőmester Zrt.

Flawless cooperation

In his speech, Zoltán Nyul, Deputy State Secretary of Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium for Building Construction emphasized the flawless cooperation during the renovation of the building and spoke about the aspects of functionality, operability and economy.

Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, Deputy State Secretary Gábor Csaba stressed that the international presentation and dissemination of Kodály's oeuvre significantly strengthens Hungary's prestige around the world, and the Kodály Institute has been contributing to this at the highest level for almost half a century.

A Modern City

This was followed by a speech from Mayor Klaudia Pataki. The mayor recalled that Kecskemét has benefited from the Modern Cities Programme for such priority historic renovations as the (previously mentioned in our article - editor's note)Town Hall, the Monarchy-era Rudolf Barracks and the 18th century Franciscan monastery, which has been home to the Kodály Institute since 1975.

He summarised: nearly 2,000 students play music and sing every day in the city in organised settings, and there are also 41 choirs in Kecskemét, as well as 150-200 teachers who support music education in the city. At the end of his speech, he promised to continue to spearhead the renovation and expansion of other parts of the Kodály Institute over the next five years.

The director of the institution, Judit Rajk thanked Péter Erdei, the first director of the Kodály Institute, for his work in the decades of success of the institution, and stressed that the current renovation began under the directorship of Norbert László Nemes, who coordinated the work for five years - also recalling that the former director was unfortunately unable to be present at the inauguration. Judit Rajk then presented a commemorative medal to Andrea Vigh and Klaudia Szemereyné Pataki, who headed the Academy when the restoration work began.

Judit Rajk also thanked the architect István Mányi and the contractor Horváth Építőmester Zrt., on whose behalf dr. András Kovács, chairman of the board of directors personally accepted the thanks.