Magyar News, 1994. szeptember-1995. augusztus (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1995-07-01 / 11-12. szám
RHAPSODY FESTIVAL Festival. His busy fingers pleased the audience with a piano solo of 2 Hungarian Dances by Brahms—yes, with Hungarian feeling! Young talent is so refreshing—we were pleased to welcome 15-year old Nicholas “Nick” Komenda, a student of the viola, who was accompanied by his proud father Bill. A new team of players together, Nick skillfully played Franz Anton Hoffmeistcr’s “Concerto in D Major,” 3rd movement and his father supported him beautifully. Nick is a student at Fairfield High School and plays in the symphonic orchestra. They are lucky to have his talent and charm. Will we hear of him at Carnegie Hall in the future??? Olga Strauss Svetlik is well-known in the greater Bridgeport area for her teaching in the Foreign Language Department at the University of Bridgeport and for her great activities with the long-established Wednesday afternoon Music Club. Her career as a pianist began in the Ukraine and Poland and she continues even today to study composers’ great works but also teaches young students the rudiments and habits of fine piano playing. This multi-lingual teacher, wife, mother and lover of the piano instrument, offered her rendition of Ferenc Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody #6, a fitting concluding selection for the Rhapsody Festival. We owe warmest thanks to Burton Hatheway for his coaching and arranging to have the grand piano tuned. Tom Holoran, Public Relations Director of the Stratford Library was helpful in coundess ways and we should make him an Honorary Member of the American Hungarian Heritage Association! The audience was warm in their appreciation of the musical program and the refreshments which were served at intermission. Financially, it was a success and brought welcomed resources to the Mary Katona Scholarship Program of the American Hungarian Heritage Association. We would also like to thank those who as Benefactors and Patrons supported our fundraising event. Mr. Geza Bodnar; Mr. Harold Bresky; Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Brown; Dr. & Mrs. László Csóványos; Mrs. Elizabeth Ehik; Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Farkas, in memory of Louis J. Standish, Jr.; Mrs. Bette Standish Johnson; Lesko Funeral Home; Mrs. Eleonor Reid, in memory of Frank and Matilda Ando; Mr. & Mrs. Jack Sabo; Ms. Jeanette Visokay; Mr. Allan Westcolt. * * * * Our appreciation goes also to Bette Standish Johnson, the chairperson of the Rhapsody Festival. Thanks to her hard work, the event was a success. Bette has been chairing the Mary Katona Scholarship Committee for many years, helping students of Hungarian background in their studies. Joseph Stiber, president of A.H.H.A. welcomed and thanked the audience for coming. Claudia Margitay-Balogh took charge of the reception. We are looking forward to the next musical event. The well-known Program Director of WSHU, FM station from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, Suzanne Bona Hatem, favored us with her delightful flute rendition of “Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy” by Doppler. A student of flute for 23 years, she owes much to her training at the University of Connecticut’s Music School in Storrs. The fact that both her parents were Hungarian surely added to the warmth and feeling of her playing! In addition to her work at the FM station, she is a performing member of a woodwind trio called A TRE VOCI and a member of the Prevailing Winds Quintet, busy playing at weddings, parties, at nursing homes and other community affairs. She reflects her seasoned playing, not only technically, but in her interpretation and is a charming performer. Burton Hatheway, Bette Standish Johnson, and Rozsika Deutsch, inset, Nick Komenda. Michael Karpilow, a piano soloist, as well as accompanist to 3 of our performers, is a professional musician with a deep love of music. He is a public school music teacher, an accomplished organist, a graduate of Bassick High School in Bridgeport, attended Mitchcl College in New London, CT, University of Bridgeport, and the University of Illinois. His “heart of gold” led him to spend many hours of his own time rehearsing with Kristina, Suzanne and Rozsika in preparation for the Rhapsody Olga Strauss Svetlik, Kristina Beres, Michael Karpilov and Suzanne Bona Hatem, and page 5
