The Presentation of the Artistic Work of Jozsef Terek
Awarded with the Hungarian Golden Cross of Merit, Jozsef Terek is one of the most prominent figures in the Hungarian music scene, who has been promoting our Hungarian musical values, especially the Hungarian instrument, the tarogato (Turkish pipe, taragot), for thirty years, both in Hungary and abroad.

The 41-year-old musician, who has toured more than 100 times in almost 40 countries on all continents, is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts, a member of the Public Council of the Music Section of the Academy of Arts, and the cultural advisor of the Pest County Municipality and, in response to requests made by embassies, consulates general, consulates, and international festival organizers, has been promoting the versatile and virtuoso sound of the Hungarian instrument, the tarogato, for a long time, with his performances at protocol events, academies, art centres, festivals in the framework of Tarogato Hungarikum Concert series, which he founded in 2015. He has been doing this in a variety of instrumentation, ranging from the viola, concert cimbalom (dulcimer), and double bass accompaniment,and with the participation of top pianists from the host countries.

Jozsef Terek's international masterclass lectures were well received in various locations: in 2018 he performed at Universidade de Macau (Macau), Wan Yan College, True Light Girl’s College, Marymount Secondary School (Hong Kong), International Montessori School of Beijing, Lu Xun Museum (China), International School of Manila, De la Salle College of St Benilde, University of Santo Tomas, University of the Philippines (on two occasions) (Philippines), while in 2019 he performed at the Conservatoire National de Musique de Tunis (Tunisia), Vietnam National Academy of Music (Hanoi, Vietnam), as well as in 2020 at Palau Community College (Koror, Palau), Belau National Museum (Koror, Palau), University of San Carlos (Cebu City, Philippines), and Ateneo de Davao University (Davao, Philippines). In the past five years, in response to requests from diplomatic missions he has performed and has been a great success at events organised by embassies, on the occasions of national celebrations, and other protocol or international programmes in the Philippines, the Republic of Palau, Vietnam, China, Palestine, Tunisia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macao, Ukraine, and events organised by cultural institutes in Belgium and Germany; additionally, in response to other requests at events held in England, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Croatia, Iraq, Canada, Kazakhstan, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Turkey, and the USA. In addition to the versatile and virtuoso performance of our Hungarikum musical instrument, the tarogato, the aim of each event is to present the diversity of Hungarian music, as well as to explore further international musical connections and cooperation opportunities, and implement social and charitable collaborations.

The tarogato player taught Hungarian folk music for five years in Seattle, USA, and for two years in the Netherlands at music camps. In addition to his numerous national honours, he has received several international awards, including honorary degrees from the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas in 2018 for his concert performances, and the Ateneo de Davao University Commemorative Medal in 2020.This year, he also received the special prize for the best paper and paper at the 82nd Research World International Conference in Manila, the Philippines where he presented the results of his research on folk music in his native region, the Tapio region. This is also the topic of his doctoral thesis, which the graduate researcher is defendingat the Doctoral School of the University of Debrecen. Also in 2020, he received the international "Distinguished Scholar Award", which is presented by the Independent ad hoc Scientific Award Committee and the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Scientific Research to six individuals each year.In addition to his national and international publications, the real value of his research activities is that they are incorporated into his musical repertoire, making his tarogato concerts encompassing all musical styles truly unique and definitely innovative.

He also considers it important to compete internationally with his own compositions and folk music arrangements, so every year compositions of Jozsef Terek, tarogato player, bandleader, and composer are performed at several world competitions for music composers, and since 2010 they have been multiple finalists at the UK Songwriting Contest and the International Song Writing Competition. As a result of his international competitions, the Global Music Award has listed his two most recent tarogato albums among the winners both in 2019 and 2020. In order to strengthen local and county identity and togetherness, he has written several pieces including Pest County Verbunk (hongroise), Hevizgyork Verbunk, the piece Tapioszele 800, Godollo Castle Verbunk and Kossuth Verbunk, among many other works, which are classical and contemporary pieces that strengthen our national identity. Another unique achievement of Jozsef Terek in the field of cultural heritage protection is that since 2009 he has edited, arranged and orchestrated 24 music CDs and 1 DVD-ROM, mostly for NGOs of local municipalities, in the field of local and regional music values and talent education.He has also edited 15 books and carried out all related research work, which books are scientific and certainly niche volumes summarizing the values of music, folk songs, folk costumes and orchestras.

His outstanding international achievement is that between March 15, 2021, and March 15, 2022, he won first place as a soloist in 60 out of 65 international world competitions in nearly 40 countries and on all continents, which feat he achieved as the very first Hungarian performer in the history of Hungarian music and the world; this performance is currently being evaluated by Guinness World Records, hopefully, before a positive decision is made. As a result of the authentic online transmission of our Hungarian musical values to nearly 40 countries on all continents, our Hungarian musical values reached directly the organisers of events as a result of the performing art of Jozsef Terek, a tarogato artist, which was also a very innovative step, as the COVID pandemic has limited the artists' freedom of movement to almost virtual space in the recent period.

Over the past three decades, Jozsef Terek’s work has been characterised by professional humility, faith, respect and love, and he has served the representation of Hungarian cultural musical values as a folk music researcher, a tarogato artist and a bandleader. Through his creative work, he has done a lot to save Hungarian cultural values, support talented young people, and represent Hungarian musical values in Hungary and abroad in an authentic and selfless way all for the public good.

He is a regular performer at the cultural and protocol programmes of the Pest County Municipality and the county, but he has also joined several events online, such as the programmes held at the Hungarian Cultural Institute of Stuttgart in 2020, or the Hungarian Diaspora Council of Canada's 2021 Trianon Commemoration, 2021. On 22 May, the 100th anniversary of the composition of the Szekely (Szekler) Anthem, he contributed to the celebrations held in several settlements in Szekelyfold (Szeklerland) either both with his personal presence and with band concerts. Jozsef Terek is currently the only Hungarian music performer whose music is regularly broadcast daily by Danko Radio in Hungary.

Jozsef Terek has a unique and highly versatile musical activity as a tarogato player, composer, music director and folk music researcher. His work follows the footsteps of Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly, both professionally and in human terms, and he picks up the international promotion of our Hungarikum instrument, the tarogato, where the international cause of the tarogato was left off between the two world wars. He has been working for 30 years, starting as a child at the age of 11.

The performer's main international idea is that, through the cooperation of artists from the host countries, the attention to the many ways of international connectivity options of Hungarian music can be drawn, which will strengthen bilateral cultural relations, solidarity and togetherness, cultural and social peace in cultural, social and diplomatic terms alike. Thus, in 2020, a series of concerts together with University of the Philippines piano professor, Ms Ena Maria Aldecoa was held in Manila, Cebu City and Davao on the occasion of the Day of Hungarian Culture, and in 2018, in collaboration with pianist Ms Peggy Lau and clarinettist Mr Michael Kirby at the Main Hall at the University of Macau MCMC.

Through the implementation of artistic programmes, transnational cultural relations are established, which provide artists, institutions and countries alike with a predictable cultural vision based on international cooperation, thus creating social equality between the artistic values and artists of different countries.

Primary work of Jozsef Terek: composer, musician, folksong researcher, cultural ambassador of the tarogato instrument, musical concert organizing between the countries, international cultural connections.
Active years: since 1992.
International works in 52 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brasil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Macao, Macedonia, Mexico, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherland, Norway, Palau, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania (Transylvania), Russia, Serbia-Montenegro, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunesia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA, Vietnam.
Masterclass works:
2018    Universidade de Macau (Macao),
Wan Yan College, True Light Girl’s College, Marymount Secondary School (Hong Kong)
International Montessori School of Beijing, Lu Xun Museum (China),
International School of Manila, a De la Salle College of St Benilde, a University of Santo Tomas, a University of the Philippines (Philippines)
2019    Conservatoire National de Musique de Tunis (Tunesia)
Vietnam National Academy of Music (Hanoi, Vietnam)
2020    Palau Community College, Belau National Museum (Koror, Palau)
University of San Carlos, Atheneo de Davao University (Cebu, Davao, Philippines)
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7nzVmR6Ctc

Награди

International Awards
2021    Distinguished Scholar Award
2020    Medallion of Ateneo de Davao
            Global Music Award – Silver Medal Award
82th Research World International Conference – Excellence paper and presentation Award (Manila, Philippines)
2019    Global Music Award – Silver Medal Winner Award
2018    XXV. MDFF „Kunovské Léto” CIOFF Festival – Musical Award (Kunovice, Czech Republic)
Certificate of Appreciation – University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas
 
Hungarian Awards
2021    Business of the year „Szechenyi 2021” Award – Social responsibility
2020    Value & Quality Award – Tarogato Hungaricum Concert
2019    Honorary diploma of Tapioszele city
2018    Hungarian Record Award
2016    Commemorative Medal of Pest County
2014    Recognition Diploma of the Ministry
            Hungarian Golden Cross of Merit
2012    Medal of Tapioszele city