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Pure soul, pure voice. This parallel reminded me of singer Csilla Kovács, the winner of the Musicum Laude bel canto course and singing competition organized by Coopera this summer, whose energy, kindness and optimism stemming from her faith captivates people. We talked with the young artist and teacher about, among other things, how important a role his family plays in his life, his faith in God and the experiences he can have as a member of a community.

“How long have you been preparing to become a singer?” Has this always been your goal?

– I would not say so. I went to the Váci Piarist High School, and in the fourth grade, when everyone among my classmates already knew what to do with themselves, I was still standing there at a loss. I liked to sing, but I had absolutely no confidence that I would be admitted to the musical arts. In the end, I applied to Debrecen, studying Russian-ethnography, which was right next to the Faculty of Music, so I regularly heard the trumpet players defiantly blowing out the window. (Laughs.) My heart longed for it, and I regretted not belonging to the musician community. So I thought big, and with the encouragement of one of my friends, I applied for the 13th grade at the Zoltán Kodály Vocational Secondary School in Debrecen, for private singing in Vilhelmina Papp’s class.

My solfège teacher there, Katona Adrienn, prepared us for university admission with incredible perseverance and dedication, and I am grateful to her for all of this to this day. The Faculty of Humanities suffered many small failures, which continued to backfire. I felt more and more out of place. There were no fewer challenges and difficulties at the Faculty of Music, but I felt that I could cope with them much better, I saw the goal in front of me, and I knew that it would lead to this, so I could only move forward on my path. In this work, I had enormous help and encouragement from teacher Edit Hruby. I am grateful to him for many things, especially for the fact that he stood by me wholeheartedly and supports me to this day.

The full interview with the Musicum Laude 2021 winner can be read on papageno.hu.

Author: Orsolya Szilágyiné Tukács