The Gárdonyi Zoltán Youth Chamber Orchestra of Veszprém was founded by students of the Csermák Antal School of Music in Veszprém. Under the direction of conductor Eszter Demel, it has grown into one of Hungary’s leading youth ensembles. Renowned for its mature musicianship and refined sound, the orchestra has earned widespread acclaim from audiences and juries alike.
Recipient of both the Gizella Prize and the County Prima Prize, the orchestra has won first prize at the National Orchestra Competition on several occasions, most recently receiving a distinguished first prize together with the Special Award for Best Bartók Interpretation. At the European Youth Music Festival for Young People in Belgium, the ensemble was awarded First Prize with Cum Laude distinction. They also won First Prize and a Gold Diploma at the international competition held at the Slovak Radio in Bratislava.
The orchestra has performed at prestigious Hungarian venues including the MÜPA Budapest, Várkert Bazár, and the House of Music Hungary, while internationally appearing in Amsterdam, Bratislava, Prague, Graz, Voitsberg, and numerous cities across Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, and Luxembourg. They are regular participants in both the Auer Festival and the Klassz a pARTon concert series.
At the invitation of Veszprém–Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture, the orchestra presented four concerts at the Remix’22 European Youth Music Festival in Luxembourg. Between 2021 and 2026, as part of their project Meeting of European Youth Partner Orchestras, they organized more than ten international collaborations with the Johann-Joseph-Fux Conservatory in Austria and members of the Landesjugendsinfonieorchester Steiermark (LJSO).
Conductor Eszter Demel is one of Hungary’s most distinguished music educators and a leading representative of the Kokas pedagogical method, serving as an accredited Kokas instructor. She taught cello and music theory in New York State, USA, and introduced the Kodály Method to Danish music educators in Denmark. A frequent presenter on Kokas pedagogy at Carl Rogers conferences, she has also presented the method at the EPTA Congress in Austria.
Over several decades, she has inspired hundreds of children with a love of music and a commitment to artistic excellence. Many of her former students have become accomplished performers, conductors, and musicologists, while others have gone on to make valuable contributions in entirely different professions. In her work with the orchestra, she is supported by the artist-teachers of the Csermák Antal Music School and the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra.
Eszter Demel received the MOL Master-M Award and the Plaque for Hungarian Arts Education in 2020, the Ranolder Award in 2023, and the Artisjus Teachers’ Award in 2024.
Following the orchestra’s appearance on György Czigány’s television programme Play and Music in Seven Times Ten Minutes, they received the following review:
“The conductor, Eszter Demel, possesses an extraordinary musical intensity that has a profound effect on the young orchestra. They absorb every nuance of her musical interpretation and perform each work with complete dedication and impeccable execution.”
The György Solti Music School String Orchestra is one of Hungary’s leading youth ensembles. It won First Prize at the National Orchestra Competition in 2014, 2017, 2023, and most recently in 2026. At the International Youth Music Festival in Neerpelt, Belgium, the orchestra was awarded First Prize in both 2013 and 2015.
The ensemble has performed in England on several occasions at the invitation of the Guildford Hungarian Cultural Association and under the auspices of the Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre London. Following one of these concerts, Lady Solti, widow of Sir Georg Solti, described the orchestra as “a worthy ambassador of Hungarian culture.”
In 2021, the orchestra performed in Prague via the Visegrád Group cultural cooperation programme, and in 2023 they gave concerts in Hamburg. In Hungary they have appeared at many of the country’s most prestigious venues, including MÜPA Budapest, the Liszt Academy of Music, the House of Music Hungary, the Hungarian Radio, and the Budapest Music Center (BMC). They are also regular guests at the Ars Sacra Festival and the Klassz a pARTon Festival.
Their repertoire spans from the Baroque period to contemporary music. Reflecting their stylistic versatility, they also perform film music in expanded formations with the music school’s wind and percussion students, teachers, and choir. Special emphasis is placed on the study and performance of Hungarian composers, with works by Béla Bartók, Leó Weiner, Ferenc Farkas, and György Orbán featured regularly.
Since 2012, the orchestra has frequently shared the stage with its Veszprém “sister orchestra”, the Gárdonyi Zoltán Youth Chamber Orchestra, in Budapest, Veszprém, and Balatonfüred.
The programme and artists are subject to change.