Argenteus Mixed Choir of Szeged University Department of Music Education

The Mixed Choir “Argenteus” of Szeged University Department of Music Education was founded in 1963 and has performed under the leadership of Dr. Gábor Kovács since 1998. The choir is comprised of students from the Department of Music Education at Szeged University in Hungary. In addition to performing in national competitions, the choir has been selected to participate in festivals and concerts in Italy, Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Finland, Romania and Serbia. In 2012, the choir was awarded first place at the Ohrid Choir Festival. The choir was a category winner at the Budapest International Choir Competition in 2013. Several Hungarian composers have dedicated their works to the Mixed Choir “Argenteus” and its leader, Dr. Gábor Kovács. The choir bears the title “Concert Choir," the highest qualification of the Hungarian Council of Choirs.

Dr. Gábor Kovács graduated from Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music as choir conductor in 1990. He supplemented his studies in London at the Guildhall School of Music and obtained a PhD at Queen’s University in Belfast (Northern Ireland). He is an associate professor at Szeged University and teaches Choral Conducting and History of Music in the Department of Music Education. In addition to leading Mixed Choir “Argenteus,” Dr. Gábor Kovács also leads "...canticum novum," an international prize holder vocal ensemble whose repertoire includes early and contemporary music and exclusive dedications by several Hungarian composers.

Szeged, some say, is "the finest mirage of the Hungarian Great Plain." Though the city has come to mean different things to different people, it is greater than the sum of its prized possessions: pretty Szeged slippers, fiery paprika, pungent halaszle (fishermen’s soup) and inimitable salami. Szeged today is one of Hungary’s centers of learning. Its research institutes and creative spirits have spread its fame far beyond the country’s borders. It is an industrial and agricultural center, a major artery in the country’s financial bloodstream. Szeged is a cultural center too, attracting of many great artists and performers.

-GG