The year always starts off at a slower pace for me as all the students have serious exams lasting most of January. Soapart from administering my own English exams I have more time to visit and witness some of the fine work many of my students are doing in various parts of Romania. On March 15, I took a small choir to Buza, a large village congregation one and a half hours from Cluj. We commemorated the Hungarian revolution of 1956, remembering those who gave their lives for the cause on that date.
Our annual Opera Gala was postponed until May when I could combine six professional soloists with my male choir. The program included arias, duets as well as choir selections. Stefania Barz from the Romanian Opera sang a selection from Verdi’s La Forza del Destino performing with the male choir. This can be viewed on YouTube.
Many parts of Romania suffered from severe flooding in the early summer. In one village where I was helping a former student in a children’s camp we witnessed firsthand a major late afternoon downpour. Fortunately all people, livestock and my PCC vehicle survived.
Later in July I taught English in the Hungarian village of Nagygalombfalva for one week. This village has a large number of children, and over fifty elementary and high school students attended the classes. At the same time the pastor had organized a camp for the Roma (gypsy) children, which more than 200 attended! A pastor and a youth group from Germany were involved in the program.
In August I was once again involved with an artistic camp involving many students as well as the invited artists. At the inauguration ceremony I was asked to play piano for Vigy Ibolya, who delighted the audience with some lively operetta selections. The village of Zsobok where the camp is located has a well established orphanage whose children were able to be exposed to many of the artistic events. I decided then that starting in September I would go every two weeks to assist the orphans in developing their English and music skills.
Each September I am always excited to meet the new first year students and after some difficulties in establishing a suitable timetable I can say that we have another group of promising young men and women. I can teach them in small groups, providing remediation for those who need it and challenging those who are gifted enough to reach a high academic level.
Already at the end of the first week of classes I was asked to take an octette to help celebrate an important happening in Varkonyi. The event was the unveiling of a reconstructed statue of the Turul, a bird from Hungarian mythology often used as a national identity symbol. The statue was destroyed in 1945 and is now “returned” to its rightful place with the support of the local government officials, the majority being Romanian. This goes to show that two nations with tumultuous pasts can get together and celebrate each other’s culture with a bit of understanding and mutual respect.
We had another big vocal concert on November 17th combining once again a mixture of Hungarian and Romanian artists; four vocalists, two pianists, one flutist and one cellist. I was pleased that the choristers could do “Soon Ah Will be Done” by memory. On December 5th I worked with Michael and Terry, pastors of the English Church, to produce a special Advent service/concert. The program included many well-known carols as well as selections from Handel’s ‘Messiah’.
I wish to thank all staff members of International Ministries for their ongoing encouragement of my mission and to all those who support Presbyterians Sharing. I also thank groups and individuals who support the “Share the Gift of Music in Romania” project in the Gifts of Change catalogue.
