The Institute

The Institute’s primary mission is to safeguard the musical and pedagogical legacy of the renowned Hungarian composer, educator and scholar, Zoltán Kodály, as well as to train in English foreign music pedagogues and musicians according to his concept of music education.

Continuous professional training courses for Hungarian music teachers are available in Hungarian.

The Institute organises and coordinates various educational, cultural and research activities, and maintains a Library and Archives where scholars are welcome to do research on the materials including but not limited to major music pedagogues’ legacies such as Ilona Andor, Denise Bacon, Katalin Forrai, Mihály Ittzés, György Kerényi, Klára Kokas, Lajos and Márta Nemesszeghy, Jean Sinor, Erzsébet Szőnyi, Cecília Vajda, Zoltán Vásárhelyi and photographer László Vámos. The Institute maintains the Zoltán Kodály Memorial Museum in Budapest, while in the monastery building in Kecskemét there is an exhibition on Kodály’s life and oeuvre.

The Institute has had a profound influence on several generations of music educators across the world that have come to study in Kecskemét and have participated in the Institute’s full-time, part-time and summer courses. Alumni of the Institute have contributed in many outstanding ways to the dissemination and adaptation of Kodály’s pedagogical concept throughout the world.

The fact that the principles of Kodály-based music education are today widely known on five continents can also be attributed to the never-ceasing efforts of past and present faculty to make the Institute a worldwide centre for Kodály-based music education.

The Institute is determined to safeguard the values of Kodály’s principles, while constantly adapting the practical application of these principles to the challenges and opportunities of today’s world.

The expertise and the significant international experience of the Institute’s outstanding faculty help the students to most effectively broaden their musical horizons and develop their musicianship skills based on their individual needs. The Institute offers high-quality education in a fully international and multicultural environment, where a strong sense of community prevails and which is characterized by a lively and supportive atmosphere.