With Tamás Kéméndi, accordion, Endre Balogh, turkish pipe, Judit Fischer, soprano, Tibor Sarkany, accordion
Sunday, August 31, 2025
Hungarian Cultural Center

KFME hosted a fall gathering at the newly opened Hungarian Cultural Center in Newark on the last day in August. What a pleasure to walk into a room with white tablecloths and chair covers lit by candles at twelve round tables! Champagne was offered on entry as well as hors d'oeuvres to accompany the concert hour.

Our headliner was the fantastic Hungarian accordion player, Tamás Kéméndi, whose musicality brought his instrument to new artistic heights. With varied repertoire from folk and classical sources, and lightning speed in his right hand, Kéméndi held the audience in awe for the first hour of the gathering. He was ably joined by Endre Balogh on Turkish pipe, Tibor Sarkany on accordion and Judit Fischer, soprano, on alternate numbers, giving the program variety and an opportunity to hear local musicians with the visiting master of the accordion. As an encore, Judit, who also serves on the KFME board, sang Kodály’s Esti Dal, well known to many of the listeners and beautifully performed.

Then we all shared a traditional Hungarian meal–gulyas (cooked by the multi-talented accordionist, Tibor Sarkany, in the biggest cauldron ever!) served with parsley and sour cream along with a side of robust bread. Thank you to all who planned and executed this wonderful event and thank you to all who attended. We look forward to seeing you at future events!

Please enjoy the photos below, taken by Gergely Nadas.

- Nancy Linford
Member-at-Large, KFME