Our Mission
The Mission of the Kodály Foundation for Music Education is the advancement of music education based on the vision of Hungarian composer, scholar and educator Zoltán Kodály, by supporting the Kodály Center that was founded in 1969 at Holy Names College in Oakland, California. In 2023 University of Redlands welcomed the Kodály Center programs.
Generosity, Inclusion and Community
The Kodály Center
The Kodály Center provides training and resources for teachers, conductors, parents, and others interested in the power of music in transforming individuals and communities. Offerings include seminars, introductory classes, and summer and academic year certificate and degree programs. An integrated and practical curriculum, a supportive atmosphere, and a high standard of excellence are hallmarks of the Center’s programs.
Kodály’s Main Tenets
Music is for everybody
Singing is the most human and universal of instruments
Music literacy is a universal right and not a secret language for a select few
Folk music and art music are the most valuable and lasting materials for developing music literacy
Online American Folk Song Collection
The American Folk Song Collection launched in 2004 to make quality folk music available to music teachers and students around the world. It has become the premiere site for American folk song and attracts more than a million page views each year. Donations assist in continuing the work to select, transcribe and analyze songs for inclusion on the site. In 2014 the San Francisco Chronicle featured the Online American Folk Song Collection as front page news.
Your donation makes transformative music education possible.
Kodály method included in UNESCO World Heritage list
In 2016, UNESCO’s intergovernmental committee for the world’s cultural heritage included Hungarian composer, researcher and music teacher Zoltán Kodály’s method for the preservation of folk music in the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Learn more about the the musical, educational and cultural concepts associated with Zoltán Kodály at International Kodály Society.
“Over the past century, the Kodály concept of safeguarding traditional folk music has helped to promote, transmit and document local practices in Hungary and assisted communities abroad for similar purposes.”
The Kodály Center: A story of generosity, inclusivity and excellence. (Dec.12, 2017)
“We recognize Kodály's principle that children become connected to their communities and the wider world by hearing and singing the traditional folk songs of their culture.”
- Sr. Mary Alice Hein, Founder of the Kodály Center