Teachers and mentors

I have 10 years of singing lessons behind my back. Or so to say: I have had my ever first singing teacher about 10 years ago. I had several singing teachers, and I would like to list them for you here and also what I have learned from them.

Erzsébet Feichter
My ever first singing teacher at the Béla Bartók music school in Békéscsaba (Hungary). I was her pupil for two joyful years filled with Italian arie antiche. This was also the time when I decided to become a singer instead of getting a well-paid job - well done there, dear me...

Zsolt Oláh
I had private singing lessons from him in Budapest (Hungary) and he taught me how important it is that your audience understand the lyrics you are singing on, and he was the first one who jokingly shouted at me: Open your mouth!! And nevertheless, his warm bariton voice is just as sweet as a cello can be...

Ildikó Hajnal
My main subject teacher (head of the Early Music department) and singing teacher during the 6 years I have spent in Fontys Conservatorium. Yes, she is Hungarian, living in The Netherlands for several years now, and she is an amazing singing teacher, singer and musician. She taught me many things, and I will be always grateful to what she's done for me during these years. She taught me the importancy of knowing your body (though I'm afraid I will never be such an anatomy expert as she is), to know what happens in your body while you are singing. Also she encouraged me to find my own path and played a huge role in me becoming the person I am now (whether she admits it or not, it's true). She was also the one who introduced me to Lajos Szamosi's approach to freedom in singing

Peggy Hegeman
I had singing lessons from her during my Master studies, and we were working on my classical repertory, and some twang and belting (for Gershwin and Cole Porter). She taught me to dare to make my own choices, and gave me these two amazing sentences:  

1. Singing is moving air, not bricks.
2. Don't take a breath for the whole week!

Whenever she said in the beginning of the lesson "Let's make some noise", I knew the fun is about to happen. She also taught me how important it is to stay in the flow and (as she said) not shaking hand with every single note I am singing. She encouraged me to keep myself open and willing to know more about different singing techniques and methods, approaches - and in the end make the selection from this bunch of information for myself.

Kinga Cserjési
I had my first lessons on Lajos Szamosi's approach from her and she was the first one to ask after a few rounds of excercises: how was it? And she kept asking questions like this, bring me to analyse and watch what I am doing (completing the Alexander Technique lessons and Ildikó's goal to make me more aware of what happens in my body), and slowly I became able to work on myself and using creativity and intelligence as a tool in my own development. Until then I thought my intellect and intelligence is rather a curse on me than an advantage, and now I know that using your intelligence on the wrong place can work against you, but allowing your intellect doing what it needs to do can bring you forward. Just keep calm and let the different parts of your body (muscles, organs, etc.) and your personality work efficiently and not like a workaholic, all the time.

Heent Prins
The loveliest and calmest old lady I've ever met, living in The Hague, and was the singing teacher of Kinga Cserjési. Heent still had lessons from Lajos Szamosi, and I continue my learning process on this approach by having singing lessons from her. She is teaching me how singing can be as simple as breathing, and that you just need to keep yourself open, listen very well, open your mouth and breathe. Not taking a breath, because that's some kind of preparation before producing a sound, but because breathing is a natural need to stay alive (this idea completes Peggy's sentence: Don't take a breath for the whole week). Letting go the control of your conscious and let your subconscious (a.k.a. your body) work is a great risk, but "Your body knows better" (Edvin Szamosi), so just let your body work for you and benefit from its natural wisdom. It is damn scary, but worths the effort to let go.