The conductor Dr. Furiya Miyako has received the Pro Cultura Hungarica award from Minister of Human Resources Zoltán Balog for her continuous and dedicated work in preserving and promoting Hungarian cultural values abroad.

Deputy State Secretary Judit Hammerstein handed the award to the conductor at the Zoltán Kodály Memorial Museum on Thursday, 27 September.

Dr. Furiya Miyako, conductor and university professor, first encountered the Kodály approach – the foundation of Hungarian music education – in 1981. From 1984 to 1985 she studied in Hungary at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, where one of her tutors was György Kurtág. During that period she researched music in primary schools and the culture of choral song in Hungary. Upon returning to Japan she founded the Fukushima Kodály Choir, with the aim of promoting the work of Hungarian composers, especially that of Kodály and Bartók. Since then the choir has performed with notable success at a number of international music education conferences and choir festivals.

(Ministry of Human Resources)