Mr. Balogh’s Opus

By Linda Hundhammer

The Lake Oswego Review, Oct 21, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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The youth symphony has played around the world including performances in Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, Japan and Balogh’s home country, Hungary.

“ I see many friends and classmates when I go home,” said Balogh. “Some of them have come to our performances.”

Members of Balogh’s Youth Symphony have gone on to play in such prestigious programs as the Cleveland Institute of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, The Julliard School and Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

“I am very proud of these young people,” said Balogh.

Celebrating his citizenship

To celebrate becoming a U.S. citizen in l981, Balogh put on a concert featuring the great Portland performers he had worked with over the years.

The result was the Portland Festival Symphony that had its first performance in the Rose Garden in Washington Park. It was such a success that The Festival Symphony now has a permanent summer series, “Classical Summer Concerts in the Parks”, with six to seven performances annually in communities throughout the area.. Their next concert will be held at on Sept. 7th at 4 p.m. Lake Oswego’s Foothills Park.

Keeping the music playing

Balogh is passionate about classical music, and has a gift for sharing it with those in his community.

However, concerts, musicians, and instruments are expensive. He spends a lot of his time fundraising – applying for grants, sending letters to businesses and individuals, looking for community involvement.

“Each concert costs $12,000 to $14,000. We recently received a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation that was really helpful. My job is to keep finding the money, so we can keep the music playing.”

For more information about the Portland Youth Symphony visit www.metropolitanyouthsymphony.org or the Portland Festival Symphony at www.portlandfestivalsymphony.org .

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