FEMUS 2016 will carry a significant dedication of our dear professor who spent decades in the Music School Subotica Mr. Matija Levai. As a musical performer and educator he brought a lot of beautiful music events to the city of Subotica, but also led a large number of young talents from our city on the right artistic path. As an exceptional performer on woodwind instruments he founded chamber ensembles with which he performed all over former Yugoslavia.
Femus is a festival of international character which encourages young artists to develop their musical skills on the instruments flute, clarinet and saxophone. As prof. Matija Levai was also an active performer, and music educator, the Organizing Committee of Femus with the support of his family has decided to dedicate the festival to him.
Matija Levai / Lévai Mátyás
Matija Levai / Lévai Mátyás (December 27th 1930, Kikinda, Serbia) Serbian and Yugoslavian clarinetist. Artist, instrumentalist of enviable performing musicality and technique, orchestral and chamber musician and pedagogue.
He studies the clarinet from 1952 to 1957 at the Music Academy in Belgrade in the class of the renowned professor Bruno Brun. During his student days he played the saxophone in smaller ensembles.
After completing his studies he worked successfully as a pedagogue until retirement. He was a clarinet professor in the elementary and secondary Music School in Subotica.
In Subotica, while working at the the Music School, Matija Levai founded and was the artistic director of “Ensemble for old music”. The ansambl existed between 1974 and 1981. In the same place, in the period of 1969-1976, Matija also founded the “Brass Trio”.
He is the author and performer of the series of didactic concerts with the name „From syrinx to Saxophone“ in which he represented and played even sixteen wind instruments.
With this program and his colleagues cellist Mirko Molnar and guitarist Pavle Bacic performed over 120 concerts throughout Yugoslavia in the period from 1972 to 1976. For years he was a solo clarinetist of the Philharmonic of Subotica.
He often performed as a soloist and as a member of chamber ensembles throughout the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia. He recorded for all broadcasting centers in former Yugoslavia. In addition to recordings of classical music, at the RTV NS there is a large number of his recordings of Hungarian folk music, which is achieved by playing taragoto (an old Hungarian-Romanian folk instrument very similar to the clarinet).
Diplomas, awards and prizes:
– Golden Badge Penal and Correctional Facility Serbia for unselfish, devoted and lasting work and creative contribution in spreading culture (Belgrade, May 12th, 1980)
– Appreciation of RTV NS for perennial outstanding contribution to the development and realization of the program (Novi Sad, September 2nd, 1974)
– “Isidor Bajic” Association of Musical Artists of Vojvodina Award for outstanding artistic contribution (Novi Sad, 1974)
– Honorary member UMPS for special contribution to the development of music pedagogy (Belgrade, November 24th, 1979)
– Appreciation for the centenary of the Philharmonic of Subotica.