Balogh, Jozsef

He is a clarinettist, saxophonist, tarogato player, composer and teacher born in Pecs, Hungary, who studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. He has appeared in many ensembles as a soloist and orchestral musician as a member of the Oklahoma Woodwind Quartet and the Interclarinet Quintet, and the Principal Clarinettist for the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Budapest Opera Orchestra. Performing in several music festivals and competitions he has appeared at the International Clarinet Festival held in Japan in 2005 and was a prizewinner in competitions held in Graz, Budapest and Prague. As a composer his works combine Middle Eastern and Hungarian influences and include Palotas and Friss, Gypsy Songs, Episodes from the Crescent Moon, Hagado Klezmer Symphony: Four Glasses of Wine and several works for children's theatre. Appearing on several recordings his work can be heard on two Interclarinet Ensemble CDs and Andante - a Special 2 1/2 Hour Collection of Chamber Music Classics, Mozart: Clarinet Quintet, Clarinet Quartet, L'Effet Mozart- Musique pour Enfants Vol. 4 and Brahms: Clarinet Trion and Quintet with the Danubius Quartet. In the field of musical education he taught at the Hungarian Music Academy for 5 years, has given masterclasses at numerous international venues and founded the Interclarinet Master School and the Healing Sounds Beethoven Project, is the Artistic Director of Music Castle, which promotes music education for the deaf, and the "Four Seasons on the Danube" Regional Art Festival and Courses in Hungary. He has also held professorships at Idaho, Oklahoma and North Texas Universities and in the Hochschule fur Music Nurnberg-Augsburg in Germany. In the broadcasting world he featured as "Musician of the Week" on Hungary's Bartok Radio.

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