Zalán Cenki

Zalán Csenki was born in 1993 in Szeged and is a versatile, experimental musician of the young folk music generation who plays multiple instruments. His primary instrument is the koboz, which he aims to popularize widely. In addition to the koboz, he also plays tamburas, kontra, folk flute, and tárogató. He began his folk music studies with András Hodorog, a Moldavian Csángó flutist, and later learned the koboz in the Master School music workshop in Szeged under Géza Fábri. In 2005, he founded his first band, Korinda, with his musician friends. He continued his folk music studies at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, where he played in several new ensembles. In 2014, he contributed to Alexandra Berta’s album Lelkem a lelkeddel, and the collaboration that followed led him to become a founding member of the Pengetős Trio. His first solo album, Kobzás, was released in 2018, and he was awarded the Junior Prima Prize that same year for his performance work. In addition to performing, he is also active in formal education: he teaches koboz at the Liszt Academy (higher level), the Bartók Béla Music High School (intermediate level), and the Óbuda Folk Music School (basic level). He regularly collects folk music, especially in Moldavia, and since 2019, he has been researching traditional koboz music as part of the Doctoral School at the Liszt Academy.