Debrecen4U October 15, 2026

Music Box Finds New Home at Kós Károly Secondary School

In the 2026/2027 academic year, Kós Károly Secondary School will be home to Debrecen’s Music Box. Students took possession of the container equipped with musical instruments on 15 October 2026.

In 2019, Debrecen’s General Assembly not only adopted the city’s popular music strategy, but also committed to further developing this area of culture in cooperation with those involved in the sector. Several projects have since been launched in the city, including the Music Support Programme, the Made in Debrecen Festival and the Music Box initiative. The idea behind the Music Box is that the Debrecen Tourism Agency can make use of its container during the tourist season only, so it offered the facility to cultural institutions for other purposes between October and April. This led to the creation of a competition for secondary schools in Debrecen, with the aim of turning the container into a music talent development hub at a different local secondary school each year. “The Music Box has a long history behind it, and it really is a little box of wonders, because it has helped quite a few bands along their way. Many started here before going on to perform at Made in Debrecen and on the Made in Debrecen stage at the Campus Festival,” said Deputy Mayor István Puskás at the handover ceremony.

He recalled that, over the past few years, the Music Box had demonstrated at several secondary schools in Debrecen how important music can be in helping young people develop their talents, express themselves and build communities.

In the initiative’s first year, Csokonai Vitéz Mihály Grammar School won the opportunity with an imaginative application. The following academic year, students at Tóth Árpád Grammar School took over the special music space. In 2023/2024, as it celebrated its 150th anniversary, Fazekas Mihály Grammar School hosted the Music Box. Medgyessy Ferenc Grammar School subsequently joined the initiative.

During the 2025/2026 academic year, the Music Box moved to the Debrecen Vocational Training Centre’s Creative Technical School, where it once again helped young people develop their musical creativity.

The initiative’s purpose remains unchanged: to provide secondary school students in Debrecen with an inspiring environment where they can play music, express themselves, create together and showcase and develop their musical talents.

In the 2026/2027 academic year, the Music Box will be based at Kós Károly Secondary School. As in previous years, Rocksuli will provide professional support for the project, arranging the installation of the instruments and the necessary sound equipment.

Tünde Szabadka Varga, the institution’s director general, said she hoped students would make use of the Music Box during breaks between lessons and after school, and that several bands would form among the school’s students.

The Music Box is more than just a place where students can try out musical instruments. It offers an inspiring environment for musical experimentation, creativity and shared experiences. Each year, the initiative brings opportunities to make music to a new school, helping young people in Debrecen develop their talents and creativity in a variety of ways.

The hope is that the Music Box will provide a platform for many new musical talents to emerge during the 2026/2027 academic year.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu