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The 35-year-old institution has always placed great emphasis on personalised education for students.

Rocksuli (Rock School) is a special educational institution that welcomes everyone interested in music. No previous training is necessary, and even retired people can learn to play guitar and drums.

Education here is like in other schools: the autumn term starts in September, and the second term in the spring.

Rocksuli, which started in 1989 and is dedicated to teaching and fostering the culture of popular music, started the school year with three teachers and ten students. Today, there are five such schools in the Carpathian Basin, with 70 teachers and nearly 800 students.

One of the most critical missions of the Debrecen Rocksuli is to encourage everyone, regardless of age, to make music – for 35 years now.

The institution has kicked off September with another week-long festival. Young people will perform and make music in different parts of the city for a week, and the Rocksuli Teachers’ College will be present. It is also the time for Rocksuli enrollment.

Director Miklós Péter Balogh said Rocksuli has a family atmosphere based on mutual respect. Many of their student’s parents studied here, and education must always prioritize people.

“We adapt to the needs and abilities of the student. We don’t have a set curriculum that has to be achieved here and there by the end of the year, but we try to adapt the student’s personal development to his or her interests. We tailor the curriculum to them,” he said.

Zsolt Tóth is starting his 20th year at Rocksuli. The drum teacher says the guitar is the second most popular instrument he teaches.

István Puskás, deputy mayor of Debrecen, said at the event that there is probably not a single rock music-loving person in Debrecen who has not come into contact with Rocksuli over the past decades, whether as a student, teacher or concert-goer. He added that the institution is an essential part of the city’s cultural fabric, as hundreds and thousands of people in Debrecen have come into contact with rock music thanks to them.

He said it is an institution run by a non-governmental organisation, adding that it can operate with such intensity and quality over such an extended period, which is undoubtedly a significant added value in Rocksuli’s history.

The week-long festival “22nd Más-7” runs until September 13th. It will feature street art by Színes Időm Alkotóműhely and performances by Zsolt Tóth, the Főnix Rock Band, and Maximus.

The final event will be a Monster Pie Party with the best music of Made in Debrecen.

The detailed programme is available here: XXII. Más-7 – Egyhetes fesztivál a Rocksuli jegyében | Facebook

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu