Soma Magyar was born in the United States and grew up in Canada in a Hungarian family filled with music. He started playing the violin when he was three years old with the Suzuki method. As a kid, he didn’t like practicing — he wanted to play soccer, video games, and hang out with friends instead. He made a deal with his parents: there were ten Suzuki books, and he could stop after book five. He kept his promise, finished book five, and quit.
Years later, everything changed. In high school, Soma went to Tücsök Tábor, a Hungarian folk dance and music camp in Montreal. The violin teacher taught music from Mezőkölpény. When he got home, he looked up that village on YouTube and found a 40-minute video of the local violinist. It was magic. Soma practiced for hours every day, trying to copy every note. He even fell asleep listening to that recording. For the first time in his life, he loved practicing.
His father became his guide. He showed Soma how to play for dancers and told him to keep a binder of songs in the order they’re played at a Táncház. That way, if you forget or get nervous, you can always look back at it. His father had one too — he was the main Táncház musician in North America. Soma started joining him on gigs, and that’s when he fell in love with playing live music.
In grade 11, Soma decided to move to Budapest to play more folk music. In Toronto, there were only a few Táncház events each year — in Budapest, there was one almost every night. He studied under Horváth Attila, learning the Magyarpalatkai (Mezőségi) style, and started lessons on the brácsa. He spent his evenings at the Fonó, sometimes playing at Kamasz Táncház events with his cousin’s band. That year, he fell in love with the Szászcsávási style and practiced it all the time — even when he was “sick” from school.
When he came back to Toronto, his father was proud of his progress and brought him to more gigs. In grade 12, Soma got very interested in business. He tried dropshipping but soon realized it didn’t feel right. Selling random products online wasn’t helping anyone. So he started teaching folk music online for free to his friends. That’s where his teaching journey began — some of his first students are still featured on the homepage of this site. After high school, Soma planned to study in Florida but changed his mind. He moved back to Budapest to study on the Diaspora Scholarship, where he could play more music and live closer to his roots.
University wasn’t what he expected. The classes didn’t inspire him, and he felt like the system was out of touch with the real world. What he did enjoy was teaching. He taught two students — Máté and Gyúszi — and it became the best part of his week. Teaching gave him purpose and freedom. His father told him, “If you ever have so many students that school gets in the way, then you can drop out.” Soma took that to heart. He knew he wanted to build something bigger — something that would bring back the true spirit of Táncház.
Vision
In the old days, people in Hungarian villages worked hard during the day. But when evening came, they didn’t watch TV — they went to the Táncház. They danced, sang, and played music together. If a boy liked a girl, he asked her to dance. People laughed, sang love songs, and forgot about their problems. Life was simple, but it was full of joy. Soma wants to bring that feeling back. Today, even in Budapest, many people go to bars or clubs instead. And even at Táncház events, some are afraid to sing or dance because they feel judged. Soma’s dream is to make real Táncház alive again — where the musicians play from the heart, the dancers move freely, and everyone feels welcome.
Tanchaz.com
Tanchaz.com is Soma’s way to make that dream come true. It will be an online school that connects teachers in Hungary with students in North America who want to learn folk music, singing, and dance. To later have many more Tanchazes, camps, and workshops. The goal is simple: to make folk culture alive and easy to learn, no matter where you live.
Some of Soma’s happiest memories come from camps like Erdélyi Népzenésztalálkozó, Válaszúti Tábor, and Csipke Tábor — where music and dance created lifelong friendships. He wants to build more places like that, both online and in person, for people who love this music. If you share that vision and want to help build it, reach out at somamagyar@yahoo.com and join the journey.