Katica Illényi

Katica Illényi has received Hungary's highest music awards. At the age of 14, she was accepted into the "special talents" class at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Her teacher was Dénes Kovács. She graduated from the Béla Bartók Secondary Music School. While still in college, she played in the orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera and the Erkel Theatre. In 1991, she received a master's degree in violin from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music.

Already in her early years, she performed in productions and musicals in which the violin played a very important role. As a newly graduated violinist, she began to attend singing, acting and tap lessons. At the same time, she became acquainted with jazz and world music. From 1996 to 2002, she was a singer and violinist of the Budapest Klezmer Band. She organizes concerts, one-woman shows (each year with a new repertoire), mixes classical pieces, jazz and easy music. Her concerts feature gems of classical music, film soundtracks, jazz and Broadway melodies.

She presented the mysterious theremin to audiences on January 4, 2014, an instrument that needn’t be touched when played. Of the few theremin players in the world, Katica is the only Hungarian artist to play this instrument in concert.

Since 2014, she has been a member of the music department of the Hungarian Academy of Arts.