The Lajos Vass Hungarian Teachers’ Choir from Slovakia was formed in November 1964, under the name Central Hungarian Teachers’ Choir from Czechoslovakia (CHTCCZ), thanks to the persistent work of Jenő Szíjjártó, a composer awarded the Hungarian Heritage Prize. From the very beginning he was assisted in building up and training the choir by Tibor Ág, László Schleicher, and Iván Janda. A few years after the choir was formed, Jenő Szíjjártó had to relinquish leadership (for political reasons). His place was taken by Lajos Vass, who as guest conductor determined the choir’s musical profile until his death in 1992. He was followed by László Tamási from Debrecen, then Ferenc Sapszon snr., Árpád Tóth, and Balázs Stauróczky. Since 2019 the choir’s guest conductor has been Zoltán Kocsis-Holper. In November 1994 at its jubiliee concert, the CHTCCZ took on the name Lajos Vass Hungarian Teachers’ Choir from Slovakia. The ensemble’s artistic director until 2006 was Iván Janda, who was followed in the post by Mónika Józsa.

During the 57 years of the choir’s existence, it has had many successes at home and abroad. It is of outstanding quality in its own category, as proven by several awards (Pro Cultura Hungarica prize, 2000; Esterházy Memorial Medal, 2009; Prize of the Alliance of Hungarian Choirs, Orchestras, and Folk Music Ensembles [KÓTA], 2009; Harmónia Prize, 2015). Their programming is marked by diversity: the repertoire includes classical works by Hungarian composers and masterpieces of the international choral repertoire.

The members of the choir are mostly Hungarian teachers from Slovakia, who meet one weekend a month in the place where they are due to perform, or nearby. The artistic director of the choir is Mónika Józsa, a teacher at the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, and an honorary member of the Hungarian Kodály Society. The guest conductor is Zoltán Kocsis-Holper, leading conductor of the Kodály Choir Debrecen, and artistic director of Choir Spontánusz in Sopron. The repetiteur and assistant conductor is Dániel Szűcs, conductor of the Lajos Vass Choir of the Vasas Art Ensemble Foundation.