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About us

I have been making instruments since 1990. I am almost exclusively involved in making hurdy-gurdies, from which more than 250 instruments were made by 2006. I learned the profession at the Musical Instrument Makers’ School in Budapest between 1990 and 1992. As to my vocational degree, I am an instrument maker for stringed and plucked instruments.

However, my activities as a performing artist and folk music researcher have driven me towards the folk music instruments from the very beginning on.

Master of Folk Arts Mr. Mihály Bársony from whom I learned quite a lot died in 1989, and I have been taking care of his heritage ever since which is considered as a real ethnographical speciality. After Uncle Mihály’s death it was obvious that I would specialize in making hurdy-gurdies. In 1992 we founded together with my father the Tekerő Kft (Hurdy-Gurdy Ltd.) and we started a large-scale work. I modernized the structure of the Hungarian hurdy-gurdy, searched for and applied the archaic instrument shapes and decoration motives. This work finally resulted in the development of the style by which a Szerényi hurdy-gurdy is immediately recognizable, be it a Hungarian type, an historical model, or an instrument with a modern shape. In my istruments one can find my master mark which I inherited from my great-grandfather. Moreover each instrument is provided with the jury number of the Secretariate of Folk Crafts and Arts.
In 1993 I was rewarded with the titel of Young Master of Folk Arts as an instrument maker, and I have been working as a Folk Artist-Craftsman since 1994. In 2004 I obtained my master diploma, the peculiarity of which is that probably I am the only master instrument maker in the world who took his examination in hurdy-gurdy making.

In the beginning of 2006, I received the award of Silver Diploma for making my 250. hurdy-gurdy.

Early in the year I established a new workshop for the preparation of timber. The shop is equipped with heavy-duty industrial machines, so beside backin up my own activity, I can accomplish the ideas of my colleauge instrument-makers, artisans, or interior designers.