About us
Behind the Scenes
Throughout the course of their exciting journey as a group, the members of YekDuy have won over the hearts of music lovers across the globe. Performing at a variety of venues and making countless public appearances, this talented Music+Band has earned the admiration and affection of critics and fans alike. Read on to learn more about them.
Kallai Janos
Janos comes from a musical family. His parents are professional musicians playing the saxophone, guitar and cimbalom. He has followed in their footsteps playing the cimbalom (dulcimer).
His talent was spotted early, and in 2006 he was accepted into the prestigious Rajko school where he studied for 8 years. The Rajko school is well known for rigorous training and crossover studies from classical, jazz and Roma styles, he was lucky enough to study jazz with Kalman Cseki and Otto Okros.
Janos played with the Rajko Gipsy Orchestra for 10 years, as a soloist on many occasions. He has also played with the Budapest Gypsy Orchestra - 100 Tagu Ciganzyenekar, on numerous occasions.
Janos has a wide-ranging repertoire from traditional Hungarian, Romanian folk and Balkan music. He recently played with the Hillingdon Philharmonic Orchestra, taking centre stage in Kodaly’s Hary Suite. His improvisation skills and virtuoso style are a pleasure to experience.
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Lori Secanska
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Lori Secanska is a professional singer of Slovak origin. She currently lives in London where she collaborates with many music projects. In addition to performances, she has worked in the recording studio on many albums and film scores. Her unique style is influenced by world music and she is known for her raw emotional style of singing.
Lori Secanska performed at various international festivals and venues, such as Southbank Centre, Union Chapel, St James Theatre, The Forge, Conway Hall, Magic Garden, Green Note, Hootenanny, Jamboree, St Ethelburga's Centre and festivals, such as Meltdown Festival UK, Pohoda Festival(Slovakia), Ealing Jazz Festival 2015 and Vortex Outdoors Festival.
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Andras Lovaszi
Andras started his musical journey early and his passion for music began at 6 years of age. He started playing the clarinet before falling in love with the double bass. He has played with a variety of bands in Hungary and the UK and equally enjoys playing Hungarian folklore, Romani, and Klezmer music.
He studied to become a luthier in Budapest before moving to London in 2014 to follow his dreams and become a successful double bass maker.
He plays double bass with YekDuy and divides his time between his double bass workshop and playing on many stages across the UK and Europe.
His love of his instrument is evident in his expressive and joyful playing
He lives with his wife and 2 beautiful children in London.
Krisztina Gyura
Krisz studied at the Bela Bartok Music Institute, University of Miskolc in Hungary and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She is a classically trained violist and chamber musician.
She has played with various groups, string quartets and orchestras including the North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra and has toured across Europe and twice won the Niveau Prize for Chamber Music performance in Debrecen.
She was moved and inspired when she first heard music from Kalotaszeg and after studying with some well-known kontra players from Hungary and Transylvania she was invited to join the London based Hungarian folk band KOntraband. Followed by another London based traditional band - Beskydy, where she plays 3 and 4 strings viola and kontra.
Krisz is an extremely versatile player. Enjoys playing in all genres and has played in some of the most famous venues, notably with Emeli Sande at the Royal Albert Hall, Bastille BBC, and the Alan Carr Show on BBC.
Krisz divides her time between Hungary and London where she lives with her husband Rudi.
Rudolf Toni
Rudolf Toni (Rudi) is the youngest member of three generations of a famous Kontra player dynasty from Kalotaszeg,Transylvania.
Kalotaszeg has a strong tradition of music, it is part of everyday life and is famous for its beautiful melodies and folklore dancing.
Rudi started playing music from an early age, starting with the guitar and very soon moving on to the Kontra, following in his fathers footsteps. Family and tradition are very important to him
Rudi has toured around Europe with Fodor Sandor ‘Neti’, the Csuros, the Mera Gipsy and the Nadar Gipsy band for over 15 years. He is an all-rounder, plays kontra, bass and guitar and is happiest when performing the music of his ancestors on stage.
He divides his time between Hungary and London where he lives with his musician wife Krisz.