Peter Nagy was born on 9 April 1959 in Prešov and is one of the most successful singers of Slovak popular music of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. After graduating from the Gymnasium of Ján Adam Rayman in Prešov, he graduated from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Performing Arts in Košice.
The first successful song with which Peter Nagy came to the public's attention was the song „Professor Indigo“. He recorded it in August 1982 in the studio of Košice Radio together with guitarist Karl Witz, who later collaborated with the bands Modus and Collegium musicum. The composition was released a year later. In 1982-1983 Nagy completed military basic service as a vocalist in the Military Art Ensemble in Bratislava, where he founded his first professional music group called Indigo. During this period he was offered to sing with the group Modus.
After the release of their third album Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking? Peter Nagy received the Golden Crest of Opus from the then director of the Opus label Ivan Stanislav for selling the millionth record. Among the most successful songs of this album was the song „Love is here with you“, which won three times in the Triangel TV hit parade. In 1987, at the time of its fourth anniversary, Peter Nagy and his band Indigo had performed over 500 concerts, two of which were played in front of a sold-out Prague's Lucerna.
Since the second half of the 1980s, Peter Nagy has also been involved in unique children's album projects aimed at discovering young singing talents. The first of a series of these albums was the title Peter, Vašo and Beáta for Children, which he prepared with Beata Dubasová and Vasa Patejdl. In the first half of the 1990s, Peter Nagy hosted the youth show Fany on Slovak Television.
Source: https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Nagy
Photo source: By User:Richenza - File:Peter Nagy (20).jpg, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58069418
Peter Lipa was born on 30 May 1943 in Prešov and from a young age he showed a deep passion for music. He began to learn the violin at the age of twelve and later added the trumpet, trombone and guitar to his skills. After graduating from high school in Prešov, he studied at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava and later worked as an editor at Czechoslovak Radio. Between 1975 and 1976 he completed postgraduate studies in journalism at Comenius University.
His musical journey began in the early 1960s with the Strings, followed by Istropilana, Blues Five, Gustáv Offerman Orchestra, Revival Jazz Band, T+R Band and Lipa Andršt Blues Band. With the Blues Five he won the Discovery of the Festival Award at the 2nd Beat Festival in Prague in 1968. Throughout his career, he has actively collaborated with pianists, the instrument he finds most compatible with his voice. His musical partners were Ladislav Gerhard, Milan Svoboda, Gabriel Jonáš, Emil Viklický, Peter Breiner, Boris Urbánek, Juraj Tatár, Pavol Bodnár and his son Peter Lipa Jr.
In 1978 he founded his own band Combo, which evolved into today's Peter Lipa Band. Over the years he has been involved in many short and long term collaborations including current projects such as the Visegrad Blues Band, EU4 and Traditional Club. He was the first artist in Slovakia to introduce the Slovak language into jazz. He draws on the natural rhythm of the language and transforms it into musical phrasing. His repertoire ranges from traditional melodies and swing standards to modern jazz.
In 1990, the Slovak Jazz Society was founded, with Peter Lipa as its founding president, a position he still holds today. Over the years he has performed on all continents. Although most of his songs have been recorded and released, it is a strange fact that due to communist censorship his debut album was released only in his 40th year of life. One of the most unforgettable moments in his musical career was a spontaneous duet with Bobby McFerrin, who invited him on stage at the end of his concert in Bratislava in 1986.
Source: Peter Lipa (Online: https://www.peterlipa.com/en/biography/)
Photo sourceAuthor: Jindřich Nosek (NoJin) - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115005958
Dr. h. c. prof. Peter Kónya, PhD (* August 20, 1966, Prešov, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak university professor, historian and academic official. He works at the Institute of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Prešov. He has been the Rector of the University of Prešov since 1 August 2015.
His long-term scientific research focuses on the history of the anti-Habsburg uprisings in Hungary and their impact on the free royal towns of the Upper Hungary (Prešov Blood Trial of 1687, Prešov, Bardejov, Sabinov during the Counter-Reformation and the anti-Habsburg uprisings (1670 - 1711), For God's Fatherland and Freedom. The turbulent fate of the Kuruc general Juraj Ottlyk). He also researches the issues of Reformation and Recatholization and the history of the Evangelical Church a.v.,He was the compiler and author of several scientific collections, monographs and editions of sources on the subject (Counter-Reformation, Recatholization and Catholic Reformation, Three Lutheran Confessions of Faith from Hungary, Leonard Stöckel and the Reformation in Central Europe, Confessionalization in Slovakia in the 16th-18th centuries).
His research interest is also focused on the research of regional history, where he was the author and compiler of many histories of villages and towns in eastern Slovakia (History of Sabinov, History of Sobraniec, History of Kráľovský Chlmec, History of the village of Soľ). He is the compiler and co-author of the university textbook History of Hungary (1000 - 1918).
Awards:
1st Dean's Award of the Faculty of Arts PU (2001, 2010)
2. Jozef Miloslav Hurban Prize for biographical and dictionary literature (2010),
3. Award of the Slovak Historical Society at the Slovak Academy of Sciences (2011)
4. Medal of the Debrecen Branch of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Pro Cooperatione.
Source: https://www.unipo.sk/filozoficka-fakulta/instituty-fakulty/ih-new/ludia/profesori/30976
Photo source: Author: University of Presov - https://www.unipo.sk/informacie-o-univerzite/organy/oas/rektor/, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85891316
Mgr. Michal Hudák was born on 27 June 1969 in Prešov and is of Rusyn nationality. He graduated from primary school and high school in Ukrainian language. In his childhood he worked in radio and amateur theatre. In his teenage years he also performed in the Ukrainian National Theatre in Presov (today's Alexander Duchnovich Theatre).
He decided to study acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. In 1987 he successfully passed the entrance interviews, but eventually went to study acting at the Kiev Institute of Theatre Arts. Where his brother Sergei also studied. After four years he returned as a theatre and film actor. He got an engagement at the Alexander Duchnovich Theatre in Prešov. He also worked in Flash radio in Prešov.
He first appeared on television in the Slovak Television's competition show Správny klucz and later in the show Varím varíš varíme. Currently he prepares trailers for JOJ TV, works in dubbing and reads commentaries for documentaries. On JOJ he hosted the shows Girl for a Million and the reality show VyVolení. In RTVS he hosted the shows Phenomenon and Phenomenon Junior. He also performs with the country and bluegrass band Žobráci, where he plays mandolin. He is divorced, has sons Simon and Hugo and also a daughter Eva.
He starred in the TV series The Professionals and Panelák. Currently, he often appears in the show Incognito alongside another friend and fellow Russian, Marian Čekovský.
Source: https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michal_Hudák
Photo source: By Pavol Frešo - flickr.com, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18192226
Marcel Merčiak was born on 31 August 1975 in Prešov. After graduating from the Gymnasium on Tarasa Ševčenka Street (today's Gymnasium Jan Adam Rayman) in Prešov, he started studying journalism at the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University in Bratislava in 1993. After graduating with a Master's degree, he became an employee of Slovak Television on 1 July 1997, where he commentates on sports broadcasts (mainly football or biathlon).
From 1996 to 2024, he participated in all fifteen Olympic Games (8 Summer and 7 Winter). In his admirable professional statistics stand out the records of commentating matches at seven World Cups and seven European Championships in football, 12 times he commentated the Champions League final.
After the establishment of RTVS in January 2011, the management of Director General Václav Mika entrusted him with the management of the RTVS Sports Department. He served in this position of the Sports Editor-in-Chief for 4 years and 11 months (from 1 February 2013 to the end of 2017). In 2021, he was given the position of Programme Head of the Sport circuit in the public media.
He is a winner of the Zivot Weekly Award, winner of the Gab Zelenay Award from the Union of Slovak Journalists, 13-time winner of the OTO poll (3 times in the category of sports presenter, 8 times in the category of sports commentator and twice „Absolute OTO“). In 2014, the management of the then RTVS entrusted him with the moderation of the knowledge competition-entertainment show „What I Know“. Since 2013, he has been a member of the Sports Commission of the prestigious Crystal Wing Awards. Marcel Merciak has grown into an integrated journalistic personality, a true professional.
In addition to his television work, the great journalist has also become a freelance contributor to the online daily Standard, where he enriches readers with his commentaries, insights and interviews with famous athletes.
Source: https://www.stvr.sk/historia/osobnosti/marcel-merciak
Photo source: Author: the Bratislava County from Bratislava, Slovakia - Crystal Wing 2016, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46672694
Katarína Koščová, pop and jazz singer, native of Prešov. She studied philosophy and aesthetics at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prešov.
In 2005 she became the winner of the first series of Slovakia Searches for SuperStar. With her band, which includes Michal Brandys (acoustic guitar, violin), Daniel Špiner (keyboards), Viliam Cicoň (bass guitar) and Miroslav Szirmai (percussion), she performs in clubs and at literary events, and her collaboration with the band Neřež has also become successful.
He has several solo albums to his credit, such as We don't know each other yet (2005), Naboso (2006), Unshakeable (2009), Christmas Eve (2012), Windowed (2014). Also with Veronika Husovská and Martin Husovský she published CD Lullabies (2009).
Source: hc.sk
Photo sourceAuthor: Pavol Frešo - flickr.com, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59741755
Katarína Knechtová is a Slovak singer, composer, lyricist, as well as pianist, guitarist and drummer. She comes from Prešov, graduated from the Gymnasium of Jan Adam Rayman and also graduated from the Folk Art School in piano and sang in the ensemble Prešovchčatá .
At the age of fifteen she started her musical career in the band IMT Smile. The then seventeen-year-old Ivan Tásler, the leader of the band, was interested in her during her studies at the Prešov gymnasium and offered her a position as a vocalist. Soon after, the group set off on a major Czechoslovak tour as the support act for the legendary Olympik .
In 1997 he founded a new band Peha with drummer Martin Migas and guitarist Karel Sivak. The success is immediate and the song „Remote Control“ becomes the most played song in Slovakia. Aurel for 2005 became a triumph for Peha, where they won four awards: best singer, best group, best song „Za tebou“ and best album.
Knechtová left Peha in 2008 and embarked on a solo career. For the film BATHORY by Juraj Jakubisko, she composed the song „Muoj Bože“ , inspired by medieval psalms and partly in Old Slavonic, in 2007. Jakubisko directed a music video for the song with Katarina. The song was extremely popular, winning Slovak music charts and winning the prestigious Aurel award for the best song of the year. Despite this, it was not included in the final film.
In addition to concerts in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Katarína has also composed film music, for example for the film ISABEL and the student film ZEM JE GUĽATÁ (THE EARTH IS GULATÁ). Her dream project was to found a girl group The Cubes, but she did not sing in it. In her own words, she founded it so that she could play drums in it. The group released an album and a music video of the same name „Tomorrow“ in 2012. The Cubes supported the band Garbage and Knechtova herself supported the Cranberries and Depeche Mode at concerts in Bratislava and Prague. .
Katarína has received numerous awards, such as the Aurel and OTO awards for the best singer of the year, or the Silver Nightingales. Apart from her music, she also likes to experiment with her appearance and often surprises especially with the colour and length of her hair. Although her latest album has an English version, she prefers Slovak in her work, is involved in projects to promote Slovak products and still lives in her native Prešov.
Source: https://www.csfd.sk/tvorca/101063-katarina-knechtova/biografia/
Photo source: By Fishfrog - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29706592
Juraj Kukura was born on 15 March 1947 in Prešov. After graduating from the construction industry school in Bratislava, he studied acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. He started out in the Korze Theatre, later in the New Stage, and from 1976 to 1984 he worked in the Drama Theatre of the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava until he left for Germany. At the beginning he performed at the Kammerspiele in Munich, later in Basel, Bonn and since 1985 at the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, where he still lives today.
In 2002 he became the director of the Bratislava Aréna Theatre. He is married and has one son. He is one of the most popular theatre and television actors in Germany. He has starred in several episodes of the series Crime Scene, in the series Via Mala, Hotel Raj Helicops, Kobra 11.
Awards:
- For his performance as Martin in The Goat or Who is Sylvia, he was awarded the 2004 Slabs Award for Best Actor in a Play.
- For his leading role in the Prague Drama Club's production of The Brothers Karamazov, he won the prestigious Divadelních noviny award for the best acting performance of the 2014/2015 season, which is awarded regardless of genre.
- For his performance as Fyodor Karamazov he was nominated for the annual Thalia Award of the Czech Actors' Association and for the Theatre Critics' Award 2015, awarded by the renowned Czech magazine Svět a divadlo (World and Theatre).
- In 2017, he received the Medal of Merit from Czech President Miloš Zeman.
- In 2025, President Peter Pellegrini awarded him the Pribina Cross of the First Class - for exceptional merits for the cultural development of the Slovak Republic.
Source: https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juraj_Kukura
Photo source: Author: Pavol Frešo - flickr.com, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40943290
Ivan Tásler was born on 16 July 1979 in Prešov, where he attended the People's School of Arts for ten years. From 1993 to 1997 he graduated from the Jan Adam Rayman Gymnasium in Prešov and continued his studies at the Orthodox Faculty of the University of Prešov, where he completed two semesters of theology.
His father Miroslav Tásler Sr. is a musician who has performed in the Beatmakers, Roams, Nálada and other bands, while his brother Miro is also a musician. And so in Ivan, musical talent won out over a career as a priest, and after the formation of IMT Smile, the group of two brothers was followed by other big names such as Katka Knechtová, Marián Čekovský, Oskar Rózsa, Marcel Buntaj and Martin Valihora, among others.
In 2019, IMT Smile was awarded the Crystal Wing in the category of popular music, as they have already released almost twenty LP records in over thirty years of existence, along with five concert albums and several compilations and collaborations with other musicians, such as Richard Müller and Czech legend Janek Ledecky. Ivan Tásler has received numerous awards for his work, both from SOZA, Aurel and several Nightingale awards.
Source: https://www.stvr.sk/novinky/osobnosti/370023/ivan-tasler-ma-45-rokov-studium-teologie-vymenil-za-usmev-ktory-mu-priniesol-uspech
Photo source: Author: the Bratislava County from Bratislava, Slovakia - Music of Europe on Devín, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55873854
