Zsofia Csikos-Tardy

Instructor of Jazz Voice

, MSC: 018

Zsofia Csikos-Tardy was born in Budapest, Hungary into a musician family to a conductor father and soprano mother. Her music education started with the cello at age five and later also the piano, and she continued her musical studies in both instruments for 12+ years.

Zsofia began singing solo on stage at age 4. Her multi-genre repertoire encompasses jazz standards and originals, classical oratorios, gospel, pop, and rock songs. She has been the lead soloist of classical and gospel choirs, big bands, pop- and jazz groups, performing at many jazz concerts and festivals around the country and in Europe. Being a versatile singer, during her time in Hungary, she regularly performed with symphonic and chamber orchestras, singing classical music. She also took part in recordings of different Hungarian pop- and rock CDs as lead and background vocalist, songwriter, lyricist, and vocal coach. 

Zsofia started teaching voice 25 years ago, and soon became a sought-after voice teacher and vocal coach in Hungary. She often held summer clinics all over the country. She moved from Budapest to Portland in August 2015 with her husband, the jazz guitarist Attila Csikos and three almost-adult kids. She maintains a thriving home studio where she teaches both voice and piano.

Soon after her arrival, she started gigging out with her voice-guitar jazz duo “2-in-1” and jazz quartet “Zsofia Tardy’s Hung-lish Project.” Soon she gained recognition in the Portland jazz music scene as ‘a deeply passionate and skilled’ jazz singer. Nowadays she regularly plays with local musicians like Mike Horsfall, John Moak, Ron Steen, Steve Christofferson, Perry Thorsell, Laura Cunard, Christopher Woitach, Kevin Dietz, Dennis Caiazza, Dave and Annie Averre, Randy Porter, David Watson, Kerry McCoy, Mike Snyder, Gordon Lee, Tom Grant, and many others.

Zsofia received her BM and MM at the prestigious Liszt Academy of Music Budapest, Hungary. She has taught at Western Oregon University, and through WOU she was a guest professor in Nanning, China in 2017 and 2018.