Szabolcs Joó currently plays timpani with the Hungarian National Philharmonic and teaches percussion at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music.
He has earned top placings in numerous competitions in Belgium, the Czech Republic and
Hungary, and previously won the Annie Fischer Scholarship. He is currently on an MMA
scholarship until 2029.
An active chamber musician, he has partnered in recent years with Zoltán Kocsis, Renaud
Capuçon, Clemens Hagen, Kirill Gerstein, Víkingur Ólaffson, Dezső Ránki and Barnabás
Kelemen. He has appeared as a soloist with the Hunstville Symphony Orchestra in the
United States, the Pannon Philharmonic, the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra, the Hungarian
Defence Forces Central Band, the Liszt Academy Orchestra, the Győr Symphonic Band,
and the Hungarian National Philharmonic. He is also a member of the FAB Ensemble.
In 2015, the members of the Hungarian National Philharmonic elected him Orchestral
Musician of the Year. In 2021, he received a special award from the rector of the Liszt
Academy.
On the occasion of Hungary’s national holiday on 15 March 2026, he was awarded the
Hungarian Silver Cross of Merit (Civil Division) in recognition of his high-quality and
exemplary work.