Gergely Kiss thinks you can save the world through music. First of all, that’s pronounced “Guerguey” for those of you who speak Spanish, and definitely not “Gurgully” for the rest of you. And second, he means it. Coming from Hungary and having a deep interest in what he loosely describes as “Balkans music,” he sees a genre with “breathtakingly fast” tempos as the solution to all our problems. And when you’re talking to a guy who actually has his food brought to him at WesWings lest the announcer mispronounce his name, who are you to disagree?
KR: What do you think makes you qualified to be a WesCeleb?
GK: I don’t think anything makes me a candidate for a WesCeleb. I always thought WesCelebs were people who were well-known on campus. Well, I’m the only person from Hungary on campus.
KR: I’ve heard the story of how you got from Hungary to here is interesting. Is there a short version?
GK: I spent two years in Wales before coming here, at a place called United World College of the Atlantic, which is an international school that offers two years of pre-college education and gives you an International Baccalaureate. When I came to Wales I had the chance to study music, which wasn’t really an option in Hungary. My guidance counselor was very enthusiastic about Wesleyan.
KR: Did you want to go to school in the U.S.?
GK: When I left Hungary I was 100 percent sure I would go back. But staying away from home for two years and losing contact with your old high school friends and making new friends, after a while your perspective changes.
KR: So what have you done since you’ve been here?
GK: I became a music major. When I came here I wanted to double major, Earth and Environmental Studies and music, but I am genuinely, truly, honestly, deeply, deeply lazy, so I didn’t get to do it.
KR: What kind of music is it that you’re so passionate about?
GK: I usually describe it as Balkans. Just think about the general area of Balkans, Middle East, pretty much all the way to Pakistan. Every kind of musical influence comes together in Balkans music. Nowadays it’s getting bigger. I think sooner or later it’s going to get to the point where Afro-Cuban music was around Buena Vista Social Club.
KR: And you perform this music too?
GK: Yeah. That’s what I’m planning to do for my senior recital. It’s in a very early stage right now. I still have to write out parts.
KR: Do you want to go into this music after graduation?
GK: That would be the dream. I applied to a few grad schools, but in case I don’t get in, which is a possibility, I would track down a Gypsy Bulgarian saxophone player who would maybe teach me the way. [I express disbelief that such a person actually exists] It’s actually a pretty wide demographic.
KR: How would you describe this kind of music for people who are interested in it?
GK: It’s very exciting mix of jazz influence and old Balkan folk music. The area has been in a constant state of war, and if people would pay more attention to the music it would be a solution to the problems between them. The music is absolutely international. The more diverse it is the better it sounds.
KR: So are we saving the world through music here?
GK: That would be the ultimate goal, but it’s way, way too idealistic and way, way too irrational. If you go to college you have to have some kind of scheme in mind how you would like to contribute to the general well-being. It would be very difficult. On a local level in Hungary it would be possible. In the area, pretty much every country hates its neighbors. In Hungary there is strong aggression against Romania. It would be good to bring Romanian music to Hungary and vice-versa.
KR: Are you having second-semester senior year freakouts?
GK: Of course. It’s probably the same for every other senior who isn’t Superman, but I didn’t write a single page [of my thesis] over winter break. I still have 60 more pages to write.
KR: Do you have anything that you want to do before graduation?
GK: I haven’t been to the naked party. That’s one thing that might be unique to Wesleyan. You might not get the chance to do that again.
[We start talking about the senior experience, and Gergely explains the pros and cons of living in Fauver]
When you’re a senior you just want to sit on your porch, smoke your pipe and play your banjo. That’s the American dream for me, and it didn’t come true.
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