“I went on stage with a fever, but by the end of the concert all my troubles were gone. That’s how music affects me.” – Interview with Peter Poszt.
As Kodály famously said, „Music belongs to everyone.” But listening to our young colleague, we feel that all music belongs to him… How a carpentry student becomes a lover of Latin music and what drives someone who has been saving for a decade and a half to buy his dream drum set, is what Peter Poszt from the Cutting Team narrated to us.
Peter, where does your passion for music and drums come from?
I was already a music student in primary school, and I started playing the drums in the Dunaújváros Music School at the age of 11, at the suggestion of my teacher. After eighth grade I studied carpentry, but I remained a student at the Sándor Frigyes School of Arts. My most memorable experience here was the two years I spent studying with Tamás Berdisz, the country’s most outstanding jazz drummer. He made me a “musical omnivore”, not only in listening to music, but also in the choice of instruments.
Even omnivores have their favorites! Which genre and which instrument are closest to you?
Apart from funky, soul and jazz, Latin music is everything to me, which is why the conga is the instrument I play most often, alongside the drums. The drum has been my passion for 30 years and I am very happy that after 15 years of hard work, I have created a complex drum set that can stand up on any stage. Over the last three decades I have tried out quite a few percussion instruments, many of which I still use regularly. My most recent favorites are the Cajon (pronounced kahon – a wooden, box-shaped, percussion instrument) and the steel instrument called the hang, with its soothing frequency. I am always amazed at the emotions its sound can evoke in people.
Is the music you play that diverse?
With my first band, with Jambon we played Latin music, and then came the rap group Rodinia, with whom we later played alternative rock music. The interesting thing is that at the same time, in 1993, I joined the band Ladik, with whom we have been playing Christian popular music ever since. I am involved in two acoustic formations, Silver Garden and Acoustic, as a conga player for the bands, the former with a sound similar to Irish pub music, the latter more of a pop style. But my heart is in the Aranyudvar Mesezenekar (Golden Yard Fairy Tale Orchestra), where we perform our own children’s songs in an interactive way for the little ones. Well, yes, I suppose that’s quite diverse, but it’s the variety that makes me love every moment of making music. Once there was an occasion when I went on stage with a fever, but by the end of the concert all my troubles were gone. That’s how music works for me.
What are your plans for music in the future?
I would be happy to teach young people to play the drums and I would also be happy to perform my own conga show at city events, corporate or family events, if invited. I always strive to convey my passion for music in a way that is understandable and palpable; based on the feedback that I receive, I am fortunate that I am able to do this most of the time.
