Alumna Writes Theme Song for International Swimming Championships

Alumna Kata Kozma’s song for the FINA Swimming World Championships, “We Are the Water,” cowritten by fellow Hungarian songwriters Szandra Iván ‘15 and Áron Sebestyén, and engineered by Jett Galindo B.M. ‘12 at the Bakery in Los Angeles, debuted on YouTube July 13 and already has more than 119,000 views.

July 21, 2017

For the second time in almost as many years, alumna Kata Kozma B.M. ‘11 is providing the music for an international competition in her native Hungary. In 2014, Kozma was the music director for that year’s Miss Universe pageant in Budapest. This month, she won a national competition to provide the theme music for the FINA Swimming World Championships, which are being held from July 14 to 30 on and around the Danube River.

Kozma’s song, “We Are the Water,” cowritten by fellow Hungarian songwriters Szandra Iván ‘15 and Áron Sebestyén, and engineered by Jett Galindo B.M. ‘12 at the Bakery in Los Angeles, debuted on YouTube July 13 and already has more than 119,000 views. Vocalist Tamás Veréb, winner of Hungarian music talent show Sztárban Sztár, sings on the track. 

“We were inspired by the power and texture of water, by the incredibly strong drive the swimmers have inside, by Budapest, the Danube…(and) the energy of the crowd,” Kozma, who majored in jazz piano performance and professional music, said.

FINA chose Kozma, Iván, and Sebestyén’s song after putting out a call for new compositions in both Hungarian and English that feature Budapest, water, swimming, and the concepts of fair play and the love of sports.

Watch the video for "We Are the Water":