Ellen Key first fell in love with the viola in fourth grade and instantly knew she would never stop playing. But she never imagined that her future repertoire would include less Beethoven and more World of Warcraft. Read more...
Photo: Second-year civil engineering student Ellen Key plays viola for the Game Music Ensemble at UCLA. She and the ensemble are preparing for their upcoming concert “Leveled Up” on May 8 in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom. (Zoe Hessler/Daily Bruin)
Matisyahu draws from the Jewish philosophical ideas found in the Torah and Kabbalah for inspiration when shaping his music. When performing the music, the Grammy-nominated reggae artist said he tries to create an environment in which his audience can connect with their own psyche, emotions and intellect. Read more...
Photo: Reggae artist Matisyahu and special guest Nadim Azzam are performing at college campuses, including UCLA, to encourage conversation between Muslim and Jewish students. (Courtesy of Chris Townsend)
Japanese trio Perfume doesn’t look like it would be an electronic dance music group. The girl group’s doll-like aesthetic is sharply juxtaposed with futuristic beats, creating an effect of a delicate comet that does not look dangerous but still burns through the night sky. Read more...
Photo: (Courtesy of Universal Music Japan)
Nine-year-old A.J. Racy would often make small flutes out of the reeds growing a short distance away from his family’s home. He would cut suitable reeds from the garden and dry them, turning them from green to a light brown. Read more...
Photo: Ethnomusicology professor A.J. Racy plays and studies the nay, a reed flute popular in Arab music. To Racy, the nay’s popularity in Arab music stems from its ability to transport the listener to a state called tarab, which means musical ecstasy. Racy was exposed to music as he grew up in a small, rural village in southern Lebanon. (Anthony Tran/Daily Bruin)
The audience paused for a brief moment before rising to its feet in a standing ovation for the musicians of VEM Quartet and their mezzo-soprano, Danielle Bayne. Read more...
Photo: UCLA graduate musicians performed a piece by Tigran Mansurian (middle), an Armenian classical composer, on a trip to Armenia. They performed for audiences at the Komitas Museum and Komitas Chamber Music Hall in the capital city of Yerevan. (Courtesy of Movses Pogossian)
When Georgia Broughton decided to learn the Scottish fiddle, she went straight to Scotland. This was the farthest she had ever traveled alone, and she did not know what to expect in an unfamiliar land. Read more...
Photo: UCLA graduate student Georgia Broughton learned to play the Scottish fiddle in Scotland, which she uses to explore the traditional music of her Scottish heritage. Broughton is also part of UCLA’s Irish Music Ensemble, where she learned how to play the Irish fiddle. (Pinkie Su/Daily Bruin)
When Zayn Malik announced his departure from One Direction last year, he said it was to pursue a quiet life as a normal 22-year-old. Since then, though, he has fought with collaborator Naughty Boy, engaged in his fair share of Twitter feuds with former bandmates and appeared on multiple magazine covers. Read more...
Photo: (RCA Records)
