Sufjan Stevens’ main musical projects come few and far between – only two appeared in the last decade: 2005’s state-centric “Illinois” and 2010’s electronically-minded “The Age of Adz.” But Stevens is no slacker, as shown by his expansive output of work in between studio albums, including rap collaborations, movie soundtracks and a few Christmas CDs. Read more...
Photo: (Asthmatic Kitty)
UCLA music lecturer Jeffrey Jampol has worked in the music industry for more than four decades and has spent 15 years developing and fine-tuning his course, “Music Business Now.” From watching the Sex Pistols at Winterland in 1978 to founding his own music-oriented JAM, Inc., he gained industry experience and connections which he now seeks to share with his students. Read more...
Photo: UCLA music lecturer Jeffrey Jampol created his course, “Music Business Now,” that focuses on finding success in the music industry. Producer Clive Davis will speak as a guest lecturer for the course on April 8. (Herb Alpert School of Music)
This spring holds not only Spring Sing and JazzReggae Festival but also the releases of new music from indie favorites Sufjan Stevens and Passion Pit, to JazzReggae Festival headliner Wale. Read more...
Every year, new artists emerge, ready to be Los Angeles’ next great musical discovery, making their rounds through small club tours across the city. Inspired by the hippie enclaves of Topanga, the backyard punk scene of East Los Angeles or the coastal grunge of Venice Beach, each act has its own distinct sound. Read more...
Photo: Michael Shuman (center) steps aside from his Queens of the Stone Age fame when performing with his side project, psychedelic pop trio Mini Mansions. (Courtesy of Mini Mansions)
India Carney stood in front of the turned chairs of Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton. Carney, a fourth-year music student with a concentration in voice performance and music director of UCLA’s a cappella group The ScatterTones, made an appearance on the Blind Auditions, which aired March 2 for Season 8 of NBC’s reality singing competition “The Voice.” Carney performed Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” garnering the interest of all four judges, who one by one, turned their chairs around to see Carney and exposed illuminated signs reading, “I want you.” “When all four of the judges turned around, I could not actually believe what I was seeing or even believe that I was in the situation I was in,” Carney said, whose blind audition has received over 710,000 views on YouTube. Read more...
Photo: On March 2, fourth-year music student India Carney successfully auditioned for “The Voice” and will compete in judge Christina Aguilera’s vocal team. (Alyssa Dorn/Daily Bruin)
When the final notes of Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece “Requiem” finished echoing through Milan’s San Marco church, ringing around the high-vaulted ceiling and rattling the baroque chandelier, there was an uncomfortable silence. Read more...
Photo: The UCLA Choral Union and UCLA Philharmonia will perform Giuseppe Verdi’s late 19th-century music composition “Requiem” at Royce Hall Saturday. The show will feature four UCLA alumni and graduate students as solo vocalists. (Daniel Alcazar/Daily Bruin)
An American man stands on stage, his body cloaked in a traditional red and gold Chinese robe, his head adorned with an extravagant headdress. The stark contrast between the actor’s origins and his role as a Chinese Peking opera performer highlights the two main messages Zhou Xiao Wei, a student of theater directing who goes by “Smile” said she wishes to convey in her play “Begonia” – the importance of sharing traditions and the combination of cultures. Read more...
Photo: Zhou Xiao Wei, graduate student in theater directing, wrote her play, “Begonia,” based off the Qin Shou’ou novels “Begonia” and “Mabel.” (Courtesy of Michael Lamont)
