Three UCLA musicians clutched their string instruments and bows. In the Mojave tent, a few improvised notes echoed from their instruments during the sound check.
The notes sounded different than the electronic and alternative sounds that pervaded the Coachella stages.
Classically trained UCLA musicians – Camille Miller, Julien Altmann and Eric Lee – performed their string instruments with alternative duo Strangers You Know on April 16 and April 23 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Making their Coachella debut, the three musicians joined the band for the song “Used,” improvising the string parts.
“We’re going to bring out real musicians,” said Adam Haagen, half of the duo, as he introduced the musicians to the Mojave tent crowd.
Miller, Altmann and Lee walked out to a cheering crowd and then stood in place, more comfortable after playing in weekend one, said Lee, a UCLA alumnus and cello player.
Strangers You Know singer Grady Lee waved his hands like a conductor, and the three musicians played a dramatic orchestral introduction. They then ripped into “Used,” coordinating their improvisation with each other and the band.
“We vibed with (the audience) very well,” Eric Lee said.
The string performers brought the song to life, Grady Lee said, after he invited the classical musicians to the performance. He envisioned the performance as one that would maintain the original format but give the three musicians creative liberty.
Haagen said the song was built from a minimalist, bass-heavy track to an orchestral arrangement with the addition of the string instruments.
“It’s beautiful when we can actually bring up and create an entire sound (with) this whole orchestra from scratch,” Haagen said.
The trio’s Coachella show was not set up as a classical performance, said Miller, a fourth-year violin performance student. Though they were used to reading music in front of quiet audiences in classical performances, they were free to improvise in front of the loud Coachella crowd.
They wanted to portray themselves as classical musicians with an orchestral introduction, Eric Lee said. But when the song came on, they wanted to be seen as a band rather than classical musicians.
The three musicians gathered before the show to rehearse for an hour. In the trailer, ideas bounced back and forth within the trio. They were not nervous to perform in front of the Coachella crowd, as Altmann, a third-year viola performance student, said they had played and rehearsed the song enough times with the band and individually to be comfortable with the piece and improvise during the performance.
Playing at Coachella was an opportunity they couldn’t say no to.
In March, Grady Lee asked his childhood friend Miller to perform with him at his band’s Coachella debut. Miller, whose violin performances were featured on the band’s records, responded with enthusiasm.
“When he asked to play, it was obviously like, ‘Whoa,’” Miller said. “Really, that was super great because he’s been so supportive.”
Miller then called Altmann and Eric Lee to ask them to join her for the show. Altmann was in a viola lesson in Schoenberg Hall, while Lee was driving.
After agreeing, Altmann hung up his phone and jumped around in excitement. For him, playing at Coachella was an opportunity to experience being a performer who sings for a dancing crowd.
Eric Lee, who said he wouldn’t go to Coachella until he could perform there, said seeing different artists perform at Coachella has motivated him to work harder as a musician.
“They started out like us and actually made it … and I also thought I’m not far off,” Eric Lee said.
Miller was excited to see the audience reaction when Strangers You Know introduced to them to the Coachella crowd. The audience of the Mojave tent responded with loud cheers.
“That’s so important today, especially for classical musicians and bridging it into something that’s more mainstream and trying to get it to be a more mainstream thing that people can appreciate,” Miller said.