College Library is usually thought of as a cold, sterile and
quiet place. As the quarter progresses, Bruins from both North and
South campus are turning to this central building as a prime place
to study for their midterms.
Thanks to the Powell Concert series, however, the study
environment will temporarily change as various student and faculty
musicians will be brought in to perform hour-long sets. The series
is a way to give musicians at UCLA an opportunity and venue for
displaying their talent.
The concerts are centered in the rotunda of the library, which
is the area with the high ceiling when you first enter through the
main doors.
“We typically have choral or quiet instrumental music
which works well with the Rotunda acoustics,” said Catherine
Brown, associate librarian and director of the concert series.
The series, which was started in 1998 as a quarterly event, will
kick off tomorrow with a classical acoustic guitar performance by
UCLA alumnus Payam Larijani. Larijani is honored to return to his
alma mater and excited to open the series that he remembers
attending while a student himself. Since leaving UCLA, he has been
in graduate school for commercial music at California State
University in Los Angeles.
“It made my day when they agreed to let me come play at
Powell,” Larijani said. “I’m looking forward to
setting the tone for the rest of the concert series.”
Larijani credits Professor Peter Yates with having the biggest
influence on him while studying here. He remembers his lessons as
being inspiring and his theories were those that could be applied
to everything in life. The education in classical guitar he
received here was perfect preparation for the work he is now doing
at CSULA.
Having picked up the guitar less than a decade ago, Larijani has
progressed quickly. He says the skills of playing came very easily
to him, probably because of his immense love for the
instrument.
“The guitar is much more direct than other
instruments,” Larijani said. “It has a distinctly
sensitive quality to it.”
Although it is Larijani’s dream to play in a popular rock
band, he does get to play with CSULA’s school group. Besides
that little side endeavor, most of the work he is doing there is
very practical and geared toward training him for a real job.
Larijani is learning to compose scores for film and television at
CSULA’s program.
Using all of the latest technology for musical composition on
computers, Larijani is acquainting himself with his inner-computer
nerd. With his knowledge he has recently been able to record his
own CD. After choosing 20 of his favorite classical pieces for the
guitar, he spent all of last summer perfecting his selections,
which are now available on MP3.com.
“I love free music on the internet,” Larijani said.
“It gets my music to people who would have never heard
me.”
When asked about the possible disturbance the concert in Powell
could cause, considering it is right in the middle of midterms,
Larijani was quick to reply.
“Everyone needs a good study break at some point,”
he said. “Besides, it’s mellow music; maybe it will
even help some people study better.”
Payam Larijani performs at 4 p.m. at Powell Library.