By Emma Rodgers
Daily Bruin Contributor
Talented student musicians, along with the help of the Student
Alumni Association, will once again put Hollywood and the greater
Los Angeles musical community to shame with its annual Spring Sing
Competition.
This Friday at 8 p.m., 19 acts will be under the spotlight,
competing to become the Spring Sing 2000 Grand Sweepstakes winner
in front of over 4,000 spectators at the Los Angeles Tennis
Center.
As one of the most unique and entertaining traditions that
exists here at UCLA, Spring Sing is as integral to the UCLA
experience as basketball games at Pauley Pavilion or even the Bruin
Bear. The annual competition originated with a fraternity quartet
that was eventually named the “Champion Serenader of Sorority
Row.” Not to be outdone, another fraternity challenged the
reigning champions to a singing competition. In 1944 ASUCLA
director, William Ackerman, arranged the event in Royce Hall.
What started out as a Greek singing competition grew into a show
held at the Hollywood Bowl, with more than 10,000 people in
attendance and with celebrities acting as Spring Sing masters of
ceremonies and judges. However, after its heyday in the 1950s,
Spring Sing fell temporarily silent until the Student Alumni
Association revamped the event.
Now, more than 60 years since its birth, Spring Sing has moved
back on campus and fills the largest venue that the majority of
this year’s acts have ever played. Spring Sing 2000 promises
to be an eclectic show, featuring student acts that range from
Awaken A Cappella, UCLA’s official a cappella group, to Kappa
Delta and Pi Kappa Phi’s rendition of the Broadway hit
“Bye Bye Birdie.” Such a wide variety of acts not only
represents the extensive talent that resides at UCLA, but also
exemplifies the diversity of student interests.
“I think the best thing about Spring Sing is seeing the
other acts,” said Camilla Ghedini, a third-year world arts
and culture student and president of Awaken A Cappella. It is
exactly this sense of shared admiration that lends Spring Sing its
energy.
“I’m honored to be in the show with so many talented
people,” said David Jonelis, a second-year undeclared student
who will sing his original composition, “Walls.”
“You can look to the other performers for
motivation,” he added.
The impressive range of skills to be shown off this year promise
pass this contagious energy on to the audience. Performers vary
from faces and names you may have heard of before, such as the
rock/pop quartet, Kara’s Flowers, who released their debut
album with Reprise Records in 1996, to UCLA students Nick Keller
and Sandeep Sriram, who compose their music in the narrow
stairwells of Dykstra Hall.
Notorious or not, each act promises to be entertaining. Spring
Sing 2000 offers it all from the combined effort of UCLA students
Shii-Jean Hunag and Tesz Millan in their rendition of the Dave
Matthew’s Band’s “Song #41,” to first-year
student Dannelle Durkin’s performance of Shania Twain’s
“Man! I Feel Like a Woman.” Whether you love pop, rock,
R&B or good old-fashioned swing dancing, there is something for
everyone.
“I think (Spring Sing) is one of the greatest, most fun,
most exciting things at UCLA. And the people who are doing it are
great, so I just keep coming back,” said three-time performer
and one of this year’s talent directors, Mark Armstrong.
And if music is not your thing, come for the celebrity judges.
Spring Sing 2000’s judges include Thora Birch, who played the
tormented teenager, Jane Burnham, in this year’s Academy
Award winning “American Beauty;” Matthew Lawrence, who
plays Jack Hunter of “Boy Meets World;” and Dennis
Haskins, better known as Mr. Belding, the principal we all grew up
with in “Saved By the Bell.”
Spring Sing not only recognizes the talent of aspiring UCLA
musicians, but also pays homage to musical inspirations throughout
history.
1n 1937, the prestigious composer and lyricist duo, the Gershwin
Brothers, adapted the title song from their musical, Strike Up The
Band, as a fight song for UCLA. In recognition of their
contribution to music and to the university, the UCLA Student
Alumni Association established the George and Ira Gershwin award
for outstanding lifetime musical achievement.
Previous Spring Sing Gershwin Award Winners include John Lee
Hooker in 1998, Tom Petty in 1996, and Ella Fitzgerald in 1989.
This year’s award will be a posthumous recognition of the
legendary Frank Sinatra, to be accepted by his daughter, Tina.
Talented student musicians, Hollywood stars, and years of
tradition for just $8? Performer David Jonelis described Spring
Sing 2000 perfectly when he said:
“Its just a cool gig, you know?”
MUSIC: Spring Sing will be held at 8 p.m. Friday at the Los
Angeles Tennis Center. Tickets are available on Bruin Walk or by
calling the Central Ticket Office at (310) 825-2101.