Sounds of Schoenberg: Atumpan

Two large barrel drums sat side by side in the ethnomusicology department, representing the musical culture of African villages from which they originated. The drums are called Atumpan, considered a Ghanaian talking drum due to its ability to imitate language. In 1965, they journeyed to UCLA from Ghana through a musical collaboration between Mantle Hood, […]

Alumna uses MAC, New York Fashion Week as foundation for career

Andrea Tran dabbed an eyeshadow brush in a light shade of eyeshadow and spread it on her eyelids. She then applied a darker shade to the outer corners and blended the colors together with a blending brush to fade the colors in the popular smokey eye look. “It’s an obsession,” Tran said. “It’s kind of […]

Monthly flea market draws in vendors selling handmade goods

Ella Ambulo quit her day job as a traffic manager five years ago to sell hanging geometric planters at flea markets in Los Angeles. Ambulo, the creator and artist of Urban Geometry, pairs air plants with handmade geometric brass pieces, inspired by the concept of a himmeli, a type of ornament originally from Finland. She […]

Student merges musical influences in self-produced EP ‘Contentions’

Joe Del Rio glanced through the pages of LA Weekly and spotted an advertisement for UCLA Extension music industry courses. The singer-songwriter then decided to travel from his hometown of Fresno to Los Angeles, where he is now pursuing a career as a musician by day and studying at UCLA Extension by night. Del Rio […]

UCLA-based jazz orchestra to release album ‘Explorations’ mid-November

Nate Schwartz is a certified audio engineer at Melnitz Hall, a member of multiple bands including UCLA’s Loop Garou, and a composer of film scores. But in 2014, he decided to take on another endeavor: start his own jazz orchestra. The rising third-year ethnomusicology student with a concentration in jazz recently launched a Kickstarter campaign […]

Emerging trend of surprise albums puts focus on artists

The music industry died once and may be dying again, with the power shifting from music industry executives to the hands of artists. The emerging trend of artists dropping surprise albums without promotion is switching the attention from the music industry to the artists themselves. Robert Fink, a professor of musicology at UCLA who also […]

Ethnomusicology festival highlights world cultures through dance, music

Musicians cloaked in swirling blue and red robes pluck delicately at zheng zithers, string instruments that originated in China almost two thousand years ago. Continuing the Spring Festival of World Music and Jazz, Saturday’s Music of China Ensemble performance will showcase Chinese culture and heritage at Schoenberg Hall, followed by Sunday’s Irish Music Ensemble performance. […]