Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis brings high notes and skillful guitar riffs that transform every Foals concert into an electric experience. Tuesday night at the Hollywood Palladium was no exception for the British indie rock band. As the lights dimmed, a prolonged guitar riff announced that Foals had taken stage. Blue and purple lights filled the […]
Author Archives: Suzie Papantoni
Composer’s style integrates classical theory and modern soundscapes
The fusion of synthesizer sounds and violin harmonies in space opera “Star Wars” inspired Joe Trapanese to score for films like the ones he loved as a kid. Film composer Trapanese studied classical music composition at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City and earned his master’s degree in composition for visual media […]
Concert review: Flume
Lines of 20-year-old electronic music enthusiasts began forming outside the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Saturday three hours before Flume was scheduled to perform. Swarms of girls without tickets to the sold-out concert stood desperately nearby with cash in hand, looking for any way to bypass the bouncers. A couple who had forgotten their tickets […]
Members of different a cappella groups harmonize for commencement
Six seniors hailing from different a cappella groups will unite to take center stage at Pauley Pavilion as their last hurrah before graduation. Under the ensemble name Views from the Six, a cappella singers Hannah Bannan, Matt Driver, Lashon Halley, Isaac Mirzadegan, Nisha Nalamala and Kelly Noe will perform their rendition of the national anthem […]
Starting a louder conversation on cultural appropriation in fashion
As Sanjana Nidugondi, a second-year neuroscience student, headed to an event with Indus Bruins members dressed in a sari, two white men on Bruin Walk turned around and yelled at her, “Where are your cows?” Nidugondi was shocked at the question, which revealed complete ignorance about her culture, she said. UCLA students of color witness […]
Musicians of all backgrounds find niche in UCLA’s Game Music Ensemble
Ellen Key first fell in love with the viola in fourth grade and instantly knew she would never stop playing. But she never imagined that her future repertoire would include less Beethoven and more World of Warcraft. An unexpected turn of events led Key, a second-year civil engineering student, to the Game Music Ensemble at […]
Alumnus preserves immigrant parents’ legacy through rap, mixtapes
Raymond Mai’s foray into rap was motivated by a pretty girl sitting next to him in class. Determined to catch her attention, Mai scribbled in his notebook a love poem, which he rapped to her during break. The musical expression of love did not impress the girl, but it intrigued another classmate who invited Mai […]