What ingredients did UC San Diego use to create The Arcades, Sunday’s free, one-day, multi-genre music festival on campus?
The recipe includes a highly motivated group of undergraduate students, a light-bulb idea from an award-winning professor, the ardent of campus leadership and a $90,000 gift from generous donors. And, of course, food trucks.
” The Arcades is a one-of-a-kind festival,” said UCSD music professor and Arcades’ mastermind Steve Schick, who is overseeing the two-quarter class.
Students planned the festival during the winter quarter and have been working on the event all spring. It will feature almost 40 performances by 300 musicians at five locations in and around the Conrad Prebys Music Center on campus.
To explore The Arcades, you don’t have to be a student. It’s open to everyone at no charge. Visitors can listen to singer-songwriters, jazz groups, opera singers, hip-hop artists, rock and metal bands, a Persian-music ensemble, chamber and orchestral ensembles, and more.
“With its combination of a student-run steering committee, faculty guidance in the form of a ‘how-to’ course on creating a festival, and broad and diverse programming, it is exceptional in every way,” said Schick, music director emeritus of the La Jolla Symphony and music director in 2015 of the prestigious Ojai Music Festival. “I am not aware of another program like it anywhere in the country.”
The students in the course’s winter quarter reviewed a whopping 400 submissions to perform at the festival from all over campus. From these, they selected the 39 acts who will perform at The Arcades. They also established a budget, developed publicity strategies and figured out which of the music center’s five concert locations the artists would be best suited for.
During spring quarter, a steering committee of 15 to 20 students — with help from UCSD staff — developed a performance schedule, worked on audiovisual aspects and determined the décor for each venue to create a distinct ambiance.
On top of that, the tireless crew communicated with all the guest musicians and promoted the event on campus and through social media.
Cristina Della Coletta, UCSD’s dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, seconded Schick’s contention that The Arcades is a one-of-a-kind course.
“It’s incredibly original,” she said. “And it’s practically important. It not only celebrates the talents of our undergraduate students, but it also offers an opportunity for these musicians to gain experience performing their original music in front of an audience.
“And it gives them the expertise to build an entire music festival from the ground up. We see this inaugural event as the first of an annual tradition.”
‘Multi-genre and large-scale’
Most of the students on the steering committee are musicians and will perform at The Arcades. Saxophonist Michael McLaughlin leads a six-piece jazz/funk band, which will play in the courtyard outside.
“I really like The Arcades,” said the third-year student. “The music we study in academia is chosen for us. This is more personal. Steve (Schick) gave the committee freedom to do what we wanted.
“There’s such a variety at The Arcades. The performers will be playing and listening to other artists. It’s not just diverse artists — it’s diverse audiences, genres and performers all combined.”
Singer-songwriters Angie Kim, Lauren Ong and Annabel Metcalf are not only performing, the three also decorated Room 136 for the Songwriters’ Circle, which will feature 10 acts.
“The three of us naturally became in charge of the room, so we’re planning the décor,” said Kim, a music and psychology major. “We’ll be there on festival day to make sure everything’s running smoothly.
“Making an entire music festival is a really big task. It’s not a project that you can do by yourself. Sometimes it’s hard communicating in such a big group, but it’s gotten easier as everyone has gotten closer. We’re all pretty good friends now.”
Ong, a UCSD international student from Singapore, said The Arcades is unique.
“I’ve done events back home, but nothing like this, which is multi-genre and large-scale,” said the music and philosophy major. “It’s nice being around students who have the same vision and are working to execute it.”
Metcalf, a self-described “soft-indie-bedroom singer,” performs under the name Sapphire Gray. She’s especially excited to hear the artists who are performing.
“We saw every single video and all the auditions!” she exclaimed. “I’m hoping to hear some perform live while I’m working the festival. I hope we get a lot of attendees and reach the local community.
“The Arcades might open opportunities for people pursuing music professionally, like myself. This might bolster their resumes We’ve got to thank Professor Schick — for the idea andfor keeping us on track — and the donors. They made this possible,” Metcalf said.
Personal interaction key
The Arcades began with two donors, Marco Londei and Liqun Wang, founders of the Farfy Foundation. The couple had become friendly with Dean Della Coletta and several UCSD professors.
Londei, a medical doctor, and Wang, a scientist, believe the study of both science and the arts will help students make a more sustainable world. The Farfy Foundation is built on the belief that education is the best equalizer and stabilizer for the development of society. Londei and Wang, who have previously donated to UCSD, were looking for a project that would givetalented undergraduates a special educational experience.
Wang said their conversations with several UCSD music professors and Della Coletta affirmed that the faculty had a similar vision of what the arts could do.
“There are a zillion organizations you can contribute to, but that personal interaction was the decision-making factor,” Wang said. “We’re not surprised but impressed that senior faculty are putting in time or making it a priority.”
While Schick is overseeing The Arcades, fellow professors Lei Liang, Kamau Kenyatta and Shahrokh Yadegari serve on the faculty guidance committee, alongside Gris Arellano, the music department’s chief istrative officer.
Other UCSD music professors involved in performances at The Arcades include Mark Dresser, Susan Narucki, Kyle Adam Blair and Rand Steiger.
“The Arcades fits into Farfy’s education goals,” Wang said. “It encourages undergraduates who often don’t get many resources from top-field masters. The scheme of organizing themselves to create the festival — we see that very useful skill.”
While steering committee – most in their early 20s – tend to be music majors, Malia Lewton is a bioengineering student. She saw an article about The Arcades in the online newsletter, UC San Diego Today.
“I don’t formally study music, but I enjoy singing in the (campus) stairwells and playing the piano,” Lewton said. “I thought The Arcades would be a great way to become more involved with UCSD and get a greater sense of the students here.
‘I was excited by the possibility of creating something new. This is the inaugural edition, so we’re the ones who created the mission. I’m excited to promote undergraduate artists at UCSD and start another legacy,” Lewton said.
Recognition and tradition
While these five committee have focused their energies on marketing, social media, the festival’s décor and communications, others have worked on the audiovisual side of The Arcades.
The committee has received many hours of help from UCSD staff. Aditya Kumar, Hector Rodarte and Angel Olguin are all students in UCSD’s Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts (ICAM) department. They each have prior experience in the field and currently work at small cafes and clubs around campus.
“At our jobs, we’re given the plan and work the show,” Rodarte explained. “With The Arcades, we had to plan everything. The scale is bigger — a whole day of sound and audio.”
“We had to figure out equipment, durations of performances and the venues,” said Kumar, whose hip-hop stage name is akmakes and will perform at the festival. “I’ve learned time management and organizational skills. The coolest part will be putting together the audio and video.”
Olguin thinks The Arcades’ artists — who aren’t paid in money — will benefit greatly from having a professional recording of their performances. His hardcore metal group, When Sunsets Fall, will also perform at Sunday’s event. Rodarte will be a guest singer.
“The Arcades is giving students a stage to perform and gain recognition,” Olguin said. “And it allows UCSD to form a tradition.”
Many of The Arcades’ performances will be presented inside the Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, Recital Hall and Experimental Theater. All concerts will feature UCSD undergraduates.
One afternoon performance at the Experimental Theater will feature original works by undergraduate composers who are in Rand Steiger’s class. The music will be played by professional musicians from The Bridge Trio. The group – which is connected to UCSD’s Bridge Series – is comprised of pianist and UCSD assistant professor Cory Smythe, acclaimed cellist Felix Fan and Aiyun Huang, a percussionist from the University of Toronto.
That concert will be followed by Henry Purcell’s opera, “Dido & Aeneas.” More than 50 student singers, accompanied by a string quartet, will perform. The day’s last performance at the Experimental theater will be a sound installation with percussionists.
At the Concert Hall, UCSD’s 40-musician Intermission Orchestra will start things off. Other performances include a chamber orchestra, a bass ensemble, a Persian ensemble, jazz groups and a percussion troupe.
The Recital Hall will offer a lively mix of traditional and unconventional works played by different undergraduate ensembles.
Schick, who turned 71 on May 8, said that during a time when optimism about the future is in short supply, working with the young and energetic steering committee on The Arcades has been uplifting.
“It gives me no end to the hope that we can figure our way out,” he said. “Because imagination is the raw material of forward progress, and these students have that by the bushel. It’s so hopeful.”
The Arcades Music Festival
When: Noon to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 18
Where: Conrad Prebys Music Center, 9410 Russell Lane, UC San Diego
ission: Free; parking fee is required on campus
Online: music.ucsd.edu/thearcades
