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09/20/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/21/2024 05:02

BU Student Performers Are Thrilled to Be Part of Historic Inauguration Week

BU Student Performers Are Thrilled to Be Part of Historic Inauguration Week

With on- and off-campus performances-from jazz to color guard-Terriers will add a festive note to weeklong celebration of Melissa L. Gilliam's Sept. 27 inauguration

Catch the BU Pep Band and dozens of other student performers at events throughout inauguration week

Campus Life

BU Student Performers Are Thrilled to Be Part of Historic Inauguration Week

With on- and off-campus performances-from jazz to color guard-Terriers will add a festive note to weeklong celebration of Melissa L. Gilliam's Sept. 27 inauguration

September 20, 2024
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The approaching inauguration of Melissa L. Gilliam as the 11th president of Boston University is a momentous event in BU's 185-year history, and as the community prepares for a week of celebration and ceremony, dozens of talented student performers have been working diligently to get ready to perform.

To mark BU's first inauguration in almost 20 years, acts from the ROTC color guard to a competitive dance team will be performing at different Inauguration Week events on and off campus, putting their creativity and dedication on display.

Gilliam, whose late father was a renowned abstract painter and mother a groundbreaking journalist, came into her role as president with a passion for the arts: one of her priorities is to increase the visibility of the University's many creative communities.

"The arts enliven and enrich all of us and have to be a central focus of Boston University," she said in a recent interview.

"I'm excited to show to the University what the College of Fine Arts and the BU Bands program has to offer," says student musician Alexander Chavira (CFA'25). "And I'm so glad the administration chose to showcase the arts in Dr. Gilliam's first events as BU president."

I'm so glad the administration chose to showcase the arts in Dr. Gilliam's first events as BU president
Alexander Chavira (CFA'25)

The week's festivities kick off at TimeOut Market (401 Park Drive, Boston) from 4 to 8 pm on Monday, where the BU community is invited to snack and mingle while a BU six-man jazz comboprovides musical accompaniment.

"We usually play at smaller, low-key [BU] functions, like Christmas parties or staff events, but for this event we really want to get the mood right and be a bit more than just background music," says percussionist Julian Saint Denis (CFA'25).

Saint Denis will perform at the sold-out event with Chavira and Logan Seaburg (CFA'25), on saxophone, Karl Lackner (LAW'25), on trumpet, Jackson Cross (CAS'26), on piano, and Jack Osmond (CAS'26), on bass.

On Thursday, two BU groups will perform at an invitation-only dinner at the iconic SoWa Power Station (550 Harrison Ave., Boston) from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Under the building's vaulted ceilings, guests will be treated to a dance number by Unofficial Project (UPro), a BU competitive dance team, and an a cappella performance by the vocal group Allegrettos.

"Our fall rehearsals have quickly commenced with two-hour sessions and rigorous staging," says Kaitlyn Begley (Questrom'25), a UPro dancer. "We couldn't be more excited to kick off the semester on a high note with this performance."

UPro will perform a five-minute hip-hop number choreographed by Juliana Choo (COM'25) and Zoe Huang (COM'25) and feature high-energy tracks from Rihanna and Beyoncé.

The Allegrettos will perform "If You Got a Problem" by Joy Oladokun, with Hannah Dubroff (CFA'26) singing the solo. "This is a song that left our group's repertoire a few years ago, but we keep bringing it back for various events," says Allegretto member Evan Denenberg (Wheelock'25). "We were asked to perform something inspiring and uplifting, and the song definitely fits the bill."

The inauguration ceremony, being held at Agganis Arena at 2 pm Friday, is also packed with student performances.

There will be a benediction given by six students of diverse faiths, a new tradition co-created by the Dean of Marsh Chapel and the President's Office.

"Boston University has a rich history of serving the religious and spiritual needs of its students," says Jessica Chicka (STH'07,'11,'17), Marsh Chapel chaplain for international students. "Offering the voices of these student leaders continues that tradition, while highlighting the diverse religious representation of our campus."

Giving the blessings are Sophia Blair (CAS'25, COM'25), president of BU Zen; Nour El Houda Belkhira (CAS'25), president of the Islamic Society of Boston University; Divya-Suhani Poore (CAS'25), president of the BU Hindu Cultural Association; Camila Olivo (CGS'23, CAS'25, Pardee'25), president of the BU Catholic Student Association; Jordan Kramer (Questrom'25), president of BU Hillel; and J. J. Martinez (STH'26), a Methodist pastor in training.

BU's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Color Guard will also participate. Cadets in formal military dress will present the flags of the United States and its military branches, flanked by two rifle bearers presenting arms.

"We organized a joint color guard with the Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Space Force," says Jack Williams (Questrom'26), an Army cadet. "All but one cadet participating in the ceremony are BU students, which has made this ceremony so much more personal."

There will be no shortage of musical performances, either. Mezzo-soprano Arielle Rogers-Wilkey (CFA'25) will sing the national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner," and the BU anthem "Clarisisma," accompanied by the BU Brass Choir, an ensemble of 27 School of Music students. When Rogers-Wilkey, a graduate student in the voice performance program, learned that she had been selected, she experienced "a full-circle moment," she says. "It was one of those emails we get in our lifetime that just puts an automatic and semipermanent smile on your face."

Rounding out the ceremony's vocal talent are BU's Treblemakers, an a cappella group formed in 1996. This year, the group released a studio album, Afterglow, which came on the heels of their 2023 EP Cadence. They will follow Sons of Serendip, an alumni quartet best known for their turn onAmerica's Got Talent.

After the inauguration ceremony, the BU Pep Band will usher attendees to the Charles River Campus community reception at 3:15 pm. As the crowd files out of Agganis Arena and heads to the FitRec four-court gymnasium, the band will be on hand to keep the energy high. The University's house band, it plays a genre-spanning repertoire of marching band standards and popular hits at sporting and community events.

"I'm super excited to have the band provide school spirit and energy to welcome Dr. Gilliam," says drum major Christine Fielding (CAS'25). "It's always crazy to me, as a STEM major, to be a part of a band built up of people from all different majors and backgrounds [that] puts on amazing productions like this."

At the reception, the BU community will again be treated to an afternoon of music by the jazz combo that performed at Monday's TimeOut Market event. Their set list for the week combines jazz standards with funk, R&B, and soul.

It's a whirlwind weekend for all involved, says student musician Chavira, but an especially moving one for the University's student performer community.

"You don't get to play on this kind of stage every day," he says.

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  • Sophie Yarin

    Associate Editor, BU Today; Managing Editor Bostonia

    Sophie Yarin is a BU Today associate editor and Bostonia managing editor. She graduated from Emerson College's journalism program and has experience in digital and print publications as a hybrid writer/editor. A lifelong fan of local art and music, she's constantly on the hunt for stories that shine light on Boston's unique creative communities. She lives in Jamaica Plain with her partner and their cats, Ringo and Xerxes, but she's usually out getting iced coffee. Profile

  • Cydney Scott

    Photojournalist

    Cydney Scott has been a professional photographer since graduating from the Ohio University VisCom program in 1998. She spent 10 years shooting for newspapers, first in upstate New York, then Palm Beach County, Fla., before moving back to her home city of Boston and joining BU Photography. Profile

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