Viterbi Fall Concert brings student talent & chill vibes to the Plaza
Nestled on green turf and illuminated by twinkling fairy lights, the Epstein Family Plaza transformed from its usual section of dust in the middle of the Viterbi Engineering Quad. Students flowed through the Plaza and clustered together on blankets by the center stage in anticipation of the 2022 Viterbi Fall Concert, which promised “a casual and fun night” of live music from fellow USC students.
Sept. 30 marked both the end of the month and the start of something new for Viterbi — this was the first Viterbi Fall Concert at USC, organized by Viterbi Admission and Student Engagement in collaboration with the Viterbi Graduate Student Association. Both VASE and VGSA work with Viterbi students to coordinate and host social, professional and academic events on campus.
Juli Legat, assistant director of events and programs in the Viterbi Student Engagement Team at VASE and a graduate student studying communication management, originally pitched the idea for the concert.
“I’m responsible for new student transition … I do plan a whole bunch of welcome events for students, not just for brand-new students, but continuing students too,” Legat said. “It’s kind of like this ‘welcome back to campus.’ We’re really happy to have you and we want to try to provide lots of opportunities to engage and to meet other students and to feel really connected to our school.”
The Fall Concert was the final event in Viterbi’s Welcome Experience lineup.
“I definitely had a vision for it,” Legat said. “[Which] was something very chill and casual … I really wanted this to be something that students could just enjoy … and more than that, chat with their friends and just have a place to kind of hang out with each other while music is playing.”
Legat’s vision certainly came to life. Students lounged on blankets, tarps and chairs, chatting among each other as VGSA senators and representatives introduced the bands and operated food carts serving up free popcorn, nachos and cotton candy to students. Other VGSA members handed out free Viterbi T-shirts to students roaming in and out of the Plaza and set up field games like corn hole and giant Jenga.
Musical performances from USC students took center stage. Gabriel Mozes, a junior majoring in aerospace engineering, opened the night with an original indie pop set about love, heartbreak and the excitement of being young.
“This [was] actually my first time performing in front of people ever,” Mozes said. “[So] that was nerve-wracking, but I greatly appreciate it. It was very fun … There’s something special about singing your own music because it just means so much to me, all of the songs that I write.”
Casual Chaos, a punk rock band, charged up the atmosphere with an indie rock set where they covered classic alt and indie rock songs and performed an original piece.
“I had a very fun opportunity to talk to Casual Chaos,” said Sam Thananopavarn, a freshman majoring in computer science, who was in attendance. “I haven’t had this kind of experience before as a college student — you know, the sort of experience where you can talk to the band members.”
Interspersed between sets, VGSA members brought audience members on stage for trivia and stand-up routines. Aleyeh Roknaldin, the executive vice president of VGSA and a doctoral student studying industrial and systems engineering, worked as co-MC for the night.
“I really like that some of the performers were Viterbi grad students and showcasing the different interests that you can have, because sometimes in engineering, it can be really intense … So many people have different talents and hobbies outside of being an engineer, and that actually helps them to become a better engineer. Creativity is so important,” Roknaldin said.
For the final performance, a mixed group of USC students and outside musicians took to the stage. This group switched up the energy of the crowd to a more chill atmosphere with an hour-long set of pop covers.
Ajani Harris, a junior majoring in vocal arts and opera who was a part of the performance, shared how much he enjoyed the event.
“I would like to see more schools do sort of the same thing, like a welcome back concert,” Harris said. “It was a really nice opportunity for us to perform and for people to come out and support what was going on.”
Although VASE and VGSA don’t currently have plans for another concert, their first Viterbi Fall Concert proved to be a successful experiment. Not only did the concert allow students a moment of respite between midterms, but it also gave students a chance to showcase their skills and talents beyond their major.