Monday, April 13, 1998
Law students host benefit concert to fund summer externships
LAW SCHOOL: Classical pieces, opera highlight event held to
raise money
By Emi Kojima
Daily Bruin Contributor
On Thursday evening, UCLA law students were seen gesturing
dramatically and making emotional appeals to their audience.
However, these students were not arguing a case in front of a jury.
They were singing opera to their colleagues, professors and
administrators.
Law students performed classical pieces, both instrumental and
vocal, in a benefit concert for the Public Interest Law Foundation,
raising $1,000 for summer externships.
"It’s nice we can use the arts to help fund another
poorly-funded endeavor," said Maya Alexandri, third-year law
student, who acted as the MC of the event.
The performers were primarily law students who rehearsed for the
concert in their spare time. The concert was the brainchild of
Darren Flagg, a third-year law student who has sung with the L.A.
Opera and is also an accomplished pianist.
"I never did anything for the law school," Flagg said. "I
thought I would put on a concert."
He found other musically talented law students to perform and
invited professional opera singer Gabrielle Widman.
The primarily student performers performed works from Mozart,
Beethoven, Copland and Hayes.
Students arranged to have the piano from Schoenberg moved into
the law school, wrote a skit to preface a duet from "Show Boat" and
assembled props and costumes.
The law school puts on an annual musical to raise funds. In the
early ’80s, it sponsored a talent night. Flagg distinguished the
benefit concert from other musical events because "this concert is
at a professional level."
Flagg said that he wanted to hold the concert, in part, to
expose his peers to classical music.
In fact, he helped introduce Juan Alvarez, a second-year law
student to classical music.
"I’ve never been to an event where I got to hear classical
music," he said. "This is great."
Alvarez decided to attend the event to see Stagg perform. He
became aware of Flagg’s musical prowess after hearing him sing in
the hallways of the law school.