The founder of Muslim music group The Ensemble Al-Kindi wasn’t always a Muslim. When French musician Julienne Eddine Weiss did decide to convert to Islam, it was because of his fascination with the culture of the religion, rather than interest in its laws. Read more...

Sex meets sentiment tonight at Royce Hall, when UCLA Live brings Jane Birkin to perform a tribute to her late ex-husband, the legendary French musician Serge Gainsbourg. Read more...

The Francis Ford Coppola One-Act Marathon generally features film directors who are crossing over into theater. But Michael Aspinwall, the director of the musical “High School!” said “(his) background is shady.” Aspinwall graduated from UCLA in 2004 with a degree in theater performance and is currently working on his masters degree in theater education and critical studies. Read more...

For unconventional classical music ensemble Bang on a Can, the context of the works it selects to perform holds nearly the same importance as the quality of the works themselves. Read more...

The electro rhythms of French pop-rock group Air will fill Royce Hall on Nov. 12-13 as the soundtrack to Ballet Preljocaj’s “Near Life Experience.” Whimsical rock musicians Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin of Air, who wrote the music for “The Virgin Suicides” in 2000, have composed a completely original soundtrack for the bold new ballet by Angelin Preljocaj. Read more...

Not too long ago, I found myself participating in a history-steeped college tradition”“ sitting around with a bunch of guys doing nothing before a night out ““ when someone’s cell phone went off. Read more...

Hundreds of Los Angeles celebrity magazines won’t give you half the intimate details of watching some of the most important artists of the country in their open conversations at the UCLA Hammer Museum. Read more...