South Africa, Germany and Japan are all located on different continents, but they have one thing in common: traditional Irish music sessions. The sessions are informal social gatherings that take place across the world – meeting places for musicians who play traditional Irish tunes or songs at pubs, restaurants and even the Schoenberg Music Building, where UCLA’s Irish Music Ensemble meets every Thursday night. Read more...

Photo: Will Hammer, a third-year anthropology student, plays music in the Irish Music Ensemble at the group’s meeting Thursday. Hammer said he is glad to be returning to playing Celtic and Irish tunes, which he played throughout middle school and high school after his mother sent him to a fiddle camp. (Pinkie Su/Daily Bruin)

Concerts under the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will be free for all patrons starting this year. The school, which had been working to make the change for several years, was able to implement the new policy in part because of an $11.7 million donation from an alumnus’ trust fund last year, said Neal Stulberg, the director of orchestral studies. Read more...

Photo: Patrons of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s concerts can now attend shows such as the “UCLA Phil meets LA Phil” event at Schoenberg Hall on Thursday for free. The school is putting on more than 20 events this quarter. (Daily Bruin file photo)