Abby Rooney

As Ivy League students and first-rate musicians, the students of the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange are formidable double threats, but they do not aim to intimidate. In the intimate chamber of the Maison Francaise, where there is no stage, they stood on even footing with their audience. They introduced themselves with friendly waves and chatted about each piece of music before performing it, creating a concert that felt like a conversation.

In the cozy echo chamber of Lerner 573, the mellow groove of Khalid and Normani’s “Love Lies” slips into a less familiar but immediately infectious tune, later identified as “High On Love” by Indian-American R&B singer Sid Sriram. As Columbia’s South Asian fusion a cappella group, Columbia Sur performs music that bridges the South Asian and American identities of its members.

Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” is not about a lovestruck Boy Scout—at least, not traditionally. The Columbia University New Opera Workshop, however, is not afraid to stray from tradition. In NOW’s re-imagining of a scene from the classic opera, the lonely birdcatcher Papageno was clad in a khaki sash covered in badges, awkwardly wooing his Girl Scout crush, and it was nothing short of delightful.

Nuns who Juul, frisky ferris wheel escapades, sorority squabbles, and the patriarchy—no topic was off-limits at the Columbia Women in Comedy Showcase. Sourcing their material from audience suggestions, current events, and their Columbia experiences, some of Columbia’s finest female comedians performed pre-written sketches and improvised scenes, filling the Lerner Party Space with uproarious laughter.

Singer and composer Kate Soper, SoA ’11, floated onstage in an evening gown, took her place behind a screen, and paused. After a moment of thought, she emerged from behind the screen, assumed center stage, and began to sing. The words of her song probably sounded familiar to Columbia students and anyone else acquainted with the names engraved on Butler Library’s façade.

Grammy-nominated musician Jorge Glem stood center stage with his eyes closed, plucking and strumming the cuatro at an astounding speed. When the last note rang throughout the Diana Center Event Oval, the crowd sat for a moment in stunned silence before erupting into applause.