People care a lot about sports, but don’t pay any attention to performing arts. 

Ian Jones, a recent UGA graduate that was a music major said, “I really do value music and it’s not pursued because I want to make money,” he said. “I’m pursuing it because I love it.” 

At most colleges, sports is the number one priority. Other programs besides sports become forgotten and not recognized as much as student athletes. Performing arts being one of them. Performing arts is a very competitive field and musicians don’t get the credit they deserve. 

“I feel like I have matured a lot because of music,” Jones said. “I’ve gained a lot of sensitivity and emotional input and output and it’s helped me become a better person.”

Jones spoke about how much he loved being at UGA and being a music major. He explained that it took a lot of practice and dedication to get into UGA’s music program. He also highlighted the challenges he has had to face in such a competitive field. 

“The social challenge [of being a music major] is people always asking what you are going to do with your career,” he said. “Musicians do gain a stigma that they are going to have a ‘poor person job.’”

Jones also underlined the struggles of being in the music world, while also having to be shadowed by UGA’s big sports presents.

“We definitely did not get the same quality or representation [in contrast to sports programs],” he said. “However, I do acknowledge that it is two different worlds that are occurring. You have the very artistic side of the campus versus the athletics.”

Some would agree that people support sports more than music programs which makes the UGA orchestra community underrepresented.

 Mark Cedel, the director of the orchestra at University of Georgia said, “This was something I couldn’t understand when I came here, coming to such a big university, a big football team where football is very important,” he added. “I wish we had more support for the arts.”

However, Cedel does not regret his decision to teach or direct orchestra at the university level. 

“I feel lucky being in academia,” Cedel said. “It’s always exciting seeing how they [students] react to a piece of music for the first time.” 

Cedel spoke on being a director at the University of Georgia and he expressed that he really loves his job and how much he loves orchestra.

“I love making music, bringing the music alive and studying it while figuring out what the composer wanted,” he said. “There is always room for interpretation and your own personal feeling.”

There are many positive attributes to being in a orchestra and UGA takes pride in working together to create music.

Laura Patterson, a first violinist in The Athens Orchestra commented,“I love getting to do something with other people that are fun and creative and brings joy to the audience.“We have fun playing music, but then in the performance, someone else gets to enjoy what we’re enjoying.”

Patterson went to UGA as a music major and she also played sousaphone for the Redcoats band. She explained that the redcoats were different from the orchestra ensemble because the orchestra was more pressure. She agreed that people do not support the arts as much as they support sports teams, but they supported the redcoats because they were connected to football. 

“People absolutely support the marching band on game days because they recognize that it’s a very important part of the game day experience.”

Patterson explained that she had a unique experience playing for both the orchestra and in the marching band. She explained how important it is to support the arts as a whole.

A great way to support local music is to show up to the events and give back to the programs.

 “Go to concerts for paid organizations, donate money if you have it, but then also support music in our schools,“ said Patterson. “If we don’t support music in our schools, then we won’t have musicians in the future.”

A local music festival called Athfest is returning after being unable to take place due to COVID-19 for the past 2 years.

“It was canceled because we couldn’t get our city permit that you have to have to hold the event,” said Rachel Allen, a member of the Athfest team. However, she says that all the relationships necessary to hold Athfest had been continued, “so there wasn’t much of a gap there getting back started.”

The Athfest music and arts festival is a 3 day gathering that features local artists and culture. It consists of outdoor stages, iconic local venues, an artist market, and even an area for children. After not taking place for the past two years due to concerns about COVID-19, the Athfest team is working hard to make it return on June 24th to June 26th of this year. 

“It’s an organization that works year round,” said Allen, referring to the Athfest team. “It’s a well oiled machine.”

Allen’s description of the team highlights how the return of Athfest is expected to be very smooth despite the 2 year gap since the previous festival. “It’s not like everybody just went away for two years,” Allen said. The Athfest team has been working through the COVID-19 pandemic and are prepared for their return. 

However, this year’s festival does have a change. 

“For the last many years we’ve had a system where you buy a wristband and can go to a dozen different venues where there is music,” Allen said. But this year, there are only two ticketed venues – the Georgia theater and the 40 watt club. “It had to do with the last minute nature of having to wait until the number where right covid wise” Allen said. By the time the Athfest team knew they would be putting on the festival, numerous venues had not opened back up due to concerns about COVID-19.

Despite this change, one of Allen’s comments assured that the music will remain the same. 

“We still had all the relationships with bands,” Allen said. Even though there has been trouble setting up the festival amongst the chaos brought by the pandemic, the same bands will perform like they have at the previous Athfests.

A passionate professor with valuable experiences to share, Dr. Joe Dennis is leading an impressive career in the journalism field. Raised in Chicago, Dennis has spent the last 22 years in Georgia with his wife and three children. Recieving his PhD from the University of Georgia, Joe taught at that university for a couple of years. He currently teaches at Piedmont University where he can be found on campus wearing his iconic fedora.

Joe currently owns over 15 fedoras, and has been a collector since 2011. Aside from making a fashion statement, these hats have a unique connection to his culture.

Originally working as a disk jockey, Dennis proudly wore a hoop earring during his late-teens/early twenties. When he made a pivotal career switch by deciding to further his education, he wanted to change it up as he worked to receive his masters and doctorate degrees.

“The earring didn’t make much sense anymore. I thought, ‘I need something that defines me.’ Bruno Mars was popular around then, and he rocks the fedora. I came to learn that he’s Phillipino. I thought, ‘That’s it! I’m going to wear a fedora.'”

Joe’s heritage played a significant role in his upbringing. His mother and sister immigrated from the Philippines and did not leave their culture behind.

“The Phillipino side of my family dominated my family life growing up,” says Joe. He was raised to value family over everything and spent much of his time at family gatherings growing up.

“There are always these new family members you’re meeting,” he says, “I grew up around a lot of my Phillipino relatives.”

Dennis continues to stay in touch with his heritage by making traditional Phillipino dishes. He shares these dishes with his children and has introduced them to a series of meals. He truly values his culture and wants it to be a part of his children’s lives as well.

“We try to go to Chicago for certain holidays so that my kids can be around that extended Phillipino family,” he says.

Journalists spend much of their time working and talking with people, and can have a profound impact on someone’s life. Dennis believes that the morals instilled in him from a young age have helped him in this career. After writing about a man who was living in unbearable conditions due to his landlord, a whole series on slumlords was created. “Part of how I was raised was to always be thinking about how decisions impact people,” Dennis says, “I have always had a heart to look out for people that have been forgotten.”