January 2018
From Lakefill to LA Jun Sung Ahn finds fame, individuality on YouTube p.4
Thank You for the Music NU alumnus wins Kleban Prize for lyricist work p.8
Northwest Side Story
Symphony Orchestra features Bernstein, Mahler on China trip p.10
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THE MONTHLY Contents
From Lakefill to LA
Alumnus finds fame, individuality on YouTube
Thank You for the Music
Alumnus wins Kleban Prize for lyricist work
Northwest Side Story
Symphony Orchestra to tour China with the music of Bernstein, Mahler
The Mouse that Roared
Spielberg, Streep, Hanks join forces to tell the story of the Pentagon Papers
04 08 10 12
Staff of The Monthly Issue 7
Jane Recker A&E Editor
Ruiqi Chen Creative Director
Andrea Michelson Assistant A&E Editor
Stavrokis Agorakis Madeleine Fernando Writers
Cover photo and page 3 photo: courtesy of Jun Sung Ahn and Dave Allocca
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From LakeFIll to LA Northwestern alumnus Jun Sung Ahn finds fame, individuality on YouTube — by Andrea Michelson
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W
hen Jun Sung Ahn filmed his violin cover of “Let It Go” on the Lakefill four years ago, the possibility of frostbite seemed more realistic than viral fame. “We called it ‘the polar vortex,’” Ahn said. “It was literally the coldest time in Northwestern history.” Ahn (Communication ’15) and his classmate-turned-cameraman Kevin Kim battled the cold to film the video and managed to upload it without losing any fingers. To Ahn’s surprise, it has become his most popular cover on YouTube, garnering more than seven million views. Since then, Ahn — now 24 and living in Los Angeles — has continued to work as a YouTube artist and performer under the pseudonym “JuNCurryAhn.” His channel features almost 140 videos of him covering popular songs on his violin, and he currently has nearly 1.4 million subscribers. Ahn began playing violin in the fifth grade. He received private lessons and participated in music competitions until coming to NU to study in the Radio, Television and Film department. Although he ended his classical violin training, Ahn continued to play as a hobby. He began to dabble with YouTube the summer before college when he uploaded a violin cover of Eminem’s “Lighters” that his friends had requested. When he returned from a vacation, Ahn checked YouTube and was shocked to see the video had 1,000 views. During his freshman year in college, he asked fellow RTVF major Kim (Communication ’15) to film one of his
videos. The collaboration, which Ahn calls a “dream team,” or the “JuNCurryAhn express,” has continued to this day. “I trust him entirel y. I c an just give him my camera, and I know that he’ ll make me look pretty,” Ahn said. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to make any of these videos.” Despite Kim’s help, however, Ahn does not easily relinquish
responsibility. He said he tries to be as self-sufficient as possible in the production of his videos, overseeing elements such as concept development, video editing and marketing. Kim recognized Ahn’s independence and film savvy, which he said sets his friend apart from from other YouTube musicians. “He has a lot of film knowledge compared to most artists,” Kim said. “He usually directs and edits his own videos, and I’m just there to help him shoot, to help him
“I had no idea he was a musician at all, until I got a strange email asking if he could leave class early because he had a conference call with his YouTube network and sponsors. I wrote back and said, ‘I’m confused. Your YouTube network? Sponsors? Please fill me in.’” Photos: Source Jun Sung Ahn
— Communication Prof. Clayton Brown 5
create what he wants to create.” Ahn said his hobby began to become a career spring quarter of his freshman year. Ahn received an email from an Asian student group at St. Catherine University that offered to fly him to Minnesota to headline an Asian cultural event. “I played that event in front of about 50 or 60 people, and I thought, ‘Oh, I could actually make a living out of this,’” Ahn said. “Up until that point I was just making YouTube videos on my own for fun.” Ahn said after that experience, he created a business email address and started booking more shows. He continued to grow his presence when he started working with YouTube managers he met while working as an intern in Los Angeles. Despite his success, Ahn kept a low profile in college. Communication lecturer Clayton Brown said he was surprised to hear that Ahn had such an extensive fan base. “I had no idea he was a musician at all, until I got a strange email asking if he could leave class early because he had a conference call with his YouTube network and sponsors,” Brown said in an email. “I wrote back and said, ‘I’m confused. Yo u r Yo u Tu b e network? Sponsors?
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Please fill me in.’” Ahn’s violin work is now a full-time job. He plays shows at universities and Koreanpop festivals almost every weekend and said he is completely booked until May. However, Ahn’s YouTube presence dwindled last year. He said after two years of working as a full-time YouTuber, he worried he lost his core reason to perform: playing popular songs he enjoyed. “I love K-pop music and the whole culture. Being Korean, it’s definitely a national pride kind of thing too,” Ahn said. “But I think the K-pop covers were geared towards the fans, and I was doing it more for the views and the applause.” Ahn’s self-doubt came to a head at a K-pop convention in Mexico in April, where he opened for K-pop idols with covers of their songs. Halfway into his first song, Ahn “snapped into it ” and had a startling revelation. “I was playing in front of 20,000 people and I didn’t know why they were smiling or enjoying what I was doing,” Ahn said. “The cheers didn’t make me feel fulfilled because it was not for me. It was for the person’s song that I was playing, for the dance that I was copying and performing onstage.” Ahn said he felt he had lost touch with his artistry and had truly gained the title he despised: a cover artist. At
the time of his onstage epiphany, he was also struggling financially, as copyright laws prohibit YouTube musicians from independently monetizing cover videos without approval from the music’s original publisher. Though he was doing well on YouTube numbers-wise, Ahn said he saw a disparity between his views and his financial success. Ahn refers to the following period as his “falling out with YouTube.” However, after months of soul-searching, he bounced back and released his first original song in November. Ahn said he plans to release a few more original singles and has adjusted his perspective on being a cover artist. “I’ve taken myself back to the days when I was watching YouTube as a fan,” Ahn said. “When I saw somebody cover a song, it wasn’t because I wanted to hear Ed Sheeran’s ‘Photograph.’ I was looking it up to see if, for example, A.J. Rafael did his own version of it.” Ahn said he hopes this new outlook will help him put more value into his work. “Wherever I am 10 years down the
road, I hope I am happy doing what I am doing, and that I am doing something that I love to do, and that it is for the right reasons,” Ahn said.◊
“I played that event in front of about 50 or 60 people, and I thought, ‘Oh, I could actually make a living out of this.’ Up until that point I was just making YouTube videos on my own for fun.”
— Jun Sung Ahn, Communication ’15 7
Northwestern alumnus Alan Schmuckler wins Kleban Prize for “Wait Wait Don’t Kill Me”
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lan Schmuckler’s first foray into songwriting began in high school. Using clunky Windows 95 software in his basement, Schmuckler began to write ditties and parody lyrics that were not meant to be shared with anyone, but rather would remain in the private safety of his PalmPilot for perpetuity. Over a decade later, Schmuckler (Communication ’05) has transformed from a kid with an old computer to rank among the hottest up-and-coming
lyricists of his generation, winning $100,000 through the 2018 Kleban Prize for his most recent work, “Wait Wait Don’t Kill Me.” Each year the award’s committee honors whom they deem the most promising musical theatre lyricist, and previous winners have gone on to write the lyrics for Tony-winning musicals including “Fun Home” and “Avenue Q.” Schmuckler credits his experience working on the Waa-Mu Show with honing his songwriting skills. He said he first became involved his
— by Jane Recker freshman year after attending a writer’s meeting on a whim, with a song he had begun writing before coming to Northwestern that he thought could fit well into the show. The show’s head writers agreed. “Out of curiosity and excitement,” he said, he wrote a few more songs that were accepted into the show, and remembers being awestruck hearing them performed live in the spring with a full cast and
Photos: Source Alan Schumuckler
orchestra. “I remember where I was in Cahn Auditorium the first time I saw the Waa-Mu Show my freshman year,” he said. “Hearing music I had written, hearing lyrics I had written, what a thrill and what an honor that was.” Others took note of Schmuckler’s talent when they saw the Waa-Mu Show. Head of the musical theatre department and Communication Prof. David Bell said he was thoroughly impressed by Schmuckler’s work. “I was just dumbstruck by the sophistication and variation of the work that an undergraduate could contribute to that kind of show,” Bell said. It was through Waa-Mu that Schmuckler met one of his best friends and professional collaborators, Michael Mahler — a sophomore when Schmuckler came to NU and the head writer for Waa-Mu that year. Mahler (Communication ’04) said he remembered being struck by Schmuckler’s natural talent. “This little freshman kid came in and was playing piano like a maniac and was writing these incredible songs,” Mahler said. Mahler said the two instantly became close friends and collaborators, and would often run their personal work by each other first before sharing it with others. The pair not only continued to work together on Waa-Mu while at NU, but entered the professional field together when Schmuckler was a senior. After participating in a songwriting showcase at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the theater commissioned them to write an original family musical. Schmuckler and Mahler created “How Can You Run With A Shell On Your Back?”, which Mahler described as “‘The Breakfast Club’ meets ‘Aesop’s Fables.’” The show ran at Chicago
Shakespeare Theater and has been reproduced across the country since, Mahler said. Mahler said he enjoys writing with someone he can be brutally honest with, and that he holds great respect for Schmuckler’s drive. “It’s one thing to be clever and be able to come up with witty things. It’s a whole other thing to be able to go back and rewrite it until it’s perfect,” Mahler said. “(Alan) doesn’t stop until it’s great.” While Schmuckler and Mahler frequently work as a team, their most recent work being “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” they also work independently on their own projects. Schmukler said his musical “Wait Wait Don’t Kill Me” was conceived in a nontraditional way, starting as a series of short, darkly satirical episodes based on the events surrounding the release of the podcast “Serial.” The five theatrical bursts were combined to create a full-length musical, and then — in homage to its origin — a podcast that will be
released through Spotify in late January. While writing music, Schmuckler says he often begins by coming up with a hook that serves as a “genesis that will be the emotional center of a song.” He said he does not buy in to the belief of waiting for inspiration to strike, but rather insists in the importance of getting something on the page. “If all you do is wait around to be inspired, you may never be inspired,” he said. “And when you work professionally there’s no time to wait for inspiration. … If people can’t rely on you to deliver something, you’re not going to work.” Schmuckler admitted he grew up an avid perfectionist with a “compulsion to get things right.” Over the years, though, he said he has come to acknowledge that it’s okay to not get it right on the first try, and that everyone has to go back and workshop their writing. “If you have a deadline, you have to sit down and write something, and you have to know that it’s probably not going to be the best thing you’ve ever written,” Schmuckler said. “Because who do you think you are? That’s not how people work.” Winning the Kleban Prize has been a huge honor and source of personal validation for Schmuckler, who says he has become all too acquainted with the failure that’s associated with the unforgiving theatre industry. Though he said he took his initial failures extremely personally, he persevered and continued to work to improve and refine his work. For him, winning the Kleban prize is proof that those struggles were worth it. “(It’s) a validation of the merit of effort despite repeated failure,” Schmuckler said. “Failure is not preclusive to success, it’s the precursor to success.” ◊
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Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra to tour China with the music of Leonard Bernstein, Gustav Mahler — by Madeleine Fernando
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ince arriving in Northwestern in the fall of 1984, director of orchestral programs Victor Yampolsky said he has watched the Bienen School of Music transform from good to outstanding. In his 34 years, it has been his dream to “show off ” his musicians to the world. In just under two months, that dream will come to life. This spring break, from March 25 through 31, the Northwestern
University Symphony Orchestra will embark on its first-ever tour and perform in three cities in greater China, according to a news release. The
group’s home performance before heading east is scheduled for Feb. 3 in Pick-Staiger Hall. Organized by Bienen, the Buffett Institute for Global Studies and the Northwestern Alumni Association, the tour will take 87 Bienen students across the Pacific to perform the music of Leonard Bernstein and Gustav Mahler. “(It’s our) first time away
from campus,” Yampolsky said. “It’s a really big deal for us.” University President Morton Schapiro told The Daily he will be attending the concerts in both Beijing and Shanghai before returning to Evanston in time for Passover. Schapiro, who regularly travels to China, said the University will receive significant publicity from the tour and that preparations are currently underway. “I’m just really excited,” Schapiro said. “I love classical music. I love Northwestern, and … it’s really going to be an exciting trip.”
Photos: Source Bienen School of Music and Noah Frick-Alofs
Bienen master’s student Yuan Gao, a violist originally from Beijing, said she has observed an “ongoing and increasing interest” in China surrounding classical music. She said she hopes the tour will leave attendees with a “refreshed” impression of the caliber of NU’s music school. “(China has) thousands of professionals who want to have access (to a) top-notch level of classical music,” she said. “Our school coming there will bring them a perspective of what classical education is like in the United States.” The orchestra office’s administrative assistant Danielle Ray said the tour is funded by an anonymous benefactor, with all costs — including travel, lodging, meals and activities — covered for each musician. Ray said that while specific plans are still in the works, students’ main priority will be their concerts, with tourist activities incorporated accordingly. Ray said the tour offers students a “wonderful opportunity” that will prepare them well in their future careers. “A lot of (the students) have probably not done an international tour with an orchestra yet since they’re still in their degree programs,” she said. “It’s a really great experience for them to get to do this with their fellow peers.” Yampolsky said when Bienen dean Toni-Marie Montgomery asked him to put together the tour’s program, it took him
“exactly 15 seconds” to figure out what he wanted to perform: the work of Leonard Bernstein. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the American composer and conductor’s birth, sparking Yampolsky’s initial desire to honor his music. However, Yampolsky had far more personal reasons to showcase Bernstein’s music on tour. Yampolsky remembers auditioning for Bernstein in Rome, where Bernstein offered him a scholarship to attend what is now the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. Yampolsky spent 13 summers at the center as a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and later as a conductor of the Young Artists Orchestra, he said. Yampolsky said Bernstein had the “heart and energy” of five people and was at Tanglewood almost every summer to teach and coach up-and-coming musicians. Yampolsky would often invite him to work with his student orchestra — an offer Bernstein never turned down. “I cannot call him just a teacher because he was more like a prophet,” Yampolsky said. “His passion for music was absolute and (was) paired with incredible eloquence and the desire to help young people … so we have to acknowledge his centennial and play his piece.” The tour will feature “Symphonic Dances,” a piece assembled from portions of the musical
“West Side Story,” which Bernstein composed. Yampolsky said the piece was specially arranged for a large orchestra by a friend of Bernstein, since the original compositions were intended for a pit orchestra. “What people are going to hear is a fullsize symphony orchestra with lots of percussion in the most brilliant rendition of what’s supposed to be a little theater orchestra in a pit,” Yampolsky said. “It is really a spectacular show.” The group will also be performing Symphony No. 5 by Austrian composer and conductor Mahler. Yampolsky noted that not only did Bernstein enthusiastically promote Mahler’s works throughout his career, the two also drew much of their musical inspiration from street songs, combining “popular music with highbrow classical music.” While “Symphonic Dances” will serve as a crowd-pleaser for the tour, Yampolsky said the grand Symphony No. 5 is the “perfect vehicle” to show off NUSO’s talent, showcasing all sections of the orchestra, from strings to brass. Yampolsky said he is “extremely grateful” for the opportunity to take his musicians abroad and is certain the group will be well-received beyond Evanston. “There is nothing more glorious than a full symphony orchestra and classical music,” Yampolsky said. “It really unites people like nothing else.” ◊
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Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks join forces to tell the story of Katharine Graham and the Pentagon Papers — by Stavros Agorakis and Jane Recker
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W
hen Meryl Streep,Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg were all asked about the importance of including powerful female roles in “The Post” given the recent current events in Hollywood, Streep gave a wry smile and simply said, “Well, I would like the fellas to talk about this.” Spielberg was quick to respond. He said he felt it was important for this production to have a strong female influence, noting that the screenplay was written by a 31-year-old woman, Liz Hannah. This is Spielberg’s second foray into distinctly feminist films, the first being “The Color Purple” in 1985, 32 years ago. “That’s a long time between feminist statements,” he said. “I am much more comfortable in the company of women and I always have been, so this was, for me, a no brainer to jump head first into the story.” “The Post” recounts a pivotal moment in the history of The Washington Post when owner Katharine Graham decided to publish the Pentagon Papers.These papers were leaked, classified government documents that proved the United States administration knew the Vietnam War could not be won. Spielberg was in the middle of production for “Ready Player One” when he came across Hannah’s screenplay. Despite being swamped with work on the effects-heavy sci-fi movie, Spielberg was compelled to take on “The Post,” as the distinctly human, historic story resonated with him, he said. Spielberg said he felt the core of the story was incredibly relevant to the modern era, due to the similarities traced between former President Richard Nixon and President Donald Trump’s tenures in their efforts to stifle the First Amendment. “I just felt a calling, I think all of us did,” he said. “This is a story that is vaguely familiar to all of us in this day and age.” Streep, who portrays Katharine Graham in “The Post,” said she also had a visceral reaction to Hannah’s script, and felt that Graham’s story needed to be told. As a rich housewife, Graham’s only societal expectations were to “make her husband comfortable, and her children as well,” Streep said. That all changed when Graham’s husband committed suicide, leaving her in charge of her family’s legacy publication. Graham’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers came at a crucial time for The Washington Post, as the company was going public. Should the government have won in their Photos: Source: 20th Century Fox
Supreme Court case retaliating against the Post, Graham’s family’s legacy would have folded, and she and those involved in the publication of the Pentagon Papers could have faced jail time. Graham’s bravery was not lost on her, Streep said. “(Graham had) to make a pivotal decision that would affect the entire country and the progress of the government’s attempt to control the press,” she said. Streep added that “The Post” is one of the few films in her career in which she felt incredibly confident about her ability to tackle her role. Streep said she often enters productions with a lot of self-doubt, at times even attempting to pull out of the project entirely. She said she never felt tentative about this role, as Graham’s autobiography provided a wealth of perspective on her character. “I thought, what a wonderful woman, what an emblematic life and what a great opportunity to try to give her to the world,” Streep said. This project marks the first collaboration between Spielberg, Streep and Hanks, who plays the role of Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee. Streep said she enjoyed working with Hanks immensely due to his humor and wit on and off set. “Everything he does, even the most serious things, has a comic sensibility; there’s a sense of something secretly funny,” Streep said. “This is part of the joy of playing. There’s always a possibility that his wit will direct you in a certain way.” Hanks had equally high praise for his experience with Streep. “The most exciting moments in a scene with Meryl are the pauses that she puts in,” he said. “You’re wondering, ‘what’s going to come out
on the other side?’ and they’re never the same. Sometimes they’re fast, but when they linger there it’s like, ‘hold on here comes the hurricane.’” “The Post” will be released in select theaters on Dec. 22, and nationwide on Jan. 12. The film has already garnered an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and audiences worldwide, scoring six Golden Globe and eight Critics’ Choice nominations. Spielberg, Streep and Hanks have all received nods for their work in the movie. Although the film’s story is a distinct piece of American history, Spielberg said the movie will resonate with universal audiences because “everything that happens to us happens to the world…we can no longer think of ourselves as on another hemisphere of the planet.” Streep, who broke her own record for most Golden Globe nominated actress with a 31st nomination, agreed with Spielberg’s sentiments that Graham’s decision to publish led to “an explosion of faith in the free press” that would pave the way for Watergate. “Sometimes bad news makes good newspaper,” Streep said. ◊
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The movie did a wonderful job highlighting the public’s need of the press. If people believe that all news critical of the government is ‘fake news,’ that government can successfully get away with almost everything — including letting hundreds of thousands of boys die in Vietnam. — Lucy Weidner, Weinberg freshman
I think it landed pretty well. There were some lines about the ‘government controlling press’ and the audience chuckled in an ‘Oh, god’ kind of way. — Ryan Loach, Weinberg senior Throughout the movie, as various characters gave monologues about the importance of the free press, the entire audience would burst into applause. I think the experience of having such an energetic audience proves the movie is incredibly timely and that audiences are connecting it to the current era and seeing it as a referendum on the Trump administration. — Helen Murphy, Weinberg senior I thought it was amazing how big the parallels were between what happened back then with (Richard) Nixon and what’s happening now with (Donald) Trump. I think it shows how valuable having credible journalism is in today’s age. — Austin Matloff, Communication junior 14
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