Memories tagged “Music”

1980 My brother Ted also went to Columbia, and though he is an education major, he really loves music. He was the producer of the coffee house at St. Paul’s Chapel. I went there with boyfriends, family, and friends to...

Program in Physical Therapy 1982

AN ORIGINAL SAM Some of you will remember Sam. When I arrived at Columbia after the spring 1970 riots, he was sitting on Low Library steps or at the Broadway Gate selling his color abstracts. They were always of fanciful...

Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science 1972

Ani DiFranco, Neil Young A high school buddy came from out of town for a few days and saw posters on campus for an Ani DiFranco concert in Wollman Auditorium (may it rest in asbestos-abated peace). Needless to say, having...

Columbia College 1994

As La Rosita Goes, So Goes Morningside Heights I arrived on Manhattan’s Morningside Heights 27 years ago, a Baltimore suburbanite with little experience of urban living. I immediately fell in love with the place, embracing its grunginess with much enthusiasm....

Columbia College 1983

Beethoven’s Fifth I lived in a John Jay single my first year, on the fifth floor. My room was in the middle of the hallway, and on one end was Ben Middleman’s. Ben had great and varied musical tastes he...

Columbia College 1997

Busta Rhymes Concert I was only a senior in high school, visiting my future alma mater. It was pouring, but the steps were packed with black umbrellas and plastic ponchos. And there was Busta Rhymes jamming in front of us....

Columbia College 2002

Envious Regrets I went through the college as a young 16 year old, still living at home in Washington Heights, focused on a pre-med education and adolescent socialization. I helped out on the Columbia Review, wrote humerous poems for the...

College of Physicians and Surgeons 1953, Columbia College 1949

Experimental Art at Prentis Hall One memory sticks out beyond others in my Columbia experience: a series of crazed, semi-unofficial parties in Prentis Hall on 125th St. Home to Columbia’s world-class computer music center as well as the industrial sculpture...

Columbia College 1995

Favorite Place to Study My favorite place to study for second semester exams was in front of the library, on the grass. There was beautiful music always playing over a loud speaker. The weather was wonderful after the cold winter....

School of Dental and Oral Surgery 1961

Ghana Be Good During my junior year (Spring 2003), I left for what would eventually become a life changing experience. I had originally been scheduled to study in South Africa, but at the suggestion of a couple of friends, I...

Columbia College 2004

I Remember I remember blasting David Bowie and Aerosmith to get pumped up before a wrestling meet. I remember the sounds of James Taylor and Jorma Kokonen during those intimate moments at Hartley Hall, and the beat of NYC’s own...

Columbia College 1979

John Jay Allegiance I began my Columbia tutelage on John Jay 11, room 1127, to be exact. I will always remember move-in day - maneuvering those bulky, orange moving bins from the elevator to my little slice of Columbia. My...

Columbia College 2003

John Zorn at Miller One of the coolest art experiences that I had while at Columbia was seeing John Zorn at Miller Theatre. I had heard some CDs of his, so I was ready to hear some far-out music, even...

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 2002

“Little Mermaid Message” Sorry to quote myself, but I did like my short simple introduction to my mom’s message, which i sent to Jeff Rake, who sent it to ten people, who sent it to ten people, and so on...

Columbia College 1990

Live Jazz Memories Among the memorable jazz moments that still resonate are hearing John Coltrane from point blank range at Birdland, Randy Weston and Mose Allison at the Five Spot, Herbie Mann at the Village Gate, Ella Fitzgerald at Lewisohn...

Columbia College 1966

Livingston Hall Freshman year I opted for the cheapest room I could find, which as I recall was $190/semester. It was a double with bunk beds in Livingston Hall. At left is a picture of the room with my roommate....

College of Physicians and Surgeons 1973, Columbia College 1969

Make Up and Music I remember lining the eyes of certain members of Jonathan Fire*Eater and Desfite with black coal before their shows at the Cooler or Acme Underground. Those times froth with excitement.

Columbia College 1997

Miles Davis I can still hear Miles’s cool horn, still see his back. I think it was the autumn of ‘75 or ‘76, and we trucked over to Central Park for a free outdoor concert. Yeah, he mixed some early...

Columbia College 1978

Music I Listened To At first, being a young 17-year-old, I listened to WABC, Cousin Brucie and Dan Ingram. Then, as I developed some taste, I went to WNEW-FM, the legendary station with Murray the K (most famous, not the...

Columbia College 1969

My “Artsy” Experience In my 7 years at Columbia, my “artsy” experience both on and off campus was significant. On campus, I had a memorable classes in art history, music and in Shakespeare. I also took a class in textile...

Graduate School of Business 1974, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science 1971

My Dorms My first dorm room was in John Jay. It was not so cold during the winter break compared to my friend’s room behind the FBH building. JJ is very private environment. Not much chance to bump into others....

Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science 1997

Show Time My strangest and possibly my fondest memory in the Columbia library took place late one night during the cold month of February. I was studying in the large room in the back for my orgo test the following...

Columbia College 2005

SILENCE & LIGHT I remember two experiences which happened before, and after my graduation at Columbia. Although both were secular events I remember them as profound and at least for me religious experiences. The first experience was an individual one....

Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation 1993

So What I remember in ‘78 and ‘79 going regularly to hear the Columbia group “So What” playing at Carman. I thought they were the coolest guys on campus – cooler than the Count Basie guys at the West End....

Columbia College 1979

Social Work Meets Jazz in Manhattan My memories of being in New York during my studies at the School of Social Work are always peppered with the sound of music–more specifically, with that of jazz. When I did have the...

School of Social Work 1997

Sound from the Depths of Philosophy I had come to Columbia in 1950 on a research fellowship in the Electrical Engineering Dept. My sponsor was Prof. Harvey Fletcher, who had recently retired as director of research at Bell Labs. He...

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 1959, Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science 1959

Soundtrack of My Life at Columbia The soundtrack of my Columbia experience was definitely country music, which is strange considering NYC doesn’t have a single 24-hour country music radio station. As an intern and then host of the 40s and...

Columbia College 2004

Spiritual Culture Shock I came to the College in the fall of 1972 as an eager music major. Having already worked as a pastoral musician (organist and choir director) in the Catholic church since the age of 12, I considered...

Graduate School of Business 1978, Columbia College 1976

Stakes Is High to the Red Headed Stranger The first thing I heard when I stepped into my suite at Carman Hall was the album Stakes Is High by De La Soul. The last thing I heard at Columbia, leaving...

Columbia College 2001

Staying Alive In the spring of 1965, finding myself drifting within a sophomore slump, playing pool a tad more than reading utopian theory, visiting the West End Pub almost as often as visiting my class on the poetry of Stevens...

Columbia College 1967

Stretch & Bobbito Moving from my hometown, Wheeling, West Virginia, to Manhattan to attend Columbia was an eye-opener in innumerable ways. But more than anything, it was the music that made me glad I had made the journey. During my...

Columbia College 1998

Taps Columbia was probably more interesting than other university campuses musically not just because it was in the middle of a thriving musical marketplace but because musical things happened so serendipitously and had such unexpectedly pleasant consequences. As a freshman,...

Columbia College 1967

The Casuals The Casuals were a New Wave band c. 1980 who often performed in the crowded front room of that wacked-out fraternity on 114th St that kept having spectacular drug busts. Band members were all Columbia College undergraduates, though...

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 1980

The Invisible Student You don’t know me. I was an invisible student, one of many who worked their way through Columbia. As the lights came on in the dorms, I left for my job as usher at Radio City Music...

Columbia College 1947, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences 1948

The Local Punk Scene When I first arrived at Columbia, I was put on the fencing “jock” floor because I was going to be on the fencing team. I was not a jock. After first playing clarinet with the marching...

Columbia College 1981

The Misfit There I was: a nice southern girl (so I thought) at a nice green-campused southern university with a nice southern roommate, and I was miserable. Academically, I was happy, but socially - well, the year was 1974, and...

School of Nursing 1978

The Return of Mario Salvadori In 1978, all engineering freshmen were required to attend a once-a-week engineering overview lecture. The professor was Mario Salvadori, who was prompted to “un-retire” for this class. During our first class, Dr. Salvadori explained his...

Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science 1988

We Did Have Music! When I started Columbia in 1965, there was an abundance of local musical talent, both on and off campus. Folk stuff had been popular and “The Walkers” were the hottest rock band in Ferris Booth Hall....

College of Physicians and Surgeons 1973, Columbia College 1969

Where to Hang Out I had three hangs-outs during my time at Columbia. My favorite was WKCR’s lounge, as my Barnard girlfriend did a classical music show there, and I could count on her showing up a lot of the...

Columbia College 1960