In Oxford College’s Music for Change club, musical performance, social justice and fundraising all intersect.
The club hosts concerts and other fundraising initiatives for Oxford artists, and all proceeds are donated to a variety of charities. Musicians who join or perform with Music for Change enjoy a casual environment and a tight-knit community of fellow artists.
“My favorite thing in the world is music – I love to play the guitar, I collect vinyl records,” said Treasurer Ashton Fox (23Ox). “I knew that this was a great opportunity for me to gain some leadership experience while doing something that I love.”
Last semester, Music for Change held two major events. One was a fall charity concert, where Oxford musicians performed everything from classical piano pieces to modern songs. No entry fee was required, but donations were encouraged.
“We had a little intermission between the two parts of the concert with cookies,” said co-President Jessica Yoon (22Ox). “We were able to raise over a hundred dollars.”
The club’s second event was a performance by Fox and his friends at Benton House of Covington, a local nursing home. Fox said that the event was a success, and he hopes Music for Change will promote more concerts like this in the future.
“One of the ladies there, she didn’t want us to stop playing,” Fox said, “so we played a little bit extra for her.”
Last year, Music for Change put out a series of dare lists for student artists, filled with challenges from Oxford-related activities to Tik Tok dances with the dean. Musicians, usually members of the Oxford community, could fulfill these dares and complete fundraising goals by performing for an audience.
“If you want to see someone dance in the quad, you’d have to have a total of ten dollars of donations from everyone,” said Alexandra Iotzova (22Ox), a former co-President of Music for Change.
Yoon and Goldberg plan to hold a spring charity concert this semester. Yoon said the club may publish the list of dares right before the concert, hoping this will “hype up” the performance and bring in even more musicians, students and donations than before.
Music for Change does not support a specific charity.
“We tend to switch it up,” co-President Harrison Goldberg (22Ox) said. “Last year, Oxford students who had volunteered to do the dares were able to donate everything to a charity of their choosing.”
A community and artistic outlet for talented Oxford students, the club also welcomes those who do not sing or play an instrument.
“There’s people on the board who aren’t really musicians themselves,” Iotzova said. “It’s about wanting to raise money for good causes.”
Fox said Music for Change was an integral part of his first semester at Oxford College.
“It [was] probably my favorite thing in terms of moving to college and getting used to it, and it provided me a way to do what I love and do it for a good cause,” Fox said.
Goldberg agreed, adding that Music for Change not only benefits Oxford students but also has a larger effect on the local community.
“It's very gratifying and rewarding to know that everything that you're doing is having an effect on someone else's life and bettering someone else's life,” Goldberg said.
