The Oxford College Chapel was decorated with pink ribbons for Oxford Music for Change’s breast cancer awareness charity concert Oct. 16. Club members wore pink clothing and handed out pink bears as audience members entered the space. The concert raised $121 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), an organization dedicated to advancing breast cancer research.
Oxappella, the campus’s a cappella group, opened the concert with covers of “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar and H.E.R. and “Hypotheticals” by Lake Street Dive, engaging the audience with their light tempo. The singers held hands and eye contact with each other for coordination and joined the audience after their performance to watch the next acts.
Oxappella opened the concert with covers of “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar and H.E.R. and “Hypotheticals” by Lake Street Dive. (Courtesy of Alex Minovici.)
Oxappella’s performance was followed by guitar solos, acoustic singing, piano solos, a rock band performance and various other musical acts from talented Oxford students. Students started each performance with personal introductions and expressed their concern for breast cancer awareness.
Jack Byers (24Ox), who played “Free Fallin’” by John Mayer, introduced his performance with nervous excitement.
“It might not be perfect … but it’s for you guys, for people I love and for this sweet Sunday afternoon,” Byers said.
A pink bear greeted audience members at the entrance to the Oxford College Chapel. (Courtesy of Alex Minovici.)
Rather than a performance, each act felt more like a conversation between the musician and the audience, with one side expressing their motivation, joy or frustrations through music, and the other responding with warm encouragement.
Katie Hu (24Ox), who played a self-revised piano solo of Coldplay’s “Something Just Like This,” said she was drawn to the event because of its cause, as well as the musical component.
“I just want to spread the awareness of breast cancer, and also spread my love for music and my joy on a Sunday with such nice weather,” Hu said. “Everyone is so supportive of our peers.”
John Kim (24Ox) performed an acoustic guitar piece. (Courtesy of Alex Minovici.)
The concert’s longest performance was John Kim’s (24Ox) guitar solo. Although the six-minute piece differed from the other performances because it was acoustic and didn’t have lyrics, the audience stayed engaged, listening and swaying gently along with the song.
Oxford Music for Change’s vice president, Ethan Mao (22Ox), said that his personal experience playing piano for the past 14 years inspired the decision to hold this charity concert.
“That’s why I want to bring the magic of music to a larger community,” Mao said.
Mao also shared that the club will hold its next charity concert in an assisted living facility. The dates and locations will be announced later.
Lucy Liu (24Ox), an international student, said that the event provided a release after a stressful first month at Oxford.
“I feel my happier life back in high school can start again,” Liu said. “I guess this is what people call music therapy.”
After the performance, Mao and other Music for Change executive members helped students donate to BCRF, and students started wearing pink around campus in the following days to spread breast cancer awareness.
“The concert makes me feel like hope still exists for the sufferers in the world,” Liu said.
Amiee Zhao is from Shanghai, China. At the Wheel, she is Emory Life editor and a writer for multiple sections. Outside of the Wheel, she enjoys traveling and reading non-fiction. She is also involved in OxBroadway and Autism Advocacy Organization.
