All three members of Aurelia sit comfortably at the table in the kitchen of the music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha. They have about an hour before their next gig, a small performance for the Residential College Board’s last meeting. They’re relaxed, not the least bit nervous. Each one is an impressively accomplished musician on his own, but it was 21-year-old Sasha Bayan Khadivian who brought them all together.
After 14 months abroad in Spain and Israel, Khadivian, who majors in guitar performance and religious studies, decided to start what he calls a “consistent ensemble” — and thus Aurelia, which is Latin for “gold,” was born. “I came back to the States, and I had music that I wanted to share and play with people. So I called some friends up, including Alex and Sam … and then it sort of organically developed from there,” Khadivian says.
Rounding out Aurelia’s three-man lineup are Sam Suggs, 21, a music theory major, and Alexander Hunt, 22, a psychology major and an ad hoc major in jazz studies. Both have a strong musical background: Hunt is the percussionist and plays various instruments but mostly uses the cajon, a box-shaped percussion instrument while Suggs plays the string bass. Khadivian plays classical guitar, and all three musicians contribute to the vocals.
As for songwriting, Khadivian often brings a song idea to the table, but each member of the band plays a role in composing the music. “We all contribute a lot to each piece that we play … I sort of bring in the raw material, and together we add our spices. We bring out our pots and cook up something good,” Khadivian says.
“As far as with playing around and stuff, it’s always a give and take,” Hunt adds. “And Sasha’s really good about preserving that everybody has their ideas and things that they want to try.” He says songs are often inspired by just playing around with the music and having fun.
Aurelia’s music is a unique blend of classical, salsa, Afro-Cuban beats and jazz, as well as original arrangements of popular songs. The band says they’re aiming to appeal to a broad audience with all kinds of diverse musical tastes. “We’re thinking about different types of crowds we can appeal to,” Suggs says. “Something that our culture is losing right now is live music.”
Aurelia, who began playing together Fall Quarter of this year, has performed over a dozen times in the past few months. None of the members knows exactly what the future holds, but they plan to take it one day at a time.
“I really don’t care about next year,” says Suggs. “I care about tomorrow.”
briananicholsonklingerman2013@
u.northwestern.edu
