To celebrate the historic inauguration of Boston University’s president, Melissa Gilliam, BU student groups showcased their various talents the week prior to the inauguration. The events united singers, dancers and musicians across campus to not only honor Gilliam, but commemorate a new era in the University’s history.
The BU Treblemakers, an all-gender acapella group, were one of many groups selected for this historic occasion. Junior Allison Zeoli, president of the Treblemakers, said she was “in shock” when the Student Activities Office asked the Treblemakers to perform at Gilliam’s inauguration on Friday at Agganis Arena.
“It’s such a huge, historic event for BU and for women, especially people of color, ” Zeoli said. “So it was super exciting to be asked.”
With just over a week’s notice, the Treblemakers began preparations for their performance.
“We were looking through our repertoire, thinking what music would be appropriate for the event,” Zeoli said. “Something obviously uplifting and inspiring that will get people excited for the inauguration.”
They selected the song “Waves” by Melt, one the group had already performed and recorded last semester, to sing at the ceremony.
In addition to the Treblemakers, Unofficial Project performed at an invitation-only dinner at SoWa Power Station on Thursday. UPro is a competitive dance team that aims to unite students from different dance backgrounds.
Kaitlyn Begley, a senior and the president of UPro, said being included in the inauguration celebration is “exciting for the dance community.”
“We’re excited to expand our horizon and actually perform for people who aren’t really interested in dance and don’t go out to events exclusively for dance,” Begley said. “All we need is a 24-feet wide stage … We just need a space to showcase what we can do.”
UPro performed a number choreographed by two senior members, Zoe Huang and Juliana Choo, to “Blue” and “ENERGY” by Beyoncé and “Don’t Stop the Music” by Rihanna.
For Begley, who is a senior, the performance is bittersweet.
“I’ve been dancing since I was three, and I’m going to be graduating at the end of the year,” Begley said. “So this is a little bit like the end of my dance journey.”
Few BU celebrations are complete without the Pep Band. Nathan Chan, a junior and trumpet section leader, expressed how unique an opportunity this is for the band.
“This isn’t just some random hockey game or some basketball game,” Chan said. “This is the inauguration, which is kind of huge.”
The Pep Band is known for bringing “big sound and energy” during BU sporting events, Chan said. He hoped the band could bring the same level of spirit to their performance as they accompanied attendees to the Charles River Campus Community Celebration after Friday’s ceremony.
Chan said the Pep Band finds its talent from all corners of the University, and the band is excited to “entertain the crowd” at inauguration.
“In general, musicianship is just very strong at BU,” Chan said. “If we can showcase that at more events and more venues that would be great.”