UCLA dance student Sarah Summers to perform at Spring Sing

The original version of this article contained an error and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.

The spotlight will shine directly on her, as she picks at the banjo, producing a twanging sound that combines with her mature, deep voice, and sings about her past and the exciting mystery of her future.

Sarah Summers, a first-year dance student, is one of the students selected to sing in this year’s Spring Sing. Summers has already used Spring Sing as an opportunity to meet other musicians and has since joined the band The Street Hearts. This Friday, she will play the banjo, and perform her self-composed piece “Meagan’s Song” for the first time.

“‘Meagan’s Song’ is about my best friend in high school and what it felt like to go our separate ways,” Summers said. “It’s about saying goodbye to her and to Sonoma, where I have spent most of my life. It was definitely a time to change, but it was bittersweet to move on.”

Summers began practicing for Spring Sing in winter quarter, but recently rehearsals have grown more intense, she said. While she plays “Meagan’s Song,” she said she imagines playing for a large crowd and tries to adjust the performance accordingly.

Because there will be an audience of around 8,000 on Friday, Summers said she is using Spring Sing to see if music and singing are really career options she wants to pursue and commit to.

Summers began her singing career as a young girl performing in children’s theaters. Her family held a passion for music, and as a child she was always exposed to instruments and music.

For Christmas one year, Summers received a puffy jacket and her mom received a ukulele. Both preferred the other’s gift, and so they switched. Summers soon moved on to master the ukulele, as well as the guitar and banjo.

At a summer performing arts camp, Summers met a camp counselor who exposed her to a new form of singing. The female counselor had a folksy voice, and until that point, Summers had primarily been exposed to male folk artists and hadn’t realized that female folk artists could perform. Summers said she was inspired, and began to consider folk singing as something she could pursue.

“Most of my inspiration comes from my camp counselor, as well as British folk artists Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling, and the blues,” Summers said.

Since coming to UCLA, Summers has been taking advantage of the performance opportunities by putting herself out there musically, she said. In winter quarter, Summers performed at wacSMASH’d, the annual showcase put on by the world arts and cultures/dance department at UCLA. She incorporated singing into a tap dance piece, and used the tap as percussion to the bridge of her song.

At wacSMASH’d, Summers was mentored by Ahilya Kaul, a fourth-year dance student, who said singing just seemed natural and effortless for Summers.

“Her presence on stage is very genuine and honest, it’s all about the music and her voice, which is hauntingly beautiful – she sounds mature and beyond her years,” Kaul said. “You don’t expect that voice out of her, and she consistently has a magical tone and quality.”

Summers’ mature singing style was evident to fourth-year dance student Joel Ontiveros, who said he did not expect such a wise singing voice. Ontiveros, who watched Summers’ performance at wacSMASH’d, her debut at UCLA, said he recruited Summers to sing at Camp Kesem’s Make the Magic, the fundraiser for Camp Kesem summer camp.

“At wacSMASH’d, you could feel her coming through. It was a full body experience, and you could tell she was telling her own story,” Ontiveros said. “She feeds off her different artistic capabilities and uses it as a collaboration and fusion of singing and dance, which makes her a better artist.”

Summers applied for Spring Sing before wacSMASH’d was over, but she said the success of her performance at wacSMASH’d gave her the confidence she needed to really commit to Spring Sing.

Ontiveros said he thinks Summers will enjoy the performance, and it is the best possible opportunity for her to expose her talent.

“She loves to perform, and it’s just about her wanting to share her music with fellow Bruins and her songs to the larger UCLA community,” Ontiveros said. “I think she is going to nail it and have a good time doing it.”

Summers said she auditioned without expectations, and she thinks it is one of the best things she could have done.

“It’s a huge learning experience, and the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I feel that college is the place to do it,” Summers said.

Correction: The audience size at Spring Sing will be around 8,000.