Name: Andrew Burrill
Year: 4th
Major: Drama and Media Studies
Hometown: Louisa County, Virginia
1. What have you been involved during your time here at UVA?
Virginia Model UN, Spectrum Theatre, First Year Players, TEDxUVA, the Virginia Glee Club, the ACC Leadership Symposium at the University of Notre Dame, 4th Year Trustees, Virginia Players, the Hesselbein Global Academy, Producing the Vagina Monologues, Lighting of the Lawn, and performing in the U.Va. Department of Drama!
2. I believe you’re on the planning committee for the annual Lighting of the Lawn this year! Congratulations! What’s it like working behind the scenes of one of UVA’s biggest events of the year? Can you give us a tiny hint of what we can expect this year?
Yes! I am the Programs Director for the 15th Annual Lighting of the Lawn happening this year. To be honest with you, it is beyond humbling to be working on an event of this scale, especially since it is so important to bringing positive energy to the University of Virginia community! I still remember seeing the very 1st Lighting of the Lawn when I was in the second grade – I was sold ever since. This year we are tailoring the performative aspect of the night’s show to revolve around the theme of, “How the Grinch Stole Wahoowa” which is a reference to the Rolling Stone article, the Hannah Graham and Martese Johnson situations, and how these events last year tried to take away the positive essence that is so intrinsic to what the University of Virginia stands for. We are also showing that we, as an institution, are taking the right steps to stand on a foundation of solidarity with the local community – that we’ve got each other’s back even when the times get hard.
As part of this effort to blend the communities, two a cappella groups from local schools will be among the 29 performers at the ceremony. The T-Tones, from Charlottesville High School, and The Minutemen, from Albemarle High School, will perform, along with DMR Adventures, a local community singing group. Just some of the UVA performers this year will include the Virginia Gentlemen, the Virginia Glee Club, Hoos In Treble, the Virginia Belles and the Radio Music Society, a strings group. This is quite a strong change this year, for the fact that many of the groups who perform normally are solely a cappella. This year, we are truly striving to evoke the power of all performance art whether it be dance, instrumental, or vocal.
Additionally, it has been so humbling to work with all of my peers to put on an event on of this size. All of the committee members, 4th Year Chairs, our two fabulous directors Ben Cunningham and Sarah DeShields, and the staff of the University of Virginia Alumni Association, have really put in countless hours and pulled together to make this event something magical and uplifting for all those who are in attendance! Something different to expect this year is a Live Stream of the event catered towards alumni, students and faculty abroad, and anyone with general interest. Drew Lytle, a 1st Year engineering student in the Virginia Glee Club with me, has been tasked with not only Live Streaming the event, but also doing a recap video that will feature aerial drone footage. Being a 4th Year in the Department of Drama, I feel as if I have been taught and prepared to direct the programming for an event this large, and am so thankful for the trust that my peers, professors, and members of the U.Va. and Charlottesville communities have put in me – I promise not to let them down!
3. You’re going to Argentina with the Virginia Glee Club too? Is there anything you can’t do? Tell us all about that!
Yes, m’am – the Virginia Glee Club is in fact going to Argentina! Founded in 1871, the Glee Club is the University’s oldest musical organization and one of the oldest all-male collegiate vocal ensembles in the United States. It is currently conducted by Grammy Award winner Frank Albinder and on March 4, 2016, we will embark on our first ever tour to South America!! This is only the seventh tour in our entire 145-year history and the first international tour undertaken in over 15 years. Six nights and seven days in Argentina with concerts in La Plata, Tigre, and the heart of Buenos Aires, in some of the world’s most notable cathedrals and auditoriums! It’s amazing to be able to go on this trip and to be a part of the history of the Virginia Glee Club going forward. Fun fact, we are actually the oldest organization, next to the Cavalier Daily, that’s still in existence – even President Woodrow Wilson was a member! This trip will be one of many that I am excited to go on this year with the group, including a trip to Smith College in the Spring. Something that a lot of people don’t actually know is that the Virginia Gentleman, an a cappella group here at UVA, used to be a subset of the Virginia Glee Club until not that long ago. I love finding out all of the ways that our music affects people not only in our community, but especially when we see Virginia Alumni at our concerts when we tour around the nation, it is so humbling. I hope to see Virginia Alumni at our Argentina Concerts as well, they can get a little taste of Virginia even if they live on another continent, that’s why we dub ourselves, “Virginia’s Messengers of Harmony, Love, and Brotherhood.” As far as answering the question if there is anything I can’t do – the answer would absolutely be YES. A lot of people look at me, and the amount of activities that I do, and ask me why I am trying to out-do others or spend so much time making my resume look good. This is simply not the case. During my 1st year in college, my mother passed away. Because my mom was my primary source of survival, I have been an independent student putting myself through school ever since. I look at the University of Virginia like my family, and to be honest, they are essentially all that I have left. When you’re part of a family, you do your part to make sure that it’s thriving and healthy. This is why I involve myself in so much at the University of Virginia, because my passion and heart are linked to it.
**PS If you would like to make a donation to the Virginia Glee Club to help fund their trip to Argentina, click on the link here!
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-the-virginia-glee-club-reach-argentina–2#/
4. If you could change one thing on the “116 Things To Do Before You Graduate” list and add your own personal must-do, what would it be?
Ah, that is such a good question! I would say if I could add one thing on the list of things to do before you graduate, it would be to give a tour of the University of Virginia Grounds to a person you knew before coming to college. I’ve noticed that when people come to school here, it is very easy to forget where you came from and the people who shaped who you are today. It’s really powerful to show someone you still care about them by showing them what matters to you; including the importance of their friendship with you – and showing that they still matter in your life. Also, I think that sometimes the University of Virginia has a stigma of elitism, and that only certain groups of individuals are welcome here, which is very sad to think about. To fight this stigma, I think that by adding this item to the list it would make the University more accessible to people who might not feel welcomed, or have an excuse to come and visit. It would allow themselves to be at a place of such recognition, and to not feel bothered because they are with their friends who invited them and care about their well being. But overall, I think that the list does a really great job at encompassing the experience of the typical University of Virginia student.