End-of-Semester Performance

Concert Production | Marketing | Team Structuring

Having taught myself to play the guitar, bass, and drums, I was yearning for opportunities to perform songs I like with a live band. Yet, I struggled to find those opportunities. Coming to USC, I realized I was not alone. While there are many other talented musicians ready to hit the stage, the stage is only available for students majoring in Popular Music. It was when I discovered creSCendo where I got to work with similarly-aspirated peers and build a professional stage for all music lovers.

The End-of-Semester Performance (ESP) was created for creSCendo members to shine on a stage like that. As an 80+ people club instead of a standalone band, creSCendo allows members to team up with anyone else for any song. As President, I built a team to face the tremendous challenge of fitting 20+ acts, each with a unique lineup, into the given 150-minute time frame, while managing the logistics for soundcheck and set changes. It was the highest number of acts and performers the venue has ever hosted at a single event, yet we ensured a smooth run-of-show with tight turnarounds.

- 22 acts, each with a unique lineup backed by industry-standard sound and lighting design
- 50+ performers playing over 12 types of instruments
- A setlist featuring diverse genres and multiple languages
- Over 200 attendees

Building the Stage

↸ESP Rundown Spreadsheet with performers assigned to on-stage input items

Producing a live concert from scratch requires a lot of preparation, yet creating one for over 22 distinct acts in various genres posed another challenge. The first step was finding ourselves a venue. We wanted to give as many members an opportunity to perform as possible, yet our budget didn’t allow us to book the venue for over 8 hours, which also included load-in, soundcheck, buffer hours, and strike. I worked with Trojan Event Services of USC and negotiated a deal allowing us to fit 22 acts within the 150-minute time frame, the most number of acts the venue had ever hosted.

To coordinate with so many musicians and set changes, I designed a rundown spreadsheet that details the run-of-show by the minute. Additionally, each performer is assigned to a specific input item on stage, making it much easier to communicate set changes with performers and FOH engineers clearly. This document also saved us a lot of time during soundcheck, as performers and the engineer knew exactly which backline piece they would be using.

Building the Team

↸Instagram teasers as part of social media marketing for ESP

Making such a logistically complex event run smoothly is no small feat, and we couldn’t have pulled it off without a tight and collaborative team. Playing in a band requires great team coordination, and the same could be said for running a show as well. To start off, I led several workshops with our backstage members, training them with professional terminology and communication strategies used in a live environment. I assigned roles such as stage managers to our members, giving them hands-on experience while maximizing efficiency for the live production.

Additionally, I led a team of marketing and graphic design creatives and launched a brand-new social media marketing campaign. The amazing and dedicated team created setlists, video teasers, posters, and flyers that covered content for weeks leading up to ESP. As a result, we virtually sold out the event and attracted around 200 attendees, reaching the venue’s maximum capacity.

Building the Org

↸creSCendo club retreat

As President of creSCendo, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with talented, diligent peers and create a platform for other music lovers like me. At the same time, I want to share the excitement of building something from nothing with others. Shortly after the ESP, I launched a major and ongoing organizational overhaul, placing creSCendo management team members into project groups, each endowed with more agency and creative freedom. Striving to build a collaborative and passion-driven organizational culture, I supported each project group to fully oversee the creative and production process of a performance while working with marketing and finance team. I truly hope that creSCendo becomes an organization where artists and creatives can collaborate, learn, and enjoy their crafts both on and off stage.