Iona students who were in Spellman’s Vitanza Commons on Jan. 26 during the activity hour were greeted with a concert by an up-and-coming band called The Ballroom Thieves. For most students, this was be an unexpected sight.

While Iona has hosted concerts during the activity hour before, usually they took place in Lapenta’s End Zone. Recently, the Gaels Activity Board decided to move these concerts to Vitanza Commons, allowing for a wider audience.

When these concerts took place in the End Zone, people very rarely walked in during the show. GAB Chair Lindsay DeCarlo stated, “We found that people liked the live music but were intimidated to walk in during the performance.”

With this in mind, they relocated the concerts to Vitanza Commons. Not only does the area have more seating and space, but it also allows students to feel more at ease to walk in and out during the performance.

GAB first tried out these Spellman concerts back in the Spring of 2011.

After receiving a positive response from the student population, they continued the shows through last fall semester into this year.

For these performances, outside artists were brought to the college. During one of the concerts, though, it was suggested to GAB to feature Iona students and performers during the activity hour.

After discussing the possibility, GAB decided to follow through with the suggestion. As seen at the most recent Coffee House, Iona College has an abundance of talented students when it comes to singing and performing.

By opening up the Spellman performances to students, it gives them yet another opportunity to showcase their talents on campus.

DeCarlo stated that each concert will feature three Iona performers.

The shows will take place on a Thursday once a month with each lasting an hour. This gives the three students around twenty minutes each to perform.

Since they are only lasting an hour overall, these performances are not ideal for student bands that require set-up and multiple instruments.

“We are looking for low-key acoustic music. We are also looking for some fresh faces,” DeCarlo said.

Aside from the bi-annual Coffee House event, there is very little opportunity for students to perform on campus.

While some may be shy to perform in front of the crowd at Coffee House, “Spotlight in Spellman” will provide a new atmosphere and venue for those who normally would not perform at Coffee House.

Students must sign up in advance for the concerts, however, since the time slots are limited.

The next two “Spotlight in Spellman” events will be taking places on March 1 and April 26. GAB is still looking for performers for these two dates.

Anyone interested in performing should contact DeCarlo at [email protected]. “Spotlight in Spellman” is open to all Iona College students.

For students who are not as musically inclined, they will be able to enjoy their lunch and activity hour with the help of their talented classmates.