By Sophia Prescott & Maya Schiffer
After committing to UC Santa Barbara as a history major, Conor Mack knew that he wanted to pursue a musical career as a guitarist, but he didn’t know quite how.
UCSB History major and Jazz musician Conor Mack practicing with Isla Vista rock band “Marella.”
Having spent his freshman year at home due to COVID, Mack had yet to meet any musicians at UCSB. But during the winter of 2022, he enrolled in Music Performance Laboratories, a lower-division Jazz ensemble class.
“The director and lecturer, Jonathan Nathan, reached out to me over email asking who I was, what I played, and if I knew anything about jazz. We had a Zoom call and talked about jazz for probably half an hour and after that, he placed me in Combo B with Ph.D. candidate Tanner Cassidy,” Mack said.
Mack is particularly inspired by faculty members in the music department who volunteer much of their free time to help students in the Jazz Ensemble improve as musicians. “While it’s not the most hardcore area of the music department, it’s pretty amazing to me because it seems like it’s thriving,” he said.
One day, after jazz practice in the spring of 2022, Mack was jamming to some rock music by himself while everyone else was packing up. Drummer Dan Marella, who minors in music, jumped in to play with him and the duo rocked out.
“He said that I ‘ripped’ and that he wanted me to play with him for some Isla Vista version of [NPR’s] Tiny-Desk. I’ve been in the band ever since,” said Mack.
That band is Marella, and Mack credits skills that he learned in jazz band for his ability to fit right in from the first rehearsal.
“As members of the Jazz Ensemble, we are always listening to and pushing each other to be better. This translates really well to when we’re on stage as Marella,” he said. “We make sure to be aware of what everyone else is playing and ensure that the sound being created is a cohesive product. I love playing live music because it’s both passionate and involved, and is never played the same way twice.”
Sophia Prescott is a third-year UC Santa Barbara student double majoring in Economics and Environmental Studies. Maya Schiffer is a third-year Psychology and Brain Sciences major. They wrote this profile for their Digital Journalism class.