College House Music Fellow brings global sounds to Harnwell
05.07.2026
Harnwell College House hosted Global Sounds Night on the evening of April 20, filling the Rooftop Lounge with music of various cultures and filling the attendees with delicious international food. A live jazz performance by Penn musician Ryan Tomski was the centerpiece of the event, which was a project of Ara Alabi, the 2026 College House Music Fellow.
The College House Music Fellowship, co-sponsored by College Houses and Academic Services and the Department of Music as part of the Blutt College House Music Program, supports selected Penn musicians with resources, music lessons, and guidance each year, culminating in each Fellow creating a performance-based event held in their College House.
“I realized that the College Houses have students from very different cultures, and I wanted a music event that reflected that,” says Ara. “I thought it would be cool to have music genres from the represented cultures highlighted during the event, so students can experience music from their own culture, but then also experience music from their friends’ cultures. That would be a really cool way to bring everyone together.”
The event was well-received by the attendees. “A big highlight for me was people coming up to tell me how much they enjoyed the event,” Ara says. “People were talking about how much they loved the jazz performance, and they enjoyed the food.”
Ara says that the College House Music Fellowship was very helpful in pursuing her own musical development during the school year. “The fellowship is a chance to share your love for music with your College House and [other] College Houses at Penn, and it gives you an avenue to be as creative as possible… It's a creative way for you to share your love for music with your friends at Penn, and also to encourage you to continue to pursue your passion or your hobby in music is. [For me] it was a constant reminder— oh, I do play the drums outside my major and classes. It was another way for me to be motivated, for me to be connected with other musicians at Penn.”
You can learn more about Penn's music initiatives in the College Houses here.
