SPOTLIGHT: Lauren E. Bray '08

“You make lots of noise, and yell, and everyone contributes creative ideas,” Lauren E. Bray ’08 says. What is this dynamic mixture of noise, yelling, and creativity? None other than The Harvard Undergraduate Drummers (THUD), a percussion ensemble that performs on both standard percussion instruments and household items like trash cans and cups. Bray, who has been a member since her sophomore year, will be performing with THUD in Lowell Lecture Hall today.

Bray says that her top priority is the audience. “With everything we do, we just think: Is that entertaining? Is that funny? Would I want to watch that, if I didn’t understand the rhythm behind it?”

Bray enjoys the variety of THUD’s repertoire, which ranges from virtuosic classical pieces to numbers the members arrange themselves, combining their favorite pop songs and STOMP-inspired pieces.

She points to one THUD collaboration, written by its female members, that combines parties and percussion as an illustration of the playful attitude with which they often approach their own compositions. “We perform it using things—high heels, lipstick containers, mascara, compact mirrors, and magazines,” Bray says. “It’s like getting ready for a night out.”

Bray’s interest in THUD began before she came to Harvard. She discovered it her senior year of high school while looking for percussion opportunities through the Harvard Student Activities Web site. She was impressed with the videos featured on its Web site, and the presence of a percussion ensemble ended up affecting her choice of colleges.

“Harvard has this percussion ensemble, and it’s really awesome,” she says. “I made kind of arbitrary decisions about where to go to school, and that was actually one of the factors.”

Bray also plays the percussion in the Harvard Pops Orchestra and the Gilbert and Sullivan pit. However, her experience with THUD allows her to explore and challenge herself in ways that playing percussion in a traditional orchestra cannot. She enjoys taking on the challenging pieces that THUD performs, utilizing all percussion parts.

Bray believes that, for percussionists who participated in innovative ensembles similar to THUD in the past, having the opportunity to continue to explore their passion at Harvard enhances their college experience. “I think that definitely fills a hole for them,” she says.

Bray joined THUD her sophomore year after looking for the group unsuccessfully at the Freshmen Activities Fair. “It was something missing my freshmen year, and then sophomore year I got it back,” she says. Bray also cherishes the close friendships she has made in THUD, whose small size creates an intimate environment.

Bray likes the lively, carefree atmosphere of THUD concerts, which she sees as entertaining and affordable shows. For Bray, the most important thing about THUD is summed up in one word: fun.

“It’s cheap, it’s short, but it’s fun,” she says. “It’s not serious at all.”

– Melanie E. Long