Courtesy Benton Smith
Amy Rajkovich said she has always loved listening to music, but as a young woman in California, she didn’t always have the access to live concerts which she desired.
“Where I grew up in California, my town didn’t have a huge local music scene,” Rajkovich said. “Then I came to Boise and realized there was so much opportunity. I spend a lot of time downtown and in the area watching bands; it’s my fave hobby.”
These days Rajkovich doesn’t have as hard of a time finding a good concert since being hired as the program assistant of the Student Union Fine Arts Performance.
She now gets paid for going around Boise scouting bands to feature in a campus program called the Student Union Performance series (SUPS).
SUPS was developed out of a past program which brought in four classical concerts a year, but there was a lack of student attendance and the program was struggling. That’s when Rajkovich was brought in to liven up the series.
“The student attendance wasn’t there so we did a revamp and now we’re using the funds to host two traditional concerts as well as concerts every other week that are focusing on local, regional and student bands,” Rajkovick said.
The student body has reacted positively so far as attendance has risen steadily since the change.
At the concerts one can’t help but notice as students try to push past the concert only to become transfixed by the music and often end up standing there for the entire performance.
One such student was Kyenna Jensen, a sophomore.
“It has given me a chance to find out about local bands where I might not have had the chance to otherwise since I’m not yet 21,” Jensen said.
SUPS concerts are free to the public and are held on campus during the school day so students are already on campus and have an easier time getting to the show.
“Sometimes it’s even too convenient having the concerts in the middle of the day,” Jensen said. “I sometimes find it hard to pull myself away when it’s time for class.”
The next SUPS concert is part of a collaborative effort with the Treefort Music Fest on March 21 in the centennial amphitheater.
Treefort is a yearly musical festival taking place throughout multiple venues in the heart of downtown.
By bringing Treefort to campus, Rajkovich has given students a chance to see a few of the performances which will be featured in this year’s festival for free, while also strengthening the relationships between her program and the rest of the
community.
“Were trying to really bridge this gap across the river to bring the community into these programs,” Rajkovich said.
For Rajkovich, that’s what it is all about: helping students who have moved to Boise learn how to dive in and to feel comfortable navigating the local music scene just as she did.
