Two University of Chicago violinists, Molly Long and Sophia Janevic, recently performed at Lollapalooza with rapper ian, marking a departure from their usual classical music environment. The collaboration was sparked by an email seeking musicians, which reached Jennifer Woodrum, artistic operations manager at the university’s Music Department. Long, who previously managed the Summer Lab program at UChicago's Data Science Institute, and Janevic, a marketing professional in the Music Department, responded to the call.
At the festival, Long and Janevic played as part of a string quartet supporting ian, whose viral success comes from blending trap, hip-hop and hyperpop genres. The performance included a wardrobe twist: ian wore a suit while the violinists donned sweatpants and bathrobes.
"Waiting for the song that we were featured on and going out onto stage was so out of my comfort zone, and such a cool opportunity, that I didn't feel very nervous," said Long. "I just felt excited to be on this big stage and see all the kids moshing in the front."
Janevic described her experience: “It was so surreal. I've been going to festivals and concerts for nine years now, so to be on the other side of that was a really great, crazy perspective.”
Janevic has attended music festivals like Pitchfork and Lollapalooza for nearly a decade but is trained as a classical violinist. She noted how different it felt performing in front of an active crowd compared to silent concert halls: “In a classical environment, the audience is dead silent the whole time. But in this festival environment, having an immediate reaction from the people listening to you was different and very cool,” she said. “You feel much more connected with the audience.”
Her work at UChicago has exposed her to innovative uses of violin across genres—from jazz-classical blends by Tomeka Reid Stringtet to rock-influenced performances by Turtle Island Quartet. She also saw Tom Chiu play violin alongside AI-generated visuals created with media professor Marc Downie.
“I've been exposed to all these different ways that the violin has been used—and it has made me want to pursue a wider variety in my own playing in terms of genre and style,” said Janevic.
With UChicago’s fall concert season underway—featuring programs ranging from Raven Chacon's choral works to classical performances by Brentano Quartet—Janevic expressed excitement about multi-genre programming. In her marketing role she studies intersections between social media and music; performing with ian provided insight into viral strategies: "He knows how to make fun of himself and be in on the joke with everyone else,” Janevic said. “To share the stage with someone who has really figured out the social media game was valuable for me as someone who works a lot in that area."
Long’s relationship with Janevic began when they met at Interlochen Arts Camp at age 17 before reconnecting at UChicago years later. They formed a string quartet that performed throughout Chicago at venues including house shows downtown's Fine Arts Building and Hyde Park’s Montgomery Place retirement home.
For Long—now pursuing graduate studies at Harris School of Public Policy after working as research program administrator—the discipline learned through violin remains central: “Violin is super hard. You have to put in a lot of time and spend a lot of time being frustrated,” they said. “And I think that if you want to be good at anything, that’s true.”
Long added that balancing discipline without perfectionism is important both academically and musically: “For a while, violin was emotionally challenging for me because it felt so high stakes. But now as an adult...I’ve really been able to reconnect with joys...without emotional baggage,” they said.
Long hopes their data-driven approach will help address urban policy issues focused on improving city life for residents facing economic challenges: "I'm really interested in things that help make poor people less poor, and help our cities and communities be richer, better places to live," they said.
Both musicians credit UChicago’s culture for encouraging curiosity across disciplines—a theme reflected by their participation in both academic programs like those offered by the Data Science Institute (which supports interdisciplinary research) as well as creative initiatives such as the University's concert series, which features diverse musical acts throughout each season.
“The important part is taking responsibility for your experience...and having that self-discipline,” said Long. “Because there are so many interesting things out there to do.”