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One of the best ongoing extracurricular opportunities for Frost School of Music students is the\u00a0<\/span>Music at McBride Plaza<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>concert series. Now marking its fifth anniversary as a partnership between the Frost School and the City of Coral Gables, the series, which kicks off Thursday, will feature a half-dozen free concerts by Frost School artists at McBride Plaza in downtown Coral Gables.<\/p>\n The series kicks off Thursday, January 15th, with the jazz group Leah Rutherford Quartet, and continues every other Thursday through March. The opening night concert includes a pre-show kickoff ceremony featuring Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago and other city officials, as well as Frost School of Music representatives. Series organizers will also give away Frost School \u201cswag bags\u201d to the first 30 attendees on opening night.<\/p>\n The music continues with the\u00a0<\/span>Frost Opera Theater<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>on Jan. 29, jazz guitar duo Miami Nylon Duo on Feb. 12, Latin duo Laura & Josias on Feb. 26, R&B\/Jazz group Charlotte Vaughn Jazz Quintet on March 12, and newgrass folk band\u00a0<\/span>The Wire Jays<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>on March 26.<\/p>\n \u201cPerformance opportunities are one of the key elements of Frost\u2019s learning environment,\u201d said associate professor Gary Woods, director of the Frost School\u2019s Live Entertainment Management program. \u201cThis series provides a unique and special opportunity for students\u2019 artistic voices to be heard. The entire Frost family is grateful for this community-based performance series.\u201d<\/p>\n Music at McBride provides Frost School students with opportunities both behind the scenes and onstage. Working as an intern for the series this year is Manuela Baraya Llana, who just earned a master’s in Live Entertainment Management.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve gotten to do things I never have before, like develop a social media plan and website,\u201d said Llana, whose career goal is to work in the live music industry putting on concerts. \u201cIt\u2019s helped me gather skills, grow, and learn new things.\u201d<\/p>\n For the musicians, McBride is a paid gig that can lead to more opportunities. Series founder Barbara Tria says she encourages bands to have onstage signage with their name, and to be prepared when they\u2019re approached about other work. When Wire Jays’ guitarist Benji Dienstfrey played McBride with his previous band Fiddle Head last year, an audience member came up to inquire about guitar lessons.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I got a new student out of the gig,\u201d said Dienstfrey (who, like all his Wire Jays bandmates, is a\u00a0<\/span>Modern Artist Development and Entrepreneurship<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>major). \u201cWe also got some really nice pictures from the show. It\u2019s definitely a beneficial series, more of a legit event than playing some random bar around town.\u201d<\/p>\n The series has been successful enough to become established with music lovers, too. It\u2019s now something that locals look forward to and plan around \u2013 and may draw new listeners to recitals and concerts at the Frost School.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good for everyone,\u201d said Tria, a realtor who also serves as onstage emcee. \u201cIt\u2019s outside, families bring their kids and dogs, and it allows students to try some things, get immediate feedback. End of last season, the mom of a family that came to every show asked me, \u2018What will we do on Thursdays now? Where\u2019s the music?\u2019 That\u2019s the whole point.”<\/p>\n