New York ensemble Sonnambula expands the classical music canon for 21st century By Ana Sorrentino Illustration by Nini Vilac On Jan. 5, 1711, in the north of France, a singer from King Louis XIV’s court named Louise Couperin sang two songs at a young prince’s dinner. That is nearly everything we know about the evening. We don’t know the room, the guest list, or whether the boy at the head of the table, three days shy of his fourth birthday, even looked up from his plate. What

A Night at the Columbia vs. NYU Law Dean’s Cup. By Ana Sorrentino Illustration by Ines Alto As if this were any usual Columbia basketball game, I smuggled my Chef Mike’s sandwich along with three bags of hot cheetos into my purse as I entered Levien Gym. I took my usual seat on the left, angled for a clear view of the scoreboard. As Columbia has never been known for its abundant school spirit, I expected only thin, uneven waves of baby blue-clad attendants and more empty rows

On relationships, labels, and keeping love alive . By Ana Sorrentino Illustration by Iris Pope The names in this piece have been changed to respect the sources’ romantic privacy. Upon reading, I’m sure you’ll understand why. In high relief against the outer wall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, white birds bathe in shallow pools of melted snow along the plaza’s edge. In soft crowds they stretch wings, pivot, and stare. Two take off flying around in a frantic chase to th

The tale of a freshman seeking fellow Humanities majors . By Ana Sorrentino Illustration by Iris Pope It was in my second week at Columbia that I began to notice a foul scent stubbornly clinging to the air. It lingered in the halls, followed me into the elevators, and coiled itself between the crevices of the stacks. I told myself it was only my imagination. Perhaps I was still getting used to life in a new city. But the more it remained, I began to realize that this was diff