Andrew Dudum

Established musician and Wharton frosh beats out pro acdts to headline campus benefit concert.

By Priyank A Dev. Staff Writer

While other students were easing into the college experience, Wharton freshman, Andrew Dudum, was adding two new singles to iTunes. And fellow students were listening.

Dudum beat out two other professional choices to headline last Friday's Rock The Mic For Darfur Concert, which aimed to raise money for the Darfur alert coalition.

"We decided to have a Penn student come and perform, because we thought people might be more interested in that than seeing a random rapper," said Engineering freshman Danielle Jabin, a member of the Management 100 team that planned the concert.

Wharton freshman and team harmony member Michael Repsch added that a local artist would have cost between $300 and $700. Dudum played his soft rock and soft pop music for free.

In addition, Dudum offered to sell his CD's and donate half of the proceeds to the Darfur charity.

The performance, held at the Hall of Flags, also featured Dischord, a campus a capella group.

Dudum, who began playing the cello at age seven and started a string quartet called Presto International at thirteen, is signed with Dudum Records, a family-owned recording label.

"Most of the songs started from me just messing around, and playing some chords in my room," Dudum said.

His lyrics are inspired by "the experiences that alot of people go through," said Dudum.

The freshman said he considered trying out for a Penn a capella group but opted not to in the end.

"I realized I would'nt have the freedom to write music and play it with my own touch," Dudum added.

And concert-goers appreciated Dudum's talent Friday night.

"This was the greatest concert," Engineering freshman Ostap Tymchuk said of Friday's concert.

Penn students say that when Dudum ran for freshman class president earlier in the year, the campaign he created helped spread word of his musical talent, eventhough he did not get elected in the end.

Tymchuk addedd that he only knew about Dudum's music from the campaign.

At home in California, Dudum has performed at house parties, other benefit concerts, a high school prom, and downtown San Francisco venues.

He is currently looking for other performance opportunities while helping out several Management 100 teams, lie Team Harmony by playing at their events.

For those who missed the concert, Dudum's album "Fly with Me" is available for download on iTunes. "Fall From Grace," one of his singles, was aired on a Christian rock station in Canada. - Daily Pennsylvanian, Nov. 19, 2007

When SI religious studies teacher Mary Ahlbach asked Andrew Dudum and Rocco Bovo to write a song to help benefit her Tanzanian AIDS orphan project, she wasn’t prepared for everything that would follow.
Dudum and Bovo collaborated on “Children of the World” last year as juniors and performed the song at a Solidarity Dinner, at a “Tanzi Project” dinner and, most recently, at Rock 2 Relief last January. The boys gave Ahlbach 200 copies of the “Children” CD, which she will sell to raise money for the African orphans. A percentage of proceeds from the sale of additional CDs will also be donated to this project.
In all, Ahlbach’s Tazni Project will net $2,0000 — $1,000 from Rock 2 Relief and another $1,000 from the sale of CDs.
The song “Children of the World” has ballad-style lyrics and music performed by Dudum interlaced with rap lyrics performed by Bovo. Both students hope that “Children of the World” helps listeners make a connection with children dying of AIDS on a far-off continent and motivate them to respond to the crisis.
Andrew and his father, Rick, a San Francisco lawyer and real estate broker, had been working together for almost a year recording and producing Andrew’s debut CD Fly With Me, when Andrew approached his father about Ahlbach’s request. Together they took a break from Andrew’s project and produced “Children” on the family record label — DudumRecords, Inc. — that they started together in 2005.
Andrew, a veteran musician, has played cello since he was 8, jus before joining the Golden Gate Philharmonic Orchestra. At 10 he was a founding member of the Presto International Quartet, which performed at private and public events throughout the Bay Area. At 12 he joined the Villa Sinfonia Orchestra and performed at venues including Carnegie Hall; in 2003, he toured with that group throughout Europe.
Andrew, at 13, began performing cello on the streets of San Francisco during summers and holidays and shortly thereafter taught himself to play guitar.
In his junior year, Andrew wrote the song “Fall From Grace” in memory of his classmate at SI who had died. The Villa Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra will perform an orchestral version of this song later this year, featuring Andrew’s solo on cello.
Fly With Me, contains 10 songs that Andrew wrote over the past two years. In addition to writing the music and lyrics, he played acoustic and electric guitar, bass and cello on the CD. His father accompanied him on piano, and John Geraty ’76 added drums. Dudum and his father mixed the album at their home studio. The songs are available at DudumRecords.com and on iTunes, and the response to date has been overwhelming.
The title comes from Andrew’s desire to have his friends and classmates “fly with me through the past few years of my life, through my relationships, insecurities, confidences and struggles.”
Dudum found crossing from classical to rock a natural progression. “My classical background gave me the foundation to write pop and rock songs because I understand how songs are structured. Playing in orchestras also gave me the confidence to perform on stage and to produce my CD.” - Genesis Magazine Spring 2007

With its stylish cover-art and impressively low price, it would be easy to be drawn into Andrew Dudum’s new album, Fly With Me, by components other than its music. But don’t be fooled by what’s on the outside, the real prize lies inside the case. In his second release and first full album, Andrew Dudum brings a style unlike any in the music scene today. Recorded in Andrew’s state-of-the-art home recording studio, Fly With Me is made up of ten tracks that vary in style from acoustic to funk, from rock to blues. On top of writing and performing each song, Andrew is also responsible for the songs’ honest, straightforward lyrics. Like most teenage musicians, Andrew’s lyrics touch on the usual high school topics – girls, break-ups, and make-ups – but unlike its peers, Fly With Me brings a refreshing realism to these issues. Available for purchase February 26, Fly With Me is only the first full record in what figures to be a long recording career for Andrew Dudum. Available through his website, – www.dudumrecords.com -- in person, or in the iTunes Music Store, Fly With Me is a worthy buy for anyone who considers himself a music fan. With his inspired lyrics, impressive songwriting, and remarkable guitar skills, Andrew is sure to be making a name for himself in the music industry for a long time to come. - Inside SI March 2007