The Frost School of Music is helping to hype the country for one of its great sporting rituals—baseball’s World Series—thanks to one of the world’s most famous musical artists.
Last week, Major League Baseball (MLB) rolled out “October Hits Different,” a marketing campaign centered on a music video led by the 13-time-GRAMMY-winning and Academy Award-nominated producer, artist, and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams, which features an orchestra of 25 Frost School students, alumni, and faculty alongside famed gospel choir Voices of Fire.
“Music as powerful and dramatic as October baseball itself,” the MLB said in announcing the musical spot and campaign.
The video, of the soaring song “Are You Ready?” from Voices of Fire’s new album “OPHANIM,” shows Williams conducting the singers and Frost School violinists, flautists, and other musicians swaying under the brilliant nighttime lights of Miami’s Loan Depot Park, interspersed with shots of baseball superstars like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and Cal Raleigh, while a voiceover intones “time to let these maestros of the diamond shine.”
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“With ‘October Hits Different,’ we wanted to capture the spectacle of the postseason through music that feels just as monumental,” said Uzma Rawn Dowler, MLB chief marketing officer and senior vice president of Global Corporate Partnerships.
An orchestra from the Frost School was a natural choice for Williams, who has not only collaborated with the Frost School multiple times but also received a master’s degree in Music Industry from the Frost School in 2023 through online study.
“It is very exciting to see Frost School musicians on this highly visible television spot,” said Dean Shelton G. Berg. “Pharrell Williams first collaborated with a Frost School orchestra 13 years ago for a momentous musical work and video, 'i am OTHER,' and subsequently he has turned to the school again and again as a collaborative partner, including for the documentary film 'Hydration.' Pharrell recognizes the unique, cross-genre abilities of Frost School musicians, so much so that he attended the school to receive his master’s degree.”
In 2012 Williams (on the recommendation of famed producer Quincy Jones, a friend and collaborator of Berg’s and recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Miami), worked with Berg and the Frost School's Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, which performed his multi-genre orchestral work, “i am OTHER,” at Maurice Gusman Concert Hall for a live recording.
This is the third time in recent years that the Frost School has collaborated with a major sports league or franchise. In September, Stephen Guerra Jr., assistant professor in the Department of Studio Music and Jazz, worked with the Florida Panthers—the championship South Florida hockey team seeking its third Stanley Cup this season. Guerra arranged the Panthers’ goal song, “Panthers Pulse,” for the Palm Beach Symphony, who were joined by Frost School faculty members in a live recording at Gusman Concert Hall. The recording was featured by Yahoo Sports and Miami’s Channel 10.
In 2023, Guerra collaborated with Inter Miami, the soccer team featuring international superstar Lionel Messi, to record a music and video tribute at the Frost School, celebrating the signing of Spanish soccer star Sergio Busquets, nicknamed “El Maestro.”
