Hello! My name is Chase and I am a '25 from South Carolina. I'm currently considering studying more film scoring and video game composition to learn about writing music for movies and games! But when I'm not hanging out with friends or doing classwork, you can find me composing music. I'm involved in the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble (DCWE), Dartmouth Chamber Orchestra (DCO), and the fraternity Zeta Psi.
As someone who did not know the ins and outs of marine policy, I loved learning about aspects of the blue economy. This class encourages us to be aware of the human aspect of marine problems regarding coastal erosion, pollution, and climate change. Professor Webster is the coolest!
I could not recommend this class enough to anyone who goes to this school! Professor Beaudoin has truly influenced me as both a musician and a student. We learn the music from the 1800's to present day including famous composers like Tchaikovsky, but also music by Beyonce and even the music of Dartmouth's professors. This is much more than a music history class. It is a class about music, our lives, and exploring the concept of sonder through musical lens.
If you're scared of coding or have a love for music, this is the class for you. This computer science class is cross-listed with music to teach students how to code using a language called processing to learn the basic principles of design through coding. We created several projects throughout the term, but Professor Casey really taught me that there is more to music than I think. For my final, I created an interactive keyboard which created a visual effect for each key that created music which made it a musical instrument! Genuinely such an amazing and fun class that I think people should consider.
Although this class is only offered during the F.I.R.E. study abroad program, it was such an amazing class. I absolutely adored having Professor Canepa teach us about Italy from its politics, music, food, and much much more. This class taught me hands on what Italian culture is through visits to famous landmarks, food tastings, or tours of Italian regions. If you don't want to study abroad, I suggest taking a class with Professor Canepa because she truly is one of my favorite professors I have had yet.
FallHanover, New Hampshire
I was on an off term, but decided to live on campus to join a fraternity and work in town. I took the time to write music for one of my friend's short films and learned a lot about the film music industry.
Dr. Moseley has been one of my most favorite professors by far. I have loved taking this class to divulge into my musical passion through creating music and learning about ways to create music. If you are interested in taking a music class, I highly recommend Dr. Moseley if you find a class with him that interests you!
I took this class with composer Miguel Kertsman who was incredibly knowledgeable in every type of compositional technique that I wanted. I study electronic music composition with him to understand music digital signal processing better.
Recently, I took a trip to Cornell with the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble (DCWE). The DCWE music ensemble was selected to play in a conference for the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) to demonstrate the importance of band programs within the US Northeast region. There, we played music by Mexican composers as a part of the Mexican Repertoire Initiative established by the DCWE under Brian Messier, the director of bands at Dartmouth. This initiative has sought to bring composers and new voices to the stage for band programs across the US. During this ensemble's last three years, we have performed over a dozen new works from many diverse Latin composers. In addition, we have even met nearly all of these composers in person, which has been a life-changing experience for us all.
Although we left for Cornell during a busy part of the term, the entire ensemble seemed to enjoy the whole experience! The music we played definitely left an impact on the audience there. We demonstrated that not all band music has to fit standardized performance obligations or the classic repertoire! This was our favorite concert and the best performance we have done in years. I'm so happy to have had the chance to perform on a new stage and find passion in my music again.
Mexican Repertoire Initiative Presentation at Cornell!
Pretty architecture at Cornell!
Outside of the music world, visiting Cornell was a wonderful time with my friends from Dartmouth. We ate at their dining halls and compared them to our own; they sadly had no FoCo cookies like that of Dartmouth's famous cookies at FoCo (our dining hall). Of course, we had coursework to do, so we visited their libraries, too! After watching the last ensemble perform, we left for Dartmouth to return home and get back to our coursework to prepare for our approaching finals! It is time for the Spring quarter and for us to start rehearsing new music for another performance. However, the DCWE had one of its many new traditions a week after the concert, where we baked something with the band director! This time, we celebrated the winter term by making homemade bagels of many types to enjoy during the last week of the term.
Over half of Dartmouth students study abroad at least once during their undergraduate journeys—quite a high percentage, right? Do you want to know how to best prepare for your own abroad experience? Come check what it was like for me.
At Dartmouth, there is an undergraduate requirement for language; after all, it is the liberal arts! Fulfilling this requirement looks different for various people and I will focus on my experience.
I have written about being a student worker plenty of times in the past, but I have yet to talk about one of my favorite jobs ever: ticket selling at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
