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 studied electronic music composition with him to understand music digital signal processing better.
Although I'm not a fan of reading literature for the classroom, this class completely changed the way I perceive literature. I adored this class with Prof. Hollister as it engaged with the dissections of film, novels, and short stories regarding how humanity views the end of the world.
I took an off-term this Fall, but I decided to sit in on a class on how to arrange music for strings and woodwinds! After many hours of long work, I had a piece performed and recorded by professional musicians that I worked on in the class!
This has to be arguably one of my favorite classes I have taken at Dartmouth with one of the most qualified and talented professors! Throughout the term, I mixed eight different songs of all different genres and learned the ins and outs of sound engineering. This means figuring out the best ways to create and produce music in the industry. Now, I feel confident publishing my own music and have started helping others publish theirs too by working on their projects!
Jodie Mack's "History of Visual Music" truly changed my Dartmouth career. In their class, students learn about the ways artists has dealt with the intersection of sound and sight through film, sculpture, and live performance. Throughout the term, students present two films or performances of their own creative works. Now, Professor Mack is one of my advisors for my thesis which is a long-form piece of visual music!
SummerGreer, SC
During this Summer, I spent time at home with my parents while teaching at a high school marching band. I took a lot of time to write music to prepare my composition portfolio for grad school applications and took time to visit friends before we graduate!
Throughout this year, I am working on a film entitled "Queer Idyll." You can read more about the senior fellowship and my project on the blog, or at the link on above. My favorite part of my research and project this term has been visiting farms owned or cared for by queer individuals. I have witness so many amazing stories, beautiful locations, and friendly people!
Mountain clouds float beneath me while I write this as I fly to Hanover for the spring quarter. I want to reflect on my experiences since high school, specifically at Dartmouth! During these last three years, I have taken two dozen courses, performed on tour in Mexico, lived abroad for half a year in Rome and Vienna, watched my brother become engaged, composed my first solo concert as a composer, and even became fraternity president. However, there is nostalgia in this cabin as I remember the first flight I had to take alone. Now, I'm a professional traveler—to Hanover, New Hampshire, that is
In high school, applying to college was the most challenging and scariest thing. There are so many universities to choose from; I now relive that difficulty in choice as I am applying to graduate school. Nonetheless, deciding which college to attend after applying was just as difficult, if not more, as applications. I'm going to provide insight into what I thought when choosing Dartmouth over other schools. Before starting, I absolutely love Dartmouth and am so glad I decided to come here!
Recent snow on campus on the golf course!
My first thing was looking at the distance from home—Greenville, South Carolina, for me—to decide if I was comfortable with that. In addition, I looked at the length of the programs I had applied to. Several of my other choices were five-year programs, which was too long for me for undergrad. Second, pay attention to your financial aid package throughout your college career. Luckily, Dartmouth gave me a great financial aid package, which made the decision a little easier when I looked at all of my options. Third, I would say look at what type of environment your school offers. I was deciding between liberal arts, music conservatory, and state schools, all of which had different expectations of me. Finally, trust what you want to do and follow your desires. Today, people believe college to be the mandatory step after high school, but that is not the case. Be proud of yourself for getting accepted somewhere, and follow your motivations
Another thing you can do is reach out to department chairs to ask a few questions or even talk with a student going through a professor or admissions office. A huge reason I went to Dartmouth was actually the fact that a professor and student convinced me to commit; now, I am friends and colleagues with both of them! This is all a way of saying to do your research! Learn a lot about the school and what to expect when you go there. If you're curious about choosing Dartmouth, many of my friends or fellow bloggers have excellent "Why Dartmouth" posts on this website about the "Dartmouth difference." I encourage you to read some of them to see what livelihood a college experience like ours can bring.
Applying early to a university can be overwhelming and confusing. As someone who did not apply to Dartmouth through early decision, here are a couple tips that I could have used when thinking about applying early to a school!
I applied through Questbridge's National College Match, but did not match. To others who also did not match, this is not the end of your application process! Here's what I did following match decision day.
Learn about the different programs Dartmouth offers prospective students to explore campus life, learn about Dartmouth, and enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Hanover!
