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!
Although high school for me was most certainly a game of balancing my weekly time commitments, Dartmouth truly was a level up in terms of time management. Every week, I have miscellaneous meetings with Dartmouth alumni, music professors, and other clubs. Sometimes my weeks feel too dense from working or running around campus. However, most Dartmouth students try to have fun to help give them a break from the encompassing world of academia (although we all love it). In this post, I'm gonna show you some of the things I've done this week to take breaks from my assignments and give you all updates about what a week can feel like for some students.
This is an assignment I am actively working on for my class on how to mix music!
This term I am only taking two courses: Introductory Guitar, and Sonic Space and Form (fancy wording for sound engineering). This means I have a two hour class every weekday, which I look forward to every day. In addition, I have around 18 hours of music rehearsal every week so my days are filled with music from jazz and avant-garde percussion to classical tuba playing. Every week, I have a few meetings with alumni to talk about how it is to pursue a music degree in the real world while taking advice and advantage from my music professors who are willing to talk to me about getting jobs in the art world. When I'm not doing music, I spend a lot of time with my fraternity where we have meetings and events happening quite frequently. To say the least: Dartmouth can get really busy.
I believe that outside of the hectic reality of our Dartmouth work lives, that Dartmouth is a place where students take time to have fun too. I think my favorite part of this week was going roller skating with my friends in our student center one night. It has been years since I have been roller skating and it was just so much fun to see everyone there having fun. Today, I went to a basketball game to support one of my friends on the cheerleading team since it is also her birthday! In general, I've gone to several birthday parties this week to celebrate so many of my friends' birthdays. My friends and I have also had spontaneous snowball fights and shenanigans throughout the week.
Happy birthday Meggie! This was from the men's basketball game against Yale.
Of course I have work for classes and my music ensembles, but I value also knowing when it is okay to take a break. It may sound like I have a lot to do, but my friends will always encourage me to have fun when there are events going on around campus. Personally, I believe that this spirit that Dartmouth evokes is truly unique to the school. There has never been a dull moment since I've stepped foot onto campus here in New Hampshire, and that is something I love about Dartmouth
As a second-year at Dartmouth, I've embraced leadership roles that foster community, creativity, and support! Here's a look at how each role has shaped my journey.
