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!
Honestly, sometimes it is hard to write a brand new blog post to help my friends, family, and strangers get to know how it feels to live life at Dartmouth. Instead of thinking about what to write, I merely sat down, and today I thought about the craziness of my life here at school. It made me realize that there are so many things at this place that I truly enjoy and love. So, I've decided to go ahead and just sit back to type about a few random things that make me enjoy my time at Dartmouth.
Currently, I'm on an off term which means I am not taking classes so I have had lots of free time when I am not at work. One thing that I have realized I love is how everyone here motivates each other. Whether I look up to see my friend writing an essay or working on a beautiful art project for fun, they inspire me to do the things I have always wanted to do. This term I now have been motivated to spend more time writing poetry, prose, and music too. Hopefully, I will have some of this published soon because my friends have been encouraging me to accomplish some goals.
Another random thing that I love about Dartmouth is its weather. I know sometimes it sounds scary when you hear about the winter or see pictures of the snow. Yet, I think winter was my favorite season at Dartmouth. Recently, I have enjoyed all of my time sitting outside watching leaves fall with their beautiful colors.
Also, I love how easy it is to make new friends at Dartmouth. Since I am a sophomore, I am currently in the process of joining a fraternity. Within this time, I have made so many better friendships and I know that this just started. Plus, I have so much free time so I can get meals with people whenever and spend more time saying hi to new '26s.
Ooh, I also just love it when I see someone randomly and then talk with them . It was so warming to see people when I arrived on campus in week 4 and gave them all hugs to talk about our summers. After a year of making friends, I think this year has shown me how many meaningful connections I have made here. It's always nice to make people step out of their academic priorities and just have a simple conversation.
This list could keep going on, but I just realized that this entire list almost revolves around the people I have met at this school. You are not going to love everyone where you go, but I think that the community at Dartmouth gives everyone amazing groups of friends to rely on. Now, it's time for me to get some hot chocolate and watch the leaves fall. Until next week everyone.
In addition to blogging, I work as a Fellow for the Tucker Center, which focuses on promoting spiritual and ethical life on campus. As part of this role, I'm leading the Interfaith Alternative Spring Break Trip. Read on to learn more about my work!
