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!
Dartmouth often engages with its wide range of quirky, loveable characteristics, making it so unique. Take some time on this website. You will find hundreds of stories about why Dartmouth students love the sense of community, the gorgeous scenery of the Upper Valley, the adventuresome spirit nestled within the Dartmouth experience, and so much more. However, in this blog post, I plan to give insight into how I have taken advantage of the research opportunities within my own academic discipline at Dartmouth.
Throughout my time as a student, I constantly hear about the fantastic opportunities my friends have had with professors working on computer science projects, physics research, and even publishing papers in various fields. Dartmouth's focus on its undergraduate population means that research opportunities are also available for undergraduates. However, I have always wondered how creative disciplines engage with research or project grants. I started looking into research after I started to learn more about musical grant writing. After advice from my professors and applying, I was nominated as an Erich Kunzel Class of 1957 award recipient. In the Winter term of 2024, I composed and performed an hour-long, avant-garde concert as the culmination of the grant award.
This photo shows the final set up for my piece "Water Music for Percussion Trio" funded by the music department Erich Kunzel Fund!
This project primarily investigated the sounds of water that occupy our everyday lives in order to reorganize them into a 25-minute percussion trio where performers make sounds with water. Through examining the banality of everyday life and researching indigenous water music making, I discovered sonic qualities of specific water-adjacent sounds that allowed them to be organized into several categories. In addition, this process taught me how anti-normative, long-form working processes led to great deals of creative freedom, like my handwritten musical score. Now, I am using that piece, which I recorded, to submit to music competitions across the United States and Europe.
Nonetheless, my project is just one example of hundreds of Dartmouth's creative research grant proposals. There are grants given out within every single department here: the theater department to write new scripts, the film department to produce short films and documentaries, studio art to create installations, etc. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to create whatever I wish with the Dartmouth music Department with incredibly close guidance by amazing faculty.
Sophomore Summer has already defined itself by its exciting, unfamiliar experiences and the relaxed atmosphere of campus. With new classes and clubs in full swing, here is what I have been up to during this wonderful time on campus!
In the summer, prospective students might take the time to visit potential colleges and universities to apply to. But what are some things to look for as you peruse campuses and take in the view, especially during the summer? Here are some ideas!
My first-year at Dartmouth has been a period of profound growth and self-discovery. It has challenged me to push beyond my limits, embrace my strengths and weaknesses, and navigate the complex web of opportunities that define college life.
"What's your major?" seems like a pressing question for every freshman, but now that my freshman year is behind me, I know I shouldn't have worried as much.
