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!
Another 12 hours of somewhat tiring travel, here I am again. But now there is a freshness to the air. There seems to be dozens upon dozens of new faces I have not seen before. Everyone seems to be refreshed (after a well deserved) spring break. And I am more ready than ever for this term to seriously begin!
A picture when I was flying to Boston so I could take the bus to Hanover!
With warm days ahead of us, I really am excited for the possibilities that this term will bring. After only a week of classes, I am in love with every single class I am taking this term. The classes I am taking this term are: Film Scoring, Programming for Interaction Audio-Visual Arts, and my seminar (a requirement for first-years) which is Race and Popular Music. Currently, I am writing the music to accompany a short animated film in my film scoring class. It has been amazing to dive into what it means to compose for a specific audience in order to supplement another art form. I am super excited to see how much I can push my creative limits in this class. In addition, I have decided to take my first computer science course, and I have surprisingly adored the course material so far. It feels so rewarding to pick up coding quickly and see what I have learned instantly. If you plan on avoiding computer science classes, I highly recommend that you give a class a try because you may end up loving it like myself! Lastly, I have started to learn theories in my seminar about how popular music is shifting our culture (which is making me reconsider my own musical ideology).
This is a picture of the new Computer Science building where one of my classes exists.
Although my classes are bringing me plenty of joy, my friends bring even more good times! After my plane arrived, I instantly went to hug my friends and catch up with them after our breaks. Some friends stayed at home with families like I did, but others traveled either for fun or even with their teammates to practice in different parts of the country. This weekend I celebrated one of my friend's birthdays with a Saturday filled with random plans. After getting a nice lunch, I went to the Women's Tennis match and supported another one of my friends competing. After the match, I eventually went to Boloco (a Mexican restaurant in town) and then continued to hang out with my friends by having a powerpoint night for fun to laugh at our friendships.
A picture from my friend's tennis match! Go Ujvala! Go Green!
This week has reminded me that sometimes taking a break to change your pace can bring a beautiful, refreshing view. I feel ready to conquer this term. I feel ready to appreciate the little things. Whether it is my friend laughing at a bad dad joke or embarrassing myself in front of a crowd, I am ready for this Spring term to enjoy. There definitely is something in the air here in Hanover. And it is refreshing.
Join me as we attend a Brovertones concert during Winterim! The Brovertones are just one of Dartmouth's many amazing acapella groups. I saw them perform during their East Coast tour.
Are you artistically inclined? Are you not artistically inclined but still love making art? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the Dartmouth Donald Claflin Jewelry Studio is for you!
Dartmouth changed my life. A large part of that change comes from the support I have received from professors. Learn more here about some mentor-mentee relationships I have made!
