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!
After an amazing Winter term, it was finally time for my next term abroad in Vienna, Austria. It took my peers and me around 40 hours to reach Vienna after touring Mexico City with the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, which I'll write about soon! Although exhausted, it was quite exciting to step into a new environment for a term to study something specific with more intention. I have found that studying abroad in a new country and culture has been beneficial for how I have shaped my view of not only the world, but also my academic perspectives.
On this FSP (Foreign Study Program), I was studying music by taking individual music lessons in electronics and composition, a class on performance practices, and a class on the history of music in central Europe. My favorite class was the individual music lessons as I got the most individualized instruction and got to see the products at the end of the class. I composed an electronic piece meant for a thriller film, and I created a piece for electronics and four other musicians which was performed by other students on my study abroad. This also made me realize more about how I feel about music as a future career and made me excited to explore new avenues.
Underground trains!
The famous ferris wheel!
For my performance practice class, we went to around 35 to 40 concerts over the course of the term hearing music ranging from Baroque to Avant-garde. Personally, one of my favorite concerts was listening to Dvorak's "New World Symphony," which he wrote while visiting America. There were so many moments I remember about these concerts, and going to classical concerts in Vienna was special since it is such an important musical center of the world. For my music history class, we took time to tour many Austrian cities and visit places where composers — such as Mozart and Beethoven — lived and wrote music.
Personally, I believe every Dartmouth student should try to study abroad since Dartmouth helps plan the programs an extraordinary amount. I did not have to worry about finding an apartment and had constant sources of safety at every hour. Most importantly, my financial aid carried to my study abroad and was even cheaper than a normal term. Plus, the 10-week term is a perfect amount of time to study abroad because it is not too long and not too short. Now that I am done with both of my study abroad terms, it is time to go back to campus and spend the rest of my time in Hanover!
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!
As a senior, one of the most exciting things for me is my thesis project. In this blog, I describe how to approach making a senior honors thesis. As Dartmouth focuses on their undergraduate research, many students complete a thesis, so let's dive in!
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As an international student, I was hesitant to join Greek Life, but I found a welcoming community. Now, as a junior, I hope to help others find their place too.
