Music

Music has always been an important part of my life. I learned to play the flute in fifth grade and since then have continued to play with school and community groups. When I first came to Dartmouth, however, I was afraid that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to keep up with my music, as I thought it might require too much of my time, be too competitive, too academic, or just be too different from what I was used to back home.

During my first-year student Orientation (which is held the week before classes start in September), I went to an Open House for the music department at the Hopkins Center for the Arts (commonly referred to as “the Hop”), where I was amazed and overwhelmed by the number of opportunities just for instrumental music performance alone! The most exciting thing I learned was that, even though we have a music major at Dartmouth, all students with any interest and ability level are welcome to audition for any of the performance ensembles.

Having played in several wind symphonies at home during high school, I decided that the Dartmouth Wind Symphony would be the best group for me, and auditioned the following week. As a now three year member of the Wind Symphony, I have truly enjoyed my time so far in the group. With a total of four hours of rehearsal per week and one or two concerts per term, my membership allows me to keep up my playing without making a huge time commitment, which is perfect!

We also have the student-led Dartmouth Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, whose concerts are always completely sold out. In addition to these groups, a number of different smaller performing ensembles exist, from the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble to the World Music Percussion Ensemble.

The Dartmouth College Marching Band is another great way that several of my friends have chosen to keep up their commitment to music. As one might expect of an Ivy League marching band, Dartmouth’s is definitely not the most serious group on campus. They are most known for writing a new show each week that makes fun of the opposing team’s school, from the script to the formations and even, sometimes, the music. They even have a special instrument for people with no musical experience: the keg. (Yes, you read that correctly!) If you’ve never played an instrument before, you can still join the marching band and bang on a keg, becoming part of the illustrious percussion section.

Dartmouth also has a number of singing groups, from the Chamber Singers and Glee Club to the Gospel Choir and ever-popular student-run acapella groups.

My favorite thing about music at Dartmouth is that major or not, talented or not, you can always find a way to stay involved with the arts!