Though they often tuck themselves away inside the Hopkins Center’s basement recital hall and practice spaces, about 10 to 20 students major in music each year. Majors range from students who arrived at Dartmouth with plans to study a different subject to those who considered attending a conservatory after high school.
The department’s 11 full-time faculty prepare students for careers as musicians, composers, directors and tour managers. These faculty are supplemented by guest lecturers, performance lab faculty and individual instruction faculty, about 20 people who teach lessons in voice or specific instruments.
Some students have expressed concern, however, that the department’s size and emphasis on music theory stand as obstacles to pursuing a music major. While curriculum changes that will give music majors optional concentrations to choose from will affect members of the Class of 2017, some music majors said they have needed to supplement their music classes with other academic pursuits or music instruction in order to feel like they have gotten the most from their Dartmouth education.
Choosing the music major
Similar to its Ivy League peers, Dartmouth graduated 19 music majors last year, and about 10 music majors per year from 2008-2012. Princeton University has graduated between 7 and 10 music majors from 2008-2012, while Harvard University graduated between 8 and 18 majors over the same time period.
The path to declaring a music major, department chair Steve Swayne said, is familiar. He said he has seen many students take some music classes out of interest, but not enough to dedicate themselves to music right away, or simply to fulfill distributive requirements. These students, he said, realize their passion for music and declare a music major mid-way through their four years at the College.
Currently, 26 students are registered as music majors at the College. Eleven of these students are music majors only, while the other 15 have declared double or modified majors in music and another subject.
The current infrastructure of the music department requires that majors be proficient in music theory but does not specify any instrument or performance proficiency. At some other schools, music majors must declare a concentration. At Brown University, music majors can pursue concentrations in history, theory and composition, ethnomusicology and computer music and multimedia.
Swayne said that along with an emphasis on performance, he wants to make sure students gain a sufficient historical understanding of the pieces they perform.
Although the general music major will remain unchanged, the music department has recently decided to streamline the music major for members of the Class of 2017 and beyond by creating concentration areas. These concentrations are not credit requirements to fulfill, but guidelines created by the department, recommending a sequence of courses to best prepare students for their chosen path, from piano performance to music history.
Resources
Beyond its regular courses, the department provides other resources for majors and non-majors interested in music. Like programs at Princeton, Brown, Yale and Penn, the Individual Instruction Program allows students to take private instrument and voice lessons with professional musicians for academic credit at no cost or as private paying students. The Stanford University music department offers private lessons for quarterly fees, which are reduced for declared music majors who have completed the first sequence of core courses.
Dartmouth’s music department currently offers foreign study programs in Vienna and London and has hosted an FSP in Beijing as well.
Wesley Wang ’15 described the department’s FSP to London, which he is currently participating in, as an excellent opportunity for students to immerse themselves in music. The travel — in addition to touring with the College’s Wind Ensemble over spring break — have highlighted his junior year, he said.
Richard Fu ’13, who graduated last year with a degree in music, said that the FSP allows each student to “live, breathe and eat” music and attend concerts and musical events almost every day.
Wesley Wang also cited resources such as private lessons and access to scores and books at the Paddock Music Library as helpful when pursuing a major in the department.
Presidential Scholars’ opportunities are also available to eligible music students. Swayne, for example, recently worked with some Presidential Scholars on investigating music, neuroscience and ethics. Although collaborative composition or performances between faculty and students are not common, faculty can serve as editors and critique students’ independent projects.
“Different approaches to music”
Despite these offerings, Dartmouth is a liberal arts college, not a conservatory. As such, the music department offers courses that are accessible to non-major students.
Music major Ryan McWilliams ’14 said that he appreciates the department’s flexibility, which has allowed him to shape his musical career.
“You can really pursue anything you want, and you can get a lot of different approaches to music,” McWilliams said.
But other students said they felt hindered by the department’s curricular structure. Music and geography double major Sarah Wang ’14 said she wishes music students received an education purely focused on music, noting that students majoring in other subjects like economics or government can expect to be competent and prepared for a future in their respective fields.
While the department’s small size would suggest an ability for students to implement changes, she said that this is not the case, calling the department “bureaucratic.”
“Because it’s a small department, there are limitations to what people can do,” she said.
Swayne said that he’d like to see students take ownership of their studies. Change, he said, doesn’t happen as quickly as the department would like.
“Many changes that students would like to see in the music department are laudable and achievable, but it takes time,” he said.
Department size
There are both benefits and drawbacks to the department’s small size. With so few full-time faculty members, some students say they are concerned that professors must cover subjects outside of their focus areas.
Reflecting upon the music courses he took at the College, Cory Chang ’13 said that he did not have the most productive experiences in some of them. He recalled an orchestration class that was taught by a digital music professor.
“Professors are having to draw on their sub-fields rather than their specialties to teach,” he said.
Swayne said that this is not uncommon among other departments at the College, adding that though some professors are not “teaching their principal subjects doesn’t mean they are less qualified.”
Other students, some on a "first-name basis" with professors, find the limited number of music majors to be an advantage to the program, McWilliams said.
“It’s a very low-key and relaxed setting, but that doesn’t take away from the academic rigor,” McWilliams said.
Fu said that the music department enables one-on-one relationships and interactions with faculty.
“You just get the feeling that any questions you have, they’re there to answer for you,” he said. “It allows you to really get into the subject without fear of failing or being rejected.”
Brent Reidy ’05, a music major currently completing a musicology Ph.D., said he valued the bonds he formed with faculty and the advice he received regarding graduate school plans. He said that the College’s music department, along with the liberal arts program, gave him a well-rounded education.
Yet some students say they feel that the department could be doing more to actively engage with the students. Despite the student-faculty interaction that the department’s small size allows for, Sarah Wang said that she has not experienced strong mentorship from the faculty. She said the first time a faculty member questioned her about her plans post-graduation was this winter, five months before graduation.
Chang said that the department provided an environment for him to pursue his goals at Dartmouth. Although he did not form close relationships with the faculty, he attributed this to his personal preference, not to structural problems in the department.
Swayne said that the question of a formalized mentorship system had not previously been a concern among the faculty.
“I would like to believe that faculties’ doors are open for students to explore these questions,” he said.
Post-graduation plans
The department has seen many of its graduates find their own niche. Some majors have pursued performance degrees from conservatories like Juilliard and are currently professional performers or composers. Others choose to pursue other vocations, like medicine or finance.
Oliver Caplan ’04, who received a masters of music from the Boston Conservatory, works as a professional composer. Caplan said that one of the department’s greatest assets is its “intellectual bent,” as it draws from its position in a liberal arts college.
“Musicians are philosophers of a sort and the Dartmouth music department prepared me to synthesize my artistic practice with my outside experiences, and to use my music to engage with others,” he said.
Having taken a gap year, Fu plans to attend graduate school next year to continue studying the piano. He said the department has prepared him for the future.
“I would say that the music department, more so than for other departments, is case by case,” Fu said. “Art is such a personal thing, there’s not one clear path that you have to take to be successful.”
Noting the career paths that alumni have pursued, Swayne said that performance is only one of many fields for graduates to consider.
“Do we ask of our pre-law students to picture themselves being a Supreme Court justice, or do we tell our pre-meds that they aren’t going to be successful unless they become Surgeon General? And yet sometimes I think we perceive a music major won’t be successful unless they are on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera.”
As admitted applicants enroll in the Class of 2018, the department is reaching out to students who submitted outstanding arts supplements. Swayne said that he has a list of 160 prospective students whom he plans to write letters to, asking them to consider attending Dartmouth. They will be introduced to restructured major requirements and guidelines as the department incorporates greater opportunities for specific musical coursework.
