Whether we attend a Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra concert, listen to an a cappella group in a fraternity or watch a stage production in Moore Theater, Dartmouth's arts scene is alive and thriving, enabling students to express and hone their musical talents. For Gospel Choir and Glee Club singer Nate Graves '13, Dance Ensemble modern dancer Annie Munger '13 and Barbary Coast tenor saxophonist Alan Gottesman '13, their time at Dartmouth has been marked by these performance groups.
Graves was an instrumentalist in high school, but changed his focus to voice when he arrived at the College. The four to five hours a day that he spends practicing energizes him, he said, adding that Glee Club has been critical in his theoretical development and musicality by exposing him to subgenres within the classical repertoire.
One of Graves' most rewarding moments was performing Candide with the Glee Club. Collaborating with students and finding a way to incorporate their visions has been a year long process, and Graves said he valued the "opportunity to foster stronger relationships" with fellow singers.
"We can all come together, and not necessarily just in the same faith, but in the same goal of making the world a better place, accepting and loving difference and diversity," Graves said.
Graves will stay at Dartmouth next year to work on performing arts initiatives, using music as a venue for activism.
"Art is so important to how we express ourselves on a daily basis," Graves said. "There is so much value to the way music is a part of our culture, and not just our distinct culture, but our human culture."
Graves plans to eventually pursue music in New York, where he hopes to be a recording artist. The Dartmouth community "has really cherished what I do and I want to take some of that feeling and plant it wherever I go," he said.
Munger, who has danced her entire life, became passionate about her work through participating in her high school dance company. She joined the Dance Ensemble to develop her technique with faculty support and visiting artists, and the ability to see different styles of dance has inspired her in her own work.
With an intensive 15-hour weekly practice schedule, Munger has formed a tight community of dancers within the group.
"Dance is a wonderful release creatively, physically, and sometimes even intellectually," she said. "I greatly value having something in my life that is physical."
Participating in the ensemble gave her an opportunity to choreograph, including a piece in a production called Viscera during her freshman year and another in Undue Influence, a piece on sexual assault that was performed in 2011 and 2012. The latter performance was a pivotal moment for Munger as she took her bows and saw half the audience in tears.
"It was the first time I had truly seen how art could be so moving to people and talk about important issues that affect people's lives," she said.
Munger plans to pursue a career in film, and will go to Hyderabad, India on a Lombard Fellowship to work for the nonprofit Voice 4 Girls, where she hopes to use her film work to help promote the organization through social media.
"I am excited to continue doing an art, even if it's not dance," she said.
Gottesman expressed his passion for jazz as a tenor saxophonist with the Barbary Coast, where composing in the moment leads to exciting improvisation.
"Just playing jazz in general is transcendent for me, that you can rise out of the mundane and create something otherworldly," he said.
While the arts scene was not what attracted him to Dartmouth, he knew he wanted to continue playing music through college. Outside of his involvement with the Barbary Coast, Gottesman looks for opportunities to perform independently and in smaller group settings, including fraternities, which he said he enjoys for the more "energetic, funk style" he can bring.
Gottesman particularly appreciated the opportunity to perform with guest artists and work with Barbary Coast director Don Glasgo, whose musical philosophy and knowledge has helped Gottesman excel.
Gottesman looks forward to his senior recital this weekend, when he will look back at the role music has played in his Dartmouth career.
"Music has always been an anchor of stability that wherever I am, it reaffirms who I am and has been a source of reflection and spiritual nourishment," he said.
While Gottesman's plans for next year are not set, he is considering applying to graduate school for music education and becoming a music teacher. Regardless of the career he chooses, he knows music will end up shaping the rest of his life.
