Brandeis is worth a look (with an important caveat that I’ll get to below):
–suburban, with decent access to Boston
–definitely a life of the mind school with strong commitment to STEM and really terrific faculty
–in that 3,000-5,000 sweet spot where you have enough undergrads to make things interesting but not so many that you feel invisible.
–they have had a strong music department with an in-residence string quartet.
–this would likely be a match or even a likely (depending on how much interest you show).
Unfortunately they are having budget issues and have recently opted to prioritize the science side of things over music (the string quartet was recently given notice that their contract would not be renewed next year and they are phasing out a music PhD program). Faculty and alumni are trying frantically to save the quartet but the school needs to hear from prospective students that things like this matter. If you go visit the school (and you should!), maybe emphasize how complementary their music and science programs are?