Music at Midd??

Flint
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:02:06 +0000

Hi,
I’m a music major at Midd, and here’s my perspective. Maybe this will help a little. There are definitely plusses and minuses about being part of a small department. On the plus side: much more attention from the professors, and the music professors here are some of the nicest, most caring people I’ve ever met. Also, they have more resources to devote to each student, which means students can get a lot of support for individual projects, and professors are always willing to try something different (e.g. to help a student present a composition with a full orchestra, to let a student direct an opera, etc. - they will often pay for it as well). Students also get to participate much more than they would at larger schools where grad students dominate the best productions and ensembles. On the other hand, as someone who is planning to pursue a career as a professional musician, I can say that it can be more difficult to come from a small department with fewer course offerings and a liberal arts, rather than a technical focus. The music major here does include theory and musicianship, but composition, history, and ethnomusicology are emphasized just as much. In applying to grad school, I do feel like I am at a little bit of a lower level in terms of basic skills, but I think I’ve gotten a much broader exposure to all different kinds of music, because the department here forces you to think about music outside of the “dead white guys” and to take courses in all areas of music. As a performer, I’m so glad I was forced to experience composition, history, ethnomusicology, etc. Applying to grad school has forced me to do some individual work to get up to par, but the professors here have been wonderful about it and even meet with me individually to help me. Ensembles are limited but are growing every year and are generally of high quality. Private instruction is great. A few times during my college career, I’ve wondered why I didn’t apply to universities with music schools or to conservatories, but, in the long run, I think I can always catch up on the technical skills, but I don’t think I could have gotten this same perspective on music anywhere else.