Our Converse professors really go the extra mile for us students. They really care about us and strive to give us their best effort to help us grow, no matter how little recognition they receive or how much we complain (unjustly) about, for example, the helpful but occasionally frustrating MacGAMUT ear-training software. I feel this particularly keenly in our closely-knit Petrie School of Music, where our professors are always ready to answer questions, offer advice, and spur us to attain harder skills than we thought we could. Where else do professors drive students to Asheville to see the Southern Highlands Crafts Fair or to Atlanta to hear David Daniels in Orfeo ed Euridice? When Converse Chorale sang last Wednesday at the funeral of President Fleming’s father, Harold Fleming, I had to leave First Presbyterian Church early to be back in Blackman for my organ lesson. I was going to walk back in the rain, but Dr. Jones made sure I had a ride back. I could give many other examples of how wonderful our professors are, but some of my examples might embarrass one of my readers, so I will desist.
One tradition by which we students might honor our professors could be some sort of “give your professors breakfast” week. The idea would be for a professor’s students to treat him or her to breakfast and eat breakfast together before the first classes of the day. This tradition might not be feasible for the whole college, but it might work just within the Petrie School of Music since music majors have classes with each other quite a bit. The breakfasts would have to be spread out over a few days such that students would not have to choose whether to participate in their performance professor’s breakfast or their musicology professors’ breakfast. We might also have to do the breakfasts for a few professors at a time. But it would be nice to show our professors that we appreciate all that they do for us.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Diversity
I had a lot of trouble with this assignment because of my isolation: I have been homeschooled for most of my school life until I came to Converse this fall. I also tend to focus on my schoolwork, including practicing, at the expense of not getting to know my fellow students very well, so my past interactions with other students in music camps, in choir, and in the English 101 class I took last fall usually failed to pass the acquaintance stage and get to the point where we examined our cultural differences rather than our cultural similarities. One exception to my isolation is a discussion I had with Celeste Kahn, known to many of us music students as “Celly”, over dinner on the patio of Gee dining hall.
Celly and I were discussing how I was from New Jersey in contrast to how she was from South Carolina. Our discussion wandered from accent to the British and French influence on the South to our families’ genealogical interests. I learned that the maternal side of her family was very interested in its genealogy; it was so much so that they have papers tracing the family back to the Northumbrian Percys (of Wars of the Roses fame) and the Magna Carta. Although the northern branches of my family are not very interested in family genealogy, my North Carolinian grandmother’s family does have a similar interest in it, although our known family history does not extend nearly as far back as that of Celly’s family. What I learned from Celly is that many southern families – not just hers and mine – seem to have this increased interest in family history.
Celly and I were discussing how I was from New Jersey in contrast to how she was from South Carolina. Our discussion wandered from accent to the British and French influence on the South to our families’ genealogical interests. I learned that the maternal side of her family was very interested in its genealogy; it was so much so that they have papers tracing the family back to the Northumbrian Percys (of Wars of the Roses fame) and the Magna Carta. Although the northern branches of my family are not very interested in family genealogy, my North Carolinian grandmother’s family does have a similar interest in it, although our known family history does not extend nearly as far back as that of Celly’s family. What I learned from Celly is that many southern families – not just hers and mine – seem to have this increased interest in family history.
Friday, October 2, 2009
What are some strategies that you currently use to maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit?
My physical habits are not particularly healthy, but I do try somewhat. Here are some of my consumption strategies:
• I use my water bottle to keep myself hydrated.
• I do not let myself skip meals, but I do avoid snacking.
• I try to eat a serving of vegetables or fruit with every meal, or at least lunch and dinner. Recently these have mainly been of the cooked variety, so I should visit the salad bar more often.
• I let myself have pizza only once or twice a week, and desserts only once a day, preferably only a few days a week. It helps if I decide not to have dessert before I sit down at the table.
• I generally drink only water or milk, reserving juice and soda for treats and consuming alcohol only in the wine at Holy Communion.
Because I have been homeschooled for a long time, I have not been exposed to and developed resistance to many colds and other contagions , so I am more susceptible now that I am in a community of many people. This week has been especially worrisome for me because my roommate has what is probably swine flu, which I dread catching even though she has gone home to recuperate, and many of my fellow classmates have also had to miss classes due to sickness. If I became sick, not only would I feel poorly but I would also miss classes and risk falling behind, so I have been washing my hands frequently this week, using hand moisturizer at night on my poor skin.
I tend to slouch at desks, but I try to maintain good posture in choir rehearsal, when I play piano or organ, and, thanks to the hip straps on my backpack, when I wear my backpack. In my piano lessons, Dr. Weeks and I are working on minimizing any motion or tension of the body but that of the arms and hands, so my posture has really improved over the last month and my mouth and tongue are more relaxed.
My strategy for maintain a healthy mind is mainly one of “learning all the time,” so this semester I feel as if I am turning into some musical version of Hermione. You may have spotted me practicing rhythms for Musicianship while walking from building to building. I also sing the intervals and chords for Musicianship in the bathroom, whose acoustics also help me hear myself better, and for once today I studied some acoustics terms while I brushed my teeth. I learned at a piano camp a year ago last summer that one's practicing productivity really drops off after about 45-50 minutes, but one can reset one's brain sometimes even with other kinds of practicing, so I try to break up my piano practice with my Musicianship practice.
That I am taking two classes outside of music also keeps my mind healthier. Cultural Collisions especially exercises a different area of my brain, compelling me to think critically and argumentatively. I try to think actively in my other courses, relating concepts between them and letting confusions surface in my mind so I can ask about and discuss them.
The keystone of my spiritual health is my faith in Christ, for when I do wrong, even just mismanaging my time, He cleanses and renews me. With my busy schedule, it is difficult to keep Christ as my first priority, but I have managed so far to attend church and Bible study every Sunday, sing in the church choir every week, and pray at mealtimes. I am sorrowful that I have neither been praying well at bedtime or other times nor been reading the Bible daily as I should.
I try not to dislike things, especially academic work, without reason. In this manner I can actually enjoy or at least get along with things such as MacGamut, the rest of the Musicianship exercises, Student Success Seminar, my schoolwork in general, and the food. Duty is a much lighter burden when one does it gladly.
I also try to keep my soul pure by not thinking or speaking bad language, either four-letter words or taking God’s name in vain. If I started to use bad language I know I would use more and more of it so I do not want to start. If I catch myself even thinking “Oh my God”, I tell myself to stop it. I am sad that I am becoming accustomed to hearing some of the common bad language, even though it is usually used for emphasis and drama.
I know I sound and tend to be prissy, so I also try to practice kindness and love towards those I come in contact with, although I often fail.
In class we will be discussing personal wellness and alcohol for college students. So, please respond to the following phrase, "You do not have to be an alcoholic to experience problems with alcohol."
Any consumption of alcohol is liable to cause judgment impairment or internal bodily disease. Too much alcohol can blur one’s vision, reduce one’s coordination and mental abilities temporarily, remove inhibitions one really should have, and make one sick, whether one is dependent on alcohol or not. When alcohol affects one’s nervous system, one is still a dangerous driver and inconsiderate friend. Alcohol is an efficacious drug whether one is addicted to it or not.
My physical habits are not particularly healthy, but I do try somewhat. Here are some of my consumption strategies:
• I use my water bottle to keep myself hydrated.
• I do not let myself skip meals, but I do avoid snacking.
• I try to eat a serving of vegetables or fruit with every meal, or at least lunch and dinner. Recently these have mainly been of the cooked variety, so I should visit the salad bar more often.
• I let myself have pizza only once or twice a week, and desserts only once a day, preferably only a few days a week. It helps if I decide not to have dessert before I sit down at the table.
• I generally drink only water or milk, reserving juice and soda for treats and consuming alcohol only in the wine at Holy Communion.
Because I have been homeschooled for a long time, I have not been exposed to and developed resistance to many colds and other contagions , so I am more susceptible now that I am in a community of many people. This week has been especially worrisome for me because my roommate has what is probably swine flu, which I dread catching even though she has gone home to recuperate, and many of my fellow classmates have also had to miss classes due to sickness. If I became sick, not only would I feel poorly but I would also miss classes and risk falling behind, so I have been washing my hands frequently this week, using hand moisturizer at night on my poor skin.
I tend to slouch at desks, but I try to maintain good posture in choir rehearsal, when I play piano or organ, and, thanks to the hip straps on my backpack, when I wear my backpack. In my piano lessons, Dr. Weeks and I are working on minimizing any motion or tension of the body but that of the arms and hands, so my posture has really improved over the last month and my mouth and tongue are more relaxed.
My strategy for maintain a healthy mind is mainly one of “learning all the time,” so this semester I feel as if I am turning into some musical version of Hermione. You may have spotted me practicing rhythms for Musicianship while walking from building to building. I also sing the intervals and chords for Musicianship in the bathroom, whose acoustics also help me hear myself better, and for once today I studied some acoustics terms while I brushed my teeth. I learned at a piano camp a year ago last summer that one's practicing productivity really drops off after about 45-50 minutes, but one can reset one's brain sometimes even with other kinds of practicing, so I try to break up my piano practice with my Musicianship practice.
That I am taking two classes outside of music also keeps my mind healthier. Cultural Collisions especially exercises a different area of my brain, compelling me to think critically and argumentatively. I try to think actively in my other courses, relating concepts between them and letting confusions surface in my mind so I can ask about and discuss them.
The keystone of my spiritual health is my faith in Christ, for when I do wrong, even just mismanaging my time, He cleanses and renews me. With my busy schedule, it is difficult to keep Christ as my first priority, but I have managed so far to attend church and Bible study every Sunday, sing in the church choir every week, and pray at mealtimes. I am sorrowful that I have neither been praying well at bedtime or other times nor been reading the Bible daily as I should.
I try not to dislike things, especially academic work, without reason. In this manner I can actually enjoy or at least get along with things such as MacGamut, the rest of the Musicianship exercises, Student Success Seminar, my schoolwork in general, and the food. Duty is a much lighter burden when one does it gladly.
I also try to keep my soul pure by not thinking or speaking bad language, either four-letter words or taking God’s name in vain. If I started to use bad language I know I would use more and more of it so I do not want to start. If I catch myself even thinking “Oh my God”, I tell myself to stop it. I am sad that I am becoming accustomed to hearing some of the common bad language, even though it is usually used for emphasis and drama.
I know I sound and tend to be prissy, so I also try to practice kindness and love towards those I come in contact with, although I often fail.
In class we will be discussing personal wellness and alcohol for college students. So, please respond to the following phrase, "You do not have to be an alcoholic to experience problems with alcohol."
Any consumption of alcohol is liable to cause judgment impairment or internal bodily disease. Too much alcohol can blur one’s vision, reduce one’s coordination and mental abilities temporarily, remove inhibitions one really should have, and make one sick, whether one is dependent on alcohol or not. When alcohol affects one’s nervous system, one is still a dangerous driver and inconsiderate friend. Alcohol is an efficacious drug whether one is addicted to it or not.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Synthesis of Liberal Arts and a Professional Music Degree
I am a student in the Petrie School of Music at Converse College. Petrie School of Music, as a professional school of music, provides education toward a professional degree in music. Converse is a liberal arts college. As Martin Luther’s Small Catechism would phrase it, what does this mean?
According to Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, the liberal arts currently “comprise studying literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science.” The liberal arts originally denoted the education a free man should obtain as opposed to that of a slave; in the middle ages the liberal arts comprised the trivium - grammar, rhetoric, and logic - and the quadrivium - geometry, arithmetic, music and astronomy. In a liberal arts college, the objective is to impart to the student a broad basis of knowledge in a variety of fields and to discipline the student’s “rational thought and intellectual capabilities” such that the student has the intellectual flexibility to function in and adapt to our changing, complex world. In Converse College’s Opening Convocation, we students were urged repeatedly to explore and continually develop ourselves in various areas of study - to become “well-rounded” Converse women, schooled in the liberal-arts ideals of intellectual excellence and flexibility.
Also according to Wikipedia, a “first professional degree […] prepares the holder for a particular profession by emphasizing competency skills along with theory and analysis.” The student’s objective, in a professional degree, not unlike that of an 18th-century apprenticeship, is to become excellent and skillful in his or her chosen field. For example, as a pursuant of a professional degree in music, I am refining my skills in performance, in how my brain processes music, and acquiring background information about music, its history, and its musicians and composers.
Thus, as a professional degree student, most of my coursework, about 70 % according to the Petrie School of Music web page, is within my chosen field of music, but as a student in a liberal arts college, a significant portion of my coursework is in other subjects. Yes, I need musical skills, but I also need to communicate through the written and spoken word, both in my native language and in other languages, and to keep myself physically fit; accordingly, Converse College requires Bachelor of Music-Performance Majors to learn to do these things. In addition, many of the elective general education courses I can take not only provide a gymnasium for my mind but actually provide me with applicable information. Here are a few examples:
• Botany. Anyone who has ever help to take care of a lawn will appreciate the botanical reasons that dandelions are so difficult to eradicate, a few of which are that their taproots root them firmly in the ground and that their wind-blown seeds in their hundreds and thousands spread rapidly.
• Philosophy. In Cultural Collisions, one of the courses I am currently taking, we have discussed the concept of the Ethnographer’s Dilemma, which is that if you assume too much difference between your culture and the other culture, you will be unable understand the other culture at all, but if you assume too much similarity, you will overlook the differences, seeing just surface differences. I can apply this concept on a personal level when I meet people and get to know them.
• Religion. When I study chorales and hymns in music history, the fact that Martin Luther thought all of the congregation, not just a trained choir, should make music to worship the Lord and to help remember facts about God, and his reference to Biblical scripture to back this up, helps me to understand the development of hymn and chorale forms, which were often repetitive and easy to remember.
So the information and training I acquire in the liberal arts is applicable both in my general life as a human and in my activities and studies as a musician.
(By the way, as one might have guessed from the multiple references to Martin Luther, yes, I am Lutheran.)
According to Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, the liberal arts currently “comprise studying literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, and science.” The liberal arts originally denoted the education a free man should obtain as opposed to that of a slave; in the middle ages the liberal arts comprised the trivium - grammar, rhetoric, and logic - and the quadrivium - geometry, arithmetic, music and astronomy. In a liberal arts college, the objective is to impart to the student a broad basis of knowledge in a variety of fields and to discipline the student’s “rational thought and intellectual capabilities” such that the student has the intellectual flexibility to function in and adapt to our changing, complex world. In Converse College’s Opening Convocation, we students were urged repeatedly to explore and continually develop ourselves in various areas of study - to become “well-rounded” Converse women, schooled in the liberal-arts ideals of intellectual excellence and flexibility.
Also according to Wikipedia, a “first professional degree […] prepares the holder for a particular profession by emphasizing competency skills along with theory and analysis.” The student’s objective, in a professional degree, not unlike that of an 18th-century apprenticeship, is to become excellent and skillful in his or her chosen field. For example, as a pursuant of a professional degree in music, I am refining my skills in performance, in how my brain processes music, and acquiring background information about music, its history, and its musicians and composers.
Thus, as a professional degree student, most of my coursework, about 70 % according to the Petrie School of Music web page, is within my chosen field of music, but as a student in a liberal arts college, a significant portion of my coursework is in other subjects. Yes, I need musical skills, but I also need to communicate through the written and spoken word, both in my native language and in other languages, and to keep myself physically fit; accordingly, Converse College requires Bachelor of Music-Performance Majors to learn to do these things. In addition, many of the elective general education courses I can take not only provide a gymnasium for my mind but actually provide me with applicable information. Here are a few examples:
• Botany. Anyone who has ever help to take care of a lawn will appreciate the botanical reasons that dandelions are so difficult to eradicate, a few of which are that their taproots root them firmly in the ground and that their wind-blown seeds in their hundreds and thousands spread rapidly.
• Philosophy. In Cultural Collisions, one of the courses I am currently taking, we have discussed the concept of the Ethnographer’s Dilemma, which is that if you assume too much difference between your culture and the other culture, you will be unable understand the other culture at all, but if you assume too much similarity, you will overlook the differences, seeing just surface differences. I can apply this concept on a personal level when I meet people and get to know them.
• Religion. When I study chorales and hymns in music history, the fact that Martin Luther thought all of the congregation, not just a trained choir, should make music to worship the Lord and to help remember facts about God, and his reference to Biblical scripture to back this up, helps me to understand the development of hymn and chorale forms, which were often repetitive and easy to remember.
So the information and training I acquire in the liberal arts is applicable both in my general life as a human and in my activities and studies as a musician.
(By the way, as one might have guessed from the multiple references to Martin Luther, yes, I am Lutheran.)
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Why college? Why Converse? Why Music?
I have been asked three questions. “1.) Why did you decide to go to college? 2.) Why did you decide to come specifically to Converse? and 3.) What could possibly be possessing you to make you decide to study music? Oh, and let's throw in a fourth question, just for kicks: 4.) If you woke up tomorrow and couldn't do any kind of music anymore, what would you do instead?”
I hope nobody minds that I answer these questions in logical order rather than the given order.
I am a member of a family that values a college education. Since my mother has a master’s degree and my father is a Ph. D., my parents assumed that their children would go to college. They at least partially instilled in me and my brother the values of Learning and Trying Hard, deciding to home-school my brother and I to this end. Because my father had direct oversight and control of my education, if an assignment was not getting done he could tell whether I was slacking or rather just could not grasp the concept. In other words, I would only not go to college if either I clearly could not handle college, if I chose a career in which a college education was not an advantage, or if I myself did not want to go to college. I and my family want me to go to college for further learning and education, for better personal preparation for the “real world”, and for the joy of it.
In my high school years, I continued to study piano and to train in my regional children’s chorus. I discovered that not only did I enjoy music, but also that I had some talent for it. As I began the college search process and asked myself what field I would most likely major in, music was the obvious answer. My parents and I know there are jobs in music education, as private teachers, and as church musicians, so I have some reassurance of a way to earn my living. I can study what I want to study – music – without becoming entirely bankrupt.
During my college search process, I looked for certain characteristics when I investigated a college. Academically, it needed to strive for academic excellence, be a liberal arts school, and have a strong music program. Specifically, its music program needed an excellent piano professor; a choral program, because I enjoy choir and could decide to become a choral director; and an organ program, since I had started taking organ lessons and wanted to continue my study of organ. I also wanted the college to be friendly, hard-working, and, hopefully, Christian. On top of all these requirements, the college had to be small, because, as a homeschooled child, I was used to a class size of two. These requirements and preferences were demanding, but I was willing to go to a college far away from my home in New Jersey.
The summer betwixt my junior and senior years of high school, my family and I visited our North Carolina relatives on our way to our summer vacation and a look at Furman University. My relatives knew I was looking for a good, small school with an excellent music program, so on their suggestion, we also visited Converse College while we were in the area. Furman failed to impress me – it had too much football, among other reasons – but Converse did. Everyone was so nice. When I flew back by myself last winter for my audition, a couple sophomores hosted me in their room and introduced me to their friends, so I was able to get to know the Converse students better. When Dr. Weeks and Dr. Couch each gave me a piano and an organ lesson, respectively, their lessons were excellent. So when I had to decide which college I wanted to go to, Converse College shared first place with St. Olaf College, which was even further away in Minnesota. This decision was difficult, but Converse was much less expensive , so Converse won. Now that I am studying at Converse College, I am very happy with it.
Music is a major component of my life, but if I could not do music, I would probably be a mathematician. My father has a doctorate in mathematics, so he has given me a few research-style problems which I have found frustrating. I like teaching, so I would probably teach mathematics in a school. It seems odd that I am not currently taking any mathematics courses this semester. However, I know my father has a new math course waiting for me when I come home for Christmas. Then I will also accompany my violinist brother and tell them what a good choice Converse was.
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