Key Hartwick Activities: College choir, wind ensemble, low brass choir, plays euphonium and sitar, recording studio assistant, Alpha Delta Omega, Freedman Prize for Senior Project Development Winner
Career plans: Pursue a Ph.D. in music composition to teach at the college level
Major decisions: I’ve been playing instruments from the moment I could, starting on violin and switching to euphonium in 5th grade. I had an interest in teaching and music, so when I got to Hartwick, I started a major in music education. The theory classes got me interested in composing, so I shifted to a music major.
Special Experiences: I went to the Himalayas this past summer with music professor Jirka Kratochvil, which was a great experience. While there, I worked on ideas for the first two movements of my senior thesis, Beauty Lost, a large-scale 15-minute composition for chamber orchestra. There were so many things that I have never seen before—the landscapes, the cities, the poverty. We did a home stay with nomads. It’s an experience I won’t forget.
I also traveled to Prague with the Hartwick Choir. We had been working on Carmina Burana, one of the most intense and huge choral pieces written in the 20th century. There were about 150 singers, and we performed with the Czech National Symphony. To be in a concert hall of that quality, singing with a professional orchestra, was another amazing experience. It was just unreal, really empowering.
About my professors: Music professor Tom Licata has really helped me to develop my own style. He has a lot of respect and is always hesitant to say what he would actually do, but never hesitant to point out where I need to find something else. He’s honing my style, but not imposing his own.
