As a high school student, I was heavily involved in my schools music department, and I knew that I wanted to continue making music at Smith. I ended up joining several ensembles, and I’ve really enjoyed all of them so far. At Montage, the parents weekend concert, all three of my ensembles performed, which was busy, but really fun! Here’s the breakdown:
I play the flute in wind ensemble. It’s the largest ensemble that I’m in and it’s the most similar to what I was playing in high school. It’s overall a very supportive environment, and I’ve felt welcomed in as a first year! There aren’t auditions, so any amount of experience is welcome. We play a mix of contemporary and more traditional wind ensemble repertoire.
I’ve played the handbells for years at my church, and I was lucky enough to come to a school that had a handbell choir. We just played Good Morning Baltimore, and now we’re working on various seasonal pieces for Christmas time concerts. Depending on numbers of the group, anyone is able to join Handbells regardless of experience!
Okay, so I had originally not planned on auditioning for Crapapella, but after seeing them perform at Arch Sing, the event at the beginning of the semester where all the a cappella groups perform, I was blown away by how silly and hilarious they were. Crapapella is Smith’s only *alternative* a cappella group, and we delight others with our consistently off key singing and enthusiastic moves. Crapapella also performed at Montage, where we sang a medley of Hotel California, California Girls, and Talk Dirty to Me. Performing for sure pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I ended up having way more fun than I thought I would have.
Overall, I’ve felt incredibly welcomed into all three of the ensembles. Making music a part of my life at Smith was a great way to help me feel more at home!
