A Day in the Life of a Music Student

A typical (and rather busy) Tuesday in the music department…

8:30: My Tuesday’s begin with class bright and early in the morning. Living off campus and without a meal card (and often a lack of groceries), Tuesday’s start with a trip to Bridgestreet Café – a popular coffee spot and student hangout – for breakfast. Then it’s off to American Musical Theatre class. Taught by the department head, Dr. Wells, we have classes Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesdays we spend learning about, watching and discussing various American musicals – from Oklahoma! to Cabaret. On Thursdays we have class in the Conservatory’s Brunton Auditorium where we’re doing “Performance Projects”. For our final project, students have the option of performing a song from a musical of their choice. Each week students have performed, analyzed and discussed songs (in full costume of course) from such musicals as Chicago, Rent, and Annie Get Your Gun on Brunton’s stage.

10:00: I have a 10 minute break between Musical Theatre and my next class – Aural Skills. All students take music history, music theory and aural skills during their first two years. We spend the class basically listening – from practicing hearing intervals and determining chord inversions to sight-singing and the infamous solfege.

11:00: Since Tuesday afternoons are pretty busy, I usually spend sometime in the Conservatory’s student lounge before getting some lunch. Deep in the Conservatory’s basement, the lounge is a great place to spend time in between classes and rehearsals, spend a little time on Facebook and just hang out. Don’t be afraid to go in! It’s a great place to meet other music students from all different years.

11:45: Well maybe I spend a little more than a “bit” of time in the lounge. For lunch, some other off-campus music students and I have “Soup Days” on Tuesday, at the student center’s Gracie’s Cafe (on-campus students generally go to the campus dining hall).

1:00: After lunch, it’s back to the Conservatory. Usually I spend this time warming up in preparation for my lesson.

2:00: All music majors take “Applied Music” or weekly lessons throughout their four years at school. Each lesson is by far different from the next. During your lessons, you work on everything from breathing, to technique and your repertoire and prepare for Collegium performances, student recitals and juries.

3:30-4:00: Lessons usually last an hour. Before my rehearsal at 4:00 p.m., I teach a flute lesson. I’ve begun teaching flute and piano to several kids in Sackville. It’s a great way to meet people from the Sackville community, make a bit of extra cash and definitely a learning experience.

4:00-5:00: This year I’ve begun playing in the flute quartet, with three other flute students. In your second year, you have the opportunity to be a member of a chamber ensemble with other students and a professor supervisor. There are several ensembles this year, including the Brass Choir, Flute Quartet, Opella Nova (an early music vocal group) and New Music Ensemble. But of course, you can also put together your own ensemble. Next year I’ll be playing in an early music ensemble, with violin, cello and harpsichord players.

5:00-6:00: At the end of my day is Studio Class. All music students have Studio Class once a week, with the other students of their studio and their Applied Music professor. During Studio, you have the chance to perform some of your repertoire with your pianist (great preparation for Collegium performances) and work on different technical aspects (such as breathing, articulation and vibrato exercises), with the rest of your Studio. Throughout the year, it also becomes a great place to bond with the other students, talk about your day, your classes and how your repertoire is going.

6:00: Time for dinner and then some homework after a busy day!