<p>How do we contact the music department if we want to receive private instruction?</p>
<p>You don't have to do anything until you get to campus. Then, during Orientation, there is a meeting for all those interested in the music department. You will go to it and find out that you need to take the music theory placement test if you would like to pursue lessons. On the music theory placement test will be a place to indicate what instrument(s) you are interested in receiving instruction in. Then the appropriate instructor will email you to set up an initial time to meet. At that time, you will play for the instructor so that you can decide together what level (and consequently how long) your lessons will be. If you are on financial aid AND take lessons for credit AND fulfill the required accompanying music class (most likely some level of theory your first year), then your lessons will be free. If you are not on financial aid but take lessons for credit (and do the accompanying class), you will essentially get a discount--you will get a 45 min/wk lesson for the price of a 30 min/wk lesson (which is about $500 in savings), for example (there are lessons longer than 45 min/wk which naturally have a higher cost).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, advantagious! I still have no idea what I'm going to do about music, though. (I play the flute.)</p>
<p>How hard is the music theory placement test? And do you know anything about the violin instructors?</p>
<p>I thought the music theory test was bizarre. Many people gave up on it without getting anywhere near completing the test. People who had previously taken music theory seemed to do fine, but I thought it was pretty hard--there was quite a bit of identifying intervals and other aural skills. Anyway, I thought it was really weird because a girl I knew left after literally 5 or 10 minutes and was placed in a higher class than myself and another girl we knew who stayed for the whole test. I was placed in the lowest music theory class (111), but because it conflicted with a class I really really wanted to take, I took the next higher class (111X) and did fine (got an A). I think that if you have NO experience with music, 111 is appropriate, but if you have been playing for awhile, you should be fine in 111x regardless of what the test says, even if you have no formal music theory background. There is a third, harder music theory class, 120, for people who have taken music theory before. </p>
<p>I play the clarinet, so I can't help with violin but maybe someone else will respond.</p>
<p>I think the music theory placement test isn't too difficult-- it really just covers basic skills. Don't worry if you've never taken a theory course before, they'll just place you in the lowest level. It's purely diagnostic, they just want a sense of where you are.</p>
<p>There are three (I believe) violin instructors. You can learn more about them through the music department's website. From what I've heard they are all generally liked by their students, and there are some talented violinists at Wellesley.</p>
<p>The placement test was kind of cool... I'd never taken a music theory class, and I placed out of the 111 (intro) class into the 122 class. Knowledge of piano definitely helps! I remember a listening portion in which we had to listen to a lady play a familiar song on a piano, and we had to write out the notes on the page. </p>
<p>The violin instructors are wonderful. I had Antoine Van Dongen, and he's abolutely awesome! He's an amazing player and taught me how to perfect my technique. He really wants his students to continue playing all four years, but he understands that his students are NOT at a conservatory and have lots of homework on the side. If you're stressed out about finding the balance between music and your other studies, he'll lighten the load in your music lessons enough to make you happy, but you'll still improve. He also teaches at MIT and New England Conservatory. If you want more info about the other teachers, you can check out the Faculty & Staff page at the music department website.
Wellesley</a> College Music Department</p>
<p>Great! It's very comforting to have the name of one of them...sort of makes the whole thing much more comfortable :-) And I'm glad that they understand the "I have academic stuff" part...my private teacher has been really nice about that and I was worrying that I wouldn't be able to find someone else with the same kind of understanding. </p>
<p>Do most students who take private music lessons participate in the orchestra as well? What's that like?</p>
<p>I took private lessons and did the wellesley-brandeis orchestra during my first year. I found it to be pretty time-consuming, but I liked it. I wasn't that impressed with the WBO even though the repertoire was challenging. It's hard to have two large groups from different schools join together as one orchestra. It didn't feel much like a "family." Don't get me wrong! I had a great time in this orchestra, and I still made great friends in BWO, both at Wellesley and Brandeis. It's just that I didn't feel like as many people in the orchestra were all friends with each other like I expected... Maybe that only happens in high school, who knows?
If you consider yourself a hardcore musician and you're into difficult but very cool orchestra pieces, you should audition for mitso. Since I've never done it myself, I can't say if there's a strong sense of community in the orchestra, but I imagine it's better than the divided one in BWO. Keep in mind that I only know of two people from wellesley who joined the mit orchestra last year. Joining mit's orchestra would also take much more work. They meet twice a week instead of once a week, and you'd be driving to MIT for the practices. I've been to a few of their concerts, and they're probably the best undergrad orchestra I've ever heard. Hope this helps, and please feel free to message me if you have more questions!</p>