<p>Can anyone put in a few words about the orchestra programs and music departments at Andover, Exeter, or Deerfield?</p>
<p>I can only speak to Deerfield: they’ve been putting lots of resources into the arts generally. They’re redoing/expanding their arts center with a new auditorium, theater, dance studio, art gallery, music practice rooms and, most significantly for you, concert hall (supposed to have amazing acoustics). The head of the music dept. does all the choral stuff (chorus, community chorus, chamber singers, etc., and teaches music theory. He’s got an amazing voice himself and the choral groups and orchestra did a beautiful Christmas concert of Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Vivaldi’s Winter. The orchestra conductor came to DA a few years ago from Andover, where he’d been head of their music dept. for 22 years, and he’s really trying to not only build DA’s music, but bring in outside performers for the new space. He also runs the chamber music class (meets daily during regular class time for credit-- you can do it p/f or for a grade). There’s a range of musicians, ranging from good to very accomplished. Chamber groups (quartets, trios, etc. are formed according to ability so that they can have challenging music for whatever their level is). They perform at several concerts during the year, including at the end of each trimester, at parents’ weekend, etc. You can also do a music “co-curricular,” in which you have practice time every day and then give occasional performances in soup kitchens, nursing homes, etc. as community service. This is during the sports block, so you can do it instead of sports any (or all) trimesters (the orchestra, chamber class, and music theory don’t conflict with sports, so you can do both if you want). They have various people there for lessons in the various instruments and to help coach chamber groups. There’s also a classical music club of some sort, although I’m not quite sure what they do.</p>