I have been playing the bass for 9 years and I would love to continue with it in college. I know that all three colleges have an orchestra but does anyone know if you have to be a music major to join? Also what are the orchestras like if you know? I plan on majoring in geology but would still like to play music. Thanks for the help!!
LAC students are commonly interested in music, but music is not usually one of the more popular majors. Here are the numbers of music degrees awarded in 2015-16 at these schools, from College Navigator:
4 Bryn Mawr/Haverford combined
3 Mt Holyoke
3 Smith
So obviously it would be hard to field an orchestra if only music majors were eligible. Here is the situation at Bryn Mawr/Haverford:
Note that Bryn Mawr doesn’t actually offer a music major; the music dept. is down the street at Haverford, which is coed. The Bi-College musical community will probably be split about evenly between Haverford and Bryn Mawr students, and about half of the Haverford students will be male. So there will probably be around 25% guys in the orchestra, which may or may not be what you are looking for in a women’s college experience.
https://www.brynmawr.edu/welcome/music-bryn-mawr-and-haverford
You can play in an orchestra at all three of those schools, and you do not have to be a music major. In fact, most of the people playing in orchestras at these schools are not music majors, but rather women who have been playing for years and enjoy it and want to continue. I would encourage you to read about the orchestra on each school’s website and also search Youtube for performances.
Bryn Mawr has a joint orchestra with Haverford. Note that they perform almost always on Haverford’s campus with the exception of Bryn Mawr’s Parents’ weekend. I’m not sure if you would house your bass at Haverford, but that would be something to ask.
My D never considered Mount Holyoke, so I can’t comment on that school other than what I have read about them on their website and here on CC.
Here’s some info I posted last school year about Smith’s orchestra:
“My D is at Smith and plays in the Orchestra. They just had a concert Friday evening at which they played Nocturnes by Claude Debussy, The Pines of Rome, and Lo by Caroline Shaw. Caroline Shaw performed the violin solo of her own piece! This was the final part of a three part residency with her at Smith, clearly a wonderful opportunity for the students. Jonathan Hirsh, the conductor, is well liked by the students. The orchestra is quite strong. They bring in some outside players as needed (more for this concert than other ones). It sounds like a serious group that has fun together, too. Students can take private lessons with a Smith prof or from another local instructor, including some from the 5 Colleges. There are also chamber group opportunities. Students can also audition/play with any of the 5 College groups if they’d like. Transportation does take time, so I am unsure of how often that happens. But clearly Smith has a strong music department which should meet your daughter’s needs in and of itself.”
I meant to add: One thing you might want to do is email the orchestra conductors to introduce yourself and see if you can meet with them and play for them when you are planning to visit campus. Several of the conductors my D reached out to took her up on this. They often invited her to play with the orchestra at a rehearsal as well. It’s a great way to see what they are playing, what their level of play is, what the conductor is like, and what the students are like.
My D is a BMC alum ('11) whose roommate was a music major. Roommate took music classes at Haverford and played in the joint orchestra. (Haverford is less than a mile from BMC–there’s a bus). Also, D’s roommate took private flute lessons at the Curtis Institute, which is a highly regarded conservatory in Philadelphia. She got a job right after graduation working for Sirius Radio.
My daughter is a Firstie at Mount Holyoke, and although she doesn’t play an instrument, we saw a performance of the orchestra at parents Weekend. They were beyond impressive. The Mount Holyoke Club of Boston puts on Christmas Vespers show in Boston as a fund raiser for the Alumnae Scholarship Fund.
The Mount Holyoke College Symphony Orchestra has about 50 members. It is playing this weekend, January 20th, in Washington, DC at the Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G Street, NW, at 7 pm. It is presenting “NEVER Again,” a concert remembering the holocaust through a piece honoring the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz. The musical selection will be interspersed with readings from the perspective of the members of the Women’s Orchestra. The orchestra holds a concert in Washington every two years and features music by or about women to honor Mary Lyon, the pioneering chemist who founded the College in 1837. If you are in the area, you may attend. Tickets are available through the website of the Mount Holyoke Club of DC – www.mtholyokedc.org.