<p>I get the impression from this forum and elsewhere, that Penn's main strengths are in business (Wharton) and science, especially pre-med and other health-related fields.</p>
<p>My D, a junior, is interested in English/Writing/Philosophy/Political Science and Humanities in general. She also has a keen interest in pursuing classical music opportunities, specifically, choir and opera.</p>
<p>How strong really is Penn in these areas? Honest opinions welcome.</p>
<p>Penn is pretty good at humanities. The majors are very popular and a lot of interesting classes are offered in all of those areas. I know nothing about the classical music opportunities here, nor about any choir/opera classes. If your daughter is interested in economics even a little, then she should look at the PPE program which combines philosphy politics and economics into one major.</p>
<p>Thanks. Looks like a nice program. Anyone else have any comments?</p>
<p>it's philadelphia, so i'm banking on good classical music. i'm also a classical musician, and i would die if i didn't have good opportunities to perform. i've heard that the musicians at penn aren't exactly the best breed out there, but being a very diverse ivy league school, i would assume that there are many talented and very good musicians here. also, penn has GREAT a cappella, so if your D is into that stuff, penn would be perfect for her.</p>
<p>i can let you know more about this once i start to experience it (fall 09. woot!) as i plan to chase the classical music scene at penn.</p>
<p>Crystal has it right, insofar as classical music goes. There are lots of people who play instruments at Penn, but I'm not certain the organized classical music activities are great. In the surrounding community, there are tons of opportunities to join orchestras, etc., and of course to hear really first-class performances by others.</p>
<p>Other stuff: Penn has an excellent writing program, and is strong in lots of humanities areas. All you hear about on CC is Wharton and pre-med because that reflects the interests of the insecure high achievers who post a lot here.</p>
<p>As a former Penn musician who graduated in '07, I feel that I'm obligated to reply to this post. Having had the opportunity to spend some time at Harvard and Stanford after graduation, I can safely say that Penn offers unparalleled opportunities in classical music. Just because Penn is very well-known for having one of the best undergraduate business programs does not mean that its liberal arts programs are of any less caliber. I played in the Orchestra while I was at Penn, and I thought that both the students were exceptionally gifted and directors were phenomenal as well. In addition to the Orchestra, there are the Chamber Ensembles, Penn Baroque, and Penn Composer's Guild etc... If you're interested in music, there is also the opportunity to take classes with the Curtis Institute of Music just a few blocks away from campus. Curtis, which has trained some of the best musicians of our time, also offers free student recitals just about every evening. There are also small Chamber performances by the musician of Philadelphia Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra that happen pretty regularly at the rooftop of Harnwell Collegehouse, which over looks the entire Philadelphia skyline. I used to love going to those performances as a relaxing break from studying during finals week. I also took advantage of the student tickets offered by the Philadelphia Orchestra for just about every performance (by the way, the Phil. Orch is absolutely amazing). </p>
<p>In my opinion, no matter what your interests are, chances are that Penn has more to offer than you can ever wish to take advantage of. I truly think that Penn offers an unparalleled undergraduate experience, and with the exception of weather, I cannot think of another institution that I would rather go for college.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses about the music (and writing!). I had wondered about Curtis as a source of things musical and perhaps a place to find good instructors. Does Penn by any chance have an arrangement to facilitate UPenn students getting instruction at Curtis? These responses are encouraging me to keep Penn on the radar screen and include it on a week-long college visit trip we're planning up and down the East coast in the Spring.</p>
<p>I'm currently Principal Cellist of the Penn Symphony and can tell you that the players are flaky and the conductor is dreadful. Things clearly must have changed since bo435 went there, because frankly, Penn's Music Department is very weak. Upon transferring, a music professor asked me, "Why would you come here from USC?"</p>
<p>Thanks wayward_trojan, for your opinion. I think the principal Cellist is in a great position to evaluate the quality of the whole orchestra and the conductor too. I will still keep UPenn under consideration, seems like it merits a campus visit.</p>
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Other stuff: Penn has an excellent writing program, and is strong in lots of humanities areas. All you hear about on CC is Wharton and pre-med because that reflects the interests of the insecure high achievers who post a lot here.
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</p>
<p>For what it's worth, the Music Department has long suffered from having a dilapidated joke of a building. Fortunately, this is now in the long-overdue process of being remedied with a complete gutting, renovation, and expansion of the Music Building:</p>
<p>What's</a> New @ PENN</p>
<p>sorry to steal this thread, but i'm curious about the music major at penn. i'm thinking about majoring in music (and i'll be pre-med). would penn be the place to do it? or should i stick to my original plan of majoring in biochemistry and perhaps minoring in music or just doing it as an extracurricular? performance is my main focus, but i'm also really interested in music history.
thanks!</p>
<p>when's the new music building going to be completed?</p>
<p>Two years-ish</p>
<p>@trojan</p>
<p>Sorry you are disappointed with the music aspect of Penn. Because you are in a position to compare, can you give us some of your other impressions of Penn? Why, exactly, did you decide go there from USC?
Truly interested in your perspective. Thanks in advance.</p>