Hometown: Northampton, Massachusetts Major: Philosophy Minor: Music Studies Center: Ammerman Center Activities: The College Voice, Philosophy Club, Hillel House Certificate Program:
Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology
Favorite aspect of ĢĒŠÄTV:
The Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology (CAT) is my favorite aspect of ĢĒŠÄTV. I was admitted as a student scholar to CAT in the fall of my sophomore year, and Iāve loved it ever since. The classes Iāve taken to complete my center requirements have taught me a great deal about what technology is and how it affects our society. Theyāve also helped set me further on my path to a career in music and the performing arts. Iāve also been able to make new friendships and deepen preexisting ones by collaborating with the members of my class in CAT.
Favorite memory at ĢĒŠÄTV:
Playing principal clarinet in the pit during the opening night of the Collegeās production of Rodgers and Hammersteinās classic musical āCarousel.ā It was a moment when seven weeks of hard work, long nights, and many discussions on the direction of the show finally paid off, and it was the pinnacle of my first year at ĢĒŠÄTV filled with high points. We also hosted a group of scholars and professionals whose work involved āCarousel,ā so getting to play for them and hear their opinions on and experiences with the show was a real treat!
Favorite activity in New London or the region:
Catching a film or show at the Garde Arts Center, a beautiful old movie palace and auditorium in the center of town.
The email came the Monday before my senior recital, as I began preparing in earnest to stage my Ammerman Senior Integrative Project in addition to rehearsing with piano instructor Patrice Newman, my accompanist. āDear Saadya, I am wondering if you might play your Carl Stamitz: Reimagined concerto for Clarinet and Audience at the [Camel Day] Music Forum on April 22 at 9:15 a.m. in Oliva Hall?ā Admitted students are invited to Camel Days each year to help them get better acquainted with the College.
The Citizens Bank ATM at ĢĒŠÄTV, where I normally withdraw cash when I need it.
One of the more time-consuming activities Iāve been engaged in as I prepare to graduate and move to Colorado for the summer has been changing banks. The last time I did this was four years ago as I was preparing to enter ĢĒŠÄTV, when I switched my main account from a local bank in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Citizens Bank. ĢĒŠÄTV has a Citizens Bank ATM. So it made sense for me to switch to this particular bank to avoid any potential ATM fees.
In June 2016, my mother and I went to the Citizens branch in Northampton to open a new checking account. After about an hour of work with a bank representative, I had a folder with details about my new checking account and other Citizens products, reminder card with my new bank account and routing numbers and receipt for a checkbook order that would arrive a week later. I was in business.
As I prepare to move to Colorado, I have realized I canāt keep banking with Citizens. The companyās westernmost branches are located in Michigan and Ohio, so withdrawing any cash while Iām in Colorado would incur needless ATM and bank fees. Before and during spring break, I started analyzing various online banking products as well as the benefits I have from bank accounts already open in my name, including one at Florence Bank, my local bank at home. I eventually settled on depositing my money with two different Internet-based financial institutions. Iāve mainly interacted with Citizens through Internet and phone-based services rather than going into any of their branches. So working with banks that do not have any public offices isnāt too concerning to me. All of these banks have little to no minimum funding requirements and usually allow me to withdraw money from anywhere in the nation without penalty. As someone whoās just getting out of College and trying to build a nest egg while also wanting easy access to my funds, this sort of set up is a relief.
Iāve also started to set up methods to save long-term including a small Roth IRA account, which allows me to start saving for buying a house and/or retirement while earning interest. One of the benefits of the Roth IRA plan over traditional IRAs is that I can withdraw money I initially put into the account (but not money earned in the account) tax-free anytime. While banking and making sure to save money can at times feel scaryāknowing that I have a plan makes me feel secure about my future.
Not very long from now, Iāll be walking down this street every day! Source: Wikipedia
In March, I accepted a position as a patron services associate with Creede Repertory Theatre (CRT) in Creede, Colorado. But I still havenāt figured out how to explain to announce to all of my friends and family that Iām doing this. Perhaps itās that Iām going through a phase where I barely use social media right now. Iām only logging into my Facebook account a few times a week, and I donāt feel like writing a self-congratulatory post about my future.
My handwritten notes from my meeting with Professor Elmer
This semester has been busy and challenging for me. Iām preparing a senior recital for the Department of Music to be presented Sunday, April 14, and Iām planning to perform my Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology Senior Integrative Project as part of that recital. This decision has set a major deadline for when the majority of the projects Iām working on for senior year need to be ready to be presented. While it's daunting to realize that Iāll soon be on the stage of Evans Hall performing an hour of clarinet music and my finished project for the Ammerman Center, Iāve realized as the recital nears that preparation comes in baby steps.
A look at the pit orchestra during our 2016 production of "Carousel"
As a senior, I am an expert in all things ĢĒŠÄTV. I know the best route for biking to Quaker Hill (take Gallows Lane to Bloomingdale Road on the way out and come back on Old Norwich Road/Williams Street) and that my favorite study space is an Olin Science Center computer lab affiliated with the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology, in which I am a student scholar. I also realize my familiarity with my College whenever I open a tab while browsing the Internet on a school computer, which I do quite often, as it immediately directs me to this website: .
ĢĒŠÄTV clarinet instructor Kelli OāĢĒŠÄTVor with Jamie Bernstein and Kevin Rhodes of the Springfield Symphony.
Iām afforded plenty of opportunities to hear my clarinet professor, Kelli OāĢĒŠÄTVor, perform at ĢĒŠÄTV. Most recently, she played in two pieces in the music departmentās February faculty recital, including Mozartās well-known āKegelstattā Trio, and last December she was a featured soloist with the orchestraās string section during our fall concert.
The orchestra playing a dramatic passage at last fallās concert.
The end of the semester is always a busy time for me, and, as Iāve previously written, one of the highlights of this period are the various music department end-of-semester concerts and recitals that I participate in. No matter how intense it gets, the end of semester orchestra concert is still a great highlight and culmination of my hard work. This past semesterās performance was particularly special for me as it presented an impromptu opportunity to play with some of the best musicians in the countryāthree members of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Bandās trombone section led by Sean Nelson, who is the music departmentās trombone professor, in addition to ĢĒŠÄTVās own Gary Buttery on tuba, who served as the Bandās principal tubist from 1976-1998. The group constituted our orchestraās low brass section for our performance of Antonin Dvorakās Eighth Symphony.
Me with my former student advisor Jack Beal ā18 who came to the fall orchestra concert to play with us.
As a sophomore, I applied and was accepted to the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology at ĢĒŠÄTV. The Center is one of the five academic centers on campus that provide resources to students and faculty doing interdisciplinary work on a specific subject. Learn more about my journey as an Ammerman Scholar.
Delivering my midterm presentation at the Shain Visualization Wall. Photo by Assistant Professor of Dance Shawn Hove.
As a sophomore, I applied and was accepted to the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology, one of the five academic centers on campus that provides resources to students and faculty doing interdisciplinary work on a specific subject. This year Iām working on my Senior Integrative Project (SIP). SIPs are year-long independent studies for seniors in the Collegeās four center-certificate programs that culminates in a final performance or installation from each senior in the spring. My project is to develop a piece of classical music where audience members get to participate. Learn more about my journey as an Ammerman Scholar.
One night during Fall Break I decided to treat myself to a carton of Ben & Jerryās from the corner store near my house. When I returned, my mom pointed out that eating ice cream must be a rare treat for me with my meal plan at ĢĒŠÄTV. āOf course not!ā I responded, āThereās always ice cream available in the dining hall. We even have a sundae bar every Sunday.ā
Presenting my composition to a parent during Fall Weekend. Photo by Assistant Professor of Dance Shawn Hove
As a sophomore, I applied and was accepted to the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology at ĢĒŠÄTV. The Center is one of the five academic centers on campus that provides resources to students and faculty doing interdisciplinary work on a specific subject. Learn more about my journey as an Ammerman Scholar.
This semester Iām starting to produce my senior integrative project (SIP) for the Ammerman Center. SIPs are year-long independent study projects that seniors participating in the Collegeās four center-certificate programs undertake culminating in a final performance or installation from each senior every spring. My project is an attempt to develop a piece of classical music where audience members get to participate. It currently uses the working title āDemocracy and Classical Music,ā which stems from a challenge posed to me by professors who I have worked closely with developing this project. They posited that allowing audience members to interact raises problems similar to those raised by the challenge of satisfying people with different viewpoints in the democratic process.
Presenting my composition to a parent during Fall Weekend. Photo by Assistant Professor of Dance Shawn Hove
As a sophomore, I applied and was accepted to the Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology at ĢĒŠÄTV. The Center is one of the five academic centers on campus that provides resources to students and faculty doing interdisciplinary work on a specific subject. Learn more about my journey as an Ammerman Scholar.
This semester Iām starting to produce my senior integrative project (SIP) for the Ammerman Center. SIPs are year-long independent study projects that seniors participating in the Collegeās four center-certificate programs undertake culminating in a final performance or installation from each senior every spring. My project is an attempt to develop a piece of classical music where audience members get to participate. It currently uses the working title āDemocracy and Classical Music,ā which stems from a challenge posed to me by professors who I have worked closely with developing this project. They posited that allowing audience members to interact raises problems similar to those raised by the challenge of satisfying people with different viewpoints in the democratic process.
Lee Hisle, Vice President for Information Services and Librarian of the College, opening the reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, and some of the banned books from Shainās collection.
I skim every email I receive, even newsletters that seem to come into my inbox solely for me to delete them. However, in a recent copy of āWhat's New at Shain Library,ā a weekly newsletter detailing events, lectures and exhibits taking place at the Collegeās library, an announcement for a community reading of Harper Leeās āTo Kill a Mockingbirdā in honor of Banned Books Week piqued my interest. I contacted Carrie Kent, who organized the reading, and volunteered to read for 20 minutes near the end of the day.
Lee Hisle, Vice President for Information Services and Librarian of the College, opening the reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, and some of the banned books from Shainās collection.
I skim every email I receive, even newsletters that seem to come into my inbox solely for me to delete them. However, in a recent copy of āWhat's New at Shain Library,ā a weekly newsletter detailing events, lectures and exhibits taking place at the Collegeās library, an announcement for a community reading of Harper Leeās āTo Kill a Mockingbirdā in honor of Banned Books Week piqued my interest. I contacted Carrie Kent, who organized the reading, and volunteered to read for 20 minutes near the end of the day.
Visiting Julia Kaback ā18 while she was finishing her fellowship in Krakow, Poland. Photo credit: Julia Kaback, ā18
Studying away in Vienna was my first experience living in a big city. Although itās among the worldās most livable cities, I often found getting out of Vienna satisfying and part of what makes it livable. I chose to study away at IES Abroadās Vienna Center in part because of the great musical and cultural offerings, but also for a personal reason: I am half-German and grew up in a bilingual German-English speaking household. My family regularly vacations in Bavaria and Austria with the German-side of my family. Given my familiarity with German-speaking areas, I wanted to make my travel experience more than the stereotypical city-hopping on budget airline flights every weekend. On days off I would take a train an hour or two outside the city just to explore a new town.
Visiting Julia Kaback ā18 while she was finishing her fellowship in Krakow, Poland. Photo credit: Julia Kaback, ā18
Studying away in Vienna was my first experience living in a big city. Although itās among the worldās most livable cities, I often found getting out of Vienna satisfying and part of what makes it livable. I chose to study away at IES Abroadās Vienna Center in part because of the great musical and cultural offerings, but also for a personal reason: I am half-German and grew up in a bilingual German-English speaking household. My family regularly vacations in Bavaria and Austria with the German-side of my family. Given my familiarity with German-speaking areas, I wanted to make my travel experience more than the stereotypical city-hopping on budget airline flights every weekend. On days off I would take a train an hour or two outside the city just to explore a new town.
When I discuss writing essays with my friends in other majors, one of the things we talk about is the style and conventions expected from our professors and department. This can be something as basic as what sort of citation style we use, such as Turabian (my personal favorite), MLA, APA or ASA to specific grammatical and structural issues we encounter when writing our papers. For example, in music, there is a difference between a piece that is āfor oboe and clarinetā and āfor clarinet and oboeā; the first instrument plays higher than the second. One of the subjects I really enjoy writing for is my major: philosophy. Part of what I enjoy about writing papers for philosophy is that Iām allowed to write in the first person, which is unusual in academic writing.
±õāv±š&²Ō²ś²õ±č;written before about my plans to study away from ĢĒŠÄTV. Next semester I will be studying at the IES Abroad Vienna Music Program in Austria, but right now, as I enter into the final days of the fall semester, Iām focused on completing my obligations at ĢĒŠÄTV and making plans for the future. One major part of my pre-study away planning process has been the Office of Career and Professional Developmentās Junior Year Action Plan. The plan helps me prepare for the Collegeās funded internship program next summer.
As I write this post, Iām sitting in my room, listening to the Broadway recording of the musical āThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Beeā on YouTube. Just over 24 hours ago ĢĒŠÄTVās student theater community, Wig & Candle, closed their production of that play in Palmer 202, a black box theater and classroom space that is often used for student productions. The production was so popular that we had to add an additional late night performance. Although I have regularly attended Wig and Candleās performances, this was my first time actually participating in one; I played clarinet in a reduced pit band of two.
Preparing to supertitle the final show at The Kate.
Recently I had the opportunity to supertitle a production of Mozartās Don Giovanni for Stonington-based Salt Marsh Opera (SMO). This means I was in charge of projecting translations of the operaās lyrics, which were sung in Italian, above the stage so the audience could understand what the singers were saying. Supertitling an opera is an extremely challenging task that Iām glad I had the opportunity to perform. It requires following along with the singers, conductor and score through almost the entire performance while projecting the correct title at each prescribed moment. Itās almost like playing percussion in an orchestra because of the precision required in being on cue and in sync with the rest of the performers. Needless to say, the intense concentration needed for the three-hour performances made it a very exhausting but fulfilling task.
