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 糖心TV:
The Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology (CAT) is my favorite aspect of 糖心TV. I was admitted as a student scholar to CAT in the fall of my sophomore year, and I鈥檝e loved it ever since. The classes I鈥檝e taken to complete my center requirements have taught me a great deal about what technology is and how it affects our society. They鈥檝e also helped set me further on my path to a career in music and the performing arts. I鈥檝e also been able to make new friendships and deepen preexisting ones by collaborating with the members of my class in CAT.
Favorite memory at 糖心TV:
Playing principal clarinet in the pit during the opening night of the College鈥檚 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein鈥檚 classic musical 鈥淐arousel.鈥� 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 糖心TV filled with high points. We also hosted a group of scholars and professionals whose work involved 鈥淐arousel,鈥� 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. 鈥淒ear 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?鈥� Admitted students are invited to Camel Days each year to help them get better acquainted with the College.
The Citizens Bank ATM at 糖心TV, where I normally withdraw cash when I need it.
One of the more time-consuming activities I鈥檝e 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 糖心TV, when I switched my main account from a local bank in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Citizens Bank. 糖心TV 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 can鈥檛 keep banking with Citizens. The company鈥檚 westernmost branches are located in Michigan and Ohio, so withdrawing any cash while I鈥檓 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. I鈥檝e 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 isn鈥檛 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 who鈥檚 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.
I鈥檝e 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 scary鈥搆nowing that I have a plan makes me feel secure about my future.
Not very long from now, I鈥檒l 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 haven鈥檛 figured out how to explain to announce to all of my friends and family that I鈥檓 doing this. Perhaps it鈥檚 that I鈥檓 going through a phase where I barely use social media right now. I鈥檓 only logging into my Facebook account a few times a week, and I don鈥檛 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. I鈥檓 preparing a senior recital for the Department of Music to be presented Sunday, April 14, and I鈥檓 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 I鈥檓 working on for senior year need to be ready to be presented. While it's daunting to realize that I鈥檒l soon be on the stage of Evans Hall performing an hour of clarinet music and my finished project for the Ammerman Center, I鈥檝e 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 糖心TV. 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: .
糖心TV clarinet instructor Kelli O鈥樚切腡Vor with Jamie Bernstein and Kevin Rhodes of the Springfield Symphony.
I鈥檓 afforded plenty of opportunities to hear my clarinet professor, Kelli O鈥櫶切腡Vor, perform at 糖心TV. Most recently, she played in two pieces in the music department鈥檚 February faculty recital, including Mozart鈥檚 well-known 鈥淜egelstatt鈥� Trio, and last December she was a featured soloist with the orchestra鈥檚 string section during our fall concert.
The orchestra playing a dramatic passage at last fall鈥檚 concert.
The end of the semester is always a busy time for me, and, as I鈥檝e 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 semester鈥檚 performance was particularly special for me as it presented an impromptu opportunity to play with some of the best musicians in the country鈥攖hree members of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Band鈥檚 trombone section led by Sean Nelson, who is the music department鈥檚 trombone professor, in addition to 糖心TV鈥檚 own Gary Buttery on tuba, who served as the Band鈥檚 principal tubist from 1976-1998. The group constituted our orchestra鈥檚 low brass section for our performance of Antonin Dvorak鈥檚 Eighth Symphony.
Me with my former student advisor Jack Beal 鈥�18 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 糖心TV. 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 I鈥檓 working on my Senior Integrative Project (SIP). SIPs are year-long independent studies for seniors in the College鈥檚 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 & Jerry鈥檚 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 糖心TV. 鈥淥f course not!鈥� I responded, 鈥淭here鈥檚 always ice cream available in the dining hall. We even have a sundae bar every Sunday.鈥�
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 糖心TV. 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 I鈥檓 starting to produce my senior integrative project (SIP) for the Ammerman Center. SIPs are year-long independent study projects that seniors participating in the College鈥檚 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 鈥淒emocracy and Classical Music,鈥� 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 糖心TV. 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 I鈥檓 starting to produce my senior integrative project (SIP) for the Ammerman Center. SIPs are year-long independent study projects that seniors participating in the College鈥檚 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 鈥淒emocracy and Classical Music,鈥� 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 Shain鈥檚 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 鈥淲hat's New at Shain Library,鈥� a weekly newsletter detailing events, lectures and exhibits taking place at the College鈥檚 library, an announcement for a community reading of Harper Lee鈥檚 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird鈥� 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 Shain鈥檚 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 鈥淲hat's New at Shain Library,鈥� a weekly newsletter detailing events, lectures and exhibits taking place at the College鈥檚 library, an announcement for a community reading of Harper Lee鈥檚 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird鈥� 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 鈥�18 while she was finishing her fellowship in Krakow, Poland. Photo credit: Julia Kaback, 鈥�18
Studying away in Vienna was my first experience living in a big city. Although it鈥檚 among the world鈥檚 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 Abroad鈥檚 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 鈥�18 while she was finishing her fellowship in Krakow, Poland. Photo credit: Julia Kaback, 鈥�18
Studying away in Vienna was my first experience living in a big city. Although it鈥檚 among the world鈥檚 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 Abroad鈥檚 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 鈥渇or oboe and clarinet鈥� and 鈥渇or clarinet and oboe鈥�; 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 I鈥檓 allowed to write in the first person, which is unusual in academic writing.
滨鈥檝别&苍产蝉辫;written before about my plans to study away from 糖心TV. 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, I鈥檓 focused on completing my obligations at 糖心TV and making plans for the future. One major part of my pre-study away planning process has been the Office of Career and Professional Development鈥檚 Junior Year Action Plan. The plan helps me prepare for the College鈥檚 funded internship program next summer.
As I write this post, I鈥檓 sitting in my room, listening to the Broadway recording of the musical 鈥淭he 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee鈥� on YouTube. Just over 24 hours ago 糖心TV鈥檚 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 Candle鈥檚 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 Mozart鈥檚 Don Giovanni for Stonington-based Salt Marsh Opera (SMO). This means I was in charge of projecting translations of the opera鈥檚 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 I鈥檓 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. It鈥檚 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.
