Switching Majors

So, recently we went through the tumultuous day of April Fool's. I had been planning this elaborate scheme that I was changing my major from Music Education to Vocal Performance, which a fair share of people tend to do because of the rigor of the Music Education Program. Fortunately for me, I did not actually anticipate changing, but everyone else did. I dropped the bomb on April Fools Day that I was not switching my major and it went over very well.



I am speaking about this subject to discuss the real matter of changing majors. If you feel that your major here in the Setnor School of Music is not something that you enjoy or can complete to your fullest potential, the faculty here are only around to serve your needs. Even if they think that you shouldn't switch, they will still be behind you 100% if you do choose to change your career path. I know that the willingness of faculty here was one of the reasons I chose Syracuse University. All the faculty only have your best interest in mind.

Different Majors in the Setnor School of Music

I've come accross the issue of my major here at the Setnor School of Music. I am currently a music education major, but the real test of the major is just starting. I've always thought about changing my major to vocal performance, but never really wanted to. I went and talked to my adviser about wanting to change to vocal performance and, even though he was upset at my thought process, he told me that he would always be behind me in anything I do during college and even after college. All of the faculty members here really want the students to succeed in whatever they want to do. You cannot find one member of the faculty here that is teaching here to better themselves. They are here for the students and the students only and that is just a great environment to be in.

Spring Break '09

It's been a while since I've had a break from Syracuse and this Spring Break was well deserved. I've been up at school now since the second week in January because of opera rehearsal. I was upset that I had to stay in Syracuse for a couple of days to do field observation for my music education requirement, but it was not too bad because I just had to observe and take notes. I went back to New Jersey on Wednesday and actually got to laze around for a couple hours before I started on a paper I had due the next week. Some break huh? I did most of the paper on Thursday and had time to watch Syracuse in the Big East Tournament so that was fun to see. They made it all the way to the championship game against Louisville, but they lost so that was sad :-(. On Friday and Saturday I got the chance to perform at Jazz at Lincoln Center with the Syracuse University Brazilian Ensemble so that was a really fun way to end my Spring Break. Now I am back to the grind.

Talk to you later.

University Singers Large Vocal Ensemble

I am a member of the most select vocal ensemble on campus, the Syracuse University Singers. We are comprised of mostly music majors, but we also have about eight non music majors and even one non vocal major! The group is comprised of 33 singers with each part having about nine singers. The fun thing that we do every spring is that we go on tour to some part of the country, usually along the east coast. Last year, my freshman year, we went to east central New York and Hartford, Connecticut to the American Choral Director's Conference to do a performance there. This year, we went to Maryland and Pennsylvania and even stopped in Washington D.C. for a day to do some sightseeing. Touring is just a really good way for us to get our name out to high schools and colleges around the country and make a name for ourselves. It is also just a really fun experience that we look forward to every year.

So, lately I've been busy with my music fraternity, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and that is why I haven't been on lately. Phi Mu Alpha is a National Fraternity that is meant to advance music in America. The Object is, "for the development of the best and truest fraternal spirit, the mutual welfare and brotherhood of musical students, the advancement of music in America and a loyalty to the Alma Mater."
I have such a strong bond with my brothers and the special thing is that we have total camaraderie between each other. This was why the Fraternity was started because music students always have a lot of responsibilities on their plate and it's nice just to get away from it sometimes. However, since these organizations have been started, the music schools and their students have been a lot better with those types of things. I love my involvement in the fraternity and I know I have created a lifelong bond with all of my brothers.

I'm a singer, I like to sing opera

So, this past weekend was the Syracuse Student Opera Company's performance of the Mikado featuring past Artistic Director of Syracuse Opera, Richard McKee as the Mikado. The run was a total success and everybody that saw it gave us rave reviews. The Syracuse University student paper, the Daily Orange, gave us a great review after our run was over and it was wonderful seeing how they appreciated our work. The Syracuse Post Standard gave us a review after our first show on Saturday morning. It was so nice seeing an actual paper give us a review and talk about individual performances like we were professionals. It's a good view about how our professional careers could turn out. This opera has taken over my life lately, but I will have more posts in time.
Peace.

Getting to know Gyasi!

Hi, my name is Gyasi and I'm a Sophomore Music Education major from Teaneck, NJ. Since Teaneck is about five minutes outside of New York City, I had a lot of cultural and musical influence while I was growing up and that enhanced my knowledge about music and the arts. When I first started looking at schools, I wanted to go to Syracuse because of the great reputation and the fact that the teachers were unlike those at conservatories that I applied to. The teachers had the student's improvement in mind with a warm and caring aura about them. When I got into Syracuse, I was so excited to come here and I was immediately positive that I had made the right choice.