When I arrived on campus my freshman year in the fall of 2018, I knew immediately that I wanted to find a way to continue to actively engage my passion for music even though I was entering Northwestern as a liberal arts student and had no desire to major in music. In high school, I played piano in the school jazz band, percussion in the concert band, and took courses in music theory. I loved playing music, but I still did not know exactly how I would figure out how to incorporate my music playing with the rest of my schedule that was quickly rounding out with other Weinberg courses and extracurriculars. That changed quickly when I discovered Northwestern’s concert band and after I talked to Bienen School of Music staff about the possibility of minoring in music. 

In my search for musical outlets I learned that Northwestern has several non-major music groups that not only practice, but actually have performances in Northwestern’s concert spaces, including Alice Millar Chapel and Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The opportunities range from student-run acapella groups to faculty-conducted symphony orchestras. However, I knew that I wanted an experience that most resembled what I had in high school, which meant having a professional band director, being in a group that met multiple times a week, and played relatively challenging music. I can say I found all of that and more in Northwestern’s concert band (led by Professor Daniel Farris, who, fun fact, also leads the Northwestern marching band at football games). I joined the concert band in the fall quarter of 2018 as a percussionist, specializing in xylophone, timpani, piano, and auxiliary percussion. What I ended up loving about the concert band is that it was made up of students exactly like myself, many of whom had played instruments in high school and all anyone wanted was a fun, casual environment with which to continue playing music. But, even though all of the musicians were non-music majors, I can safely say that Northwestern’s concert band rivals those of other small schools across the country. Additionally, the concert band exposed me to other non-major musicians who were equally passionate about music. Everyone was incredibly kind and welcoming and people in my own percussion section were more than willing to help me out if I was struggling with a part. We also split parts evenly and there was never any competition about who was playing part #1 or part #2. The atmosphere of the concert band was one of relaxing enjoyment, playing music that allowed me to continue to connect with my passion. That is not to say that Prof. Farris, our band director, never got annoyed when we were not playing our best or it was clear someone had not practiced, but he never got mad at anyone in the band. Prof. Farris was always understanding of the fact that non-major music students had additional commitments and he was always accommodating during the heat of midterms and finals. 

I also wanted to touch on some of the logistics of playing in this band and what you might expect if you are also looking to play or sing in a group that is run by a faculty member. The concert band practices twice a week, usually from 5pm-6:30pm to accommodate students who have classes that end at 4:50pm. The concert band is treated like a class and can be taken either for no credit or .5 credit, meaning you will either receive a satisfactory or letter grade depending on the credit option you choose. But, not to worry, there is no penalty for choosing either option and Prof. Farris only encouraged students to do what made the most sense for them based on their schedules. Finally, at the end of the quarter we play a concert at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The time commitment is not nothing, so make sure you can commit to the hours and the mandatory concert at the end of the quarter, but if you love music like I do then I highly encourage any future student to check out the plentiful musical options available to non-majors, both from faculty and student groups.

Finally, the other music area I quickly wanted to focus on is my current minor in music technology, which is one of several minors available to non-music majors in the Bienen School of Music. In addition to concert band, I knew I also wanted some more formal music education and I thought that the music technology minor, an already very popular minor among non-majors, would be a great way to learn more about music and expand an interest I already had in music production. So far, after taking four out of the six courses necessary for the minor, I can say that I am very happy that I added this minor. Some of the courses I have taken include History of Recorded Music, Producing in the Virtual Studio, and Music Composition. I can’t say these courses are relevant to my political science major, but I thought to myself that you are only in college once and I should just take a shot and do what I love regardless of what I want to do after I leave Northwestern. I have not been disappointed by the course selection which has exposed me to the world of digital music production and allowed me to collaborate with other music passionate students on class projects. The classes are incredibly self-guided, meaning you typically compose two pieces of your choice, usually a shorter midterm project and then a longer form final project. I love these classes because it is so different from every other class I take. I literally get to sit down at my midi keyboard with an entirely blank canvas and play whatever I want and compose original work. It’s such a welcome break from writing papers and I cannot recommend this minor enough to students who have any interest in music production and digital music.

I want to conclude by saying my musical journey at Northwestern is only one of many paths a student can take if they have any interest in the arts. Options range from graded coursework to casual student performance groups. Coming into Northwestern as a non-music major is possible and it can be incredibly rewarding to continue a passion that you’re not quite ready to let go.

Andrew Myers ’22

Major: Political Science

Hometown: New York City