As I conquer the fall semester of my senior year, I’m really lucky to have two music classes that count towards my minor and also for my own personal enrichment--Music Before 1600 and Music Theory I. Music Before 1600 is a really special class for me. My professor, Dr. Eric Bianchi, also taught my Intro to Music History course, and his dynamic and energetic teaching style definitely inspired my decision to become a music minor. In that class, I’m challenged to look at and discuss the significance of ancient pieces of music that I don’t get to hear quite often. I also get to enhance my musicianship skills by transcribing Gregorian chants into modern musical notation--all of which have contributed to my greater appreciation for Gregorian chant music and early polyphonic songs. As someone who already appreciates listening to and performing music, Music Theory has been a great way for me to learn the technical side of music and how to study the process of notating music correctly. My professor, Dr. DeCusatis, utilizes the piano and actively plays out intervals, triads, and scales, and gets us to sing along with him. By the time we’re done playing out these notes on the piano, these concepts are permanently engraved in our minds for our homework and for future musical reference.
An excerpt of a Gregorian chant that I had to transcribe for homework.
Instead of a textbook, Dr. DeCusatis has "Brain Organizers" to teach us Music Theory lessons instead.
But music not only comes in the form of academic study. As a student in NYC, these music theory concepts can definitely be applied to live performances or concerts that we can attend. Last week, I was able to attend Idina Menzel’s album release party at the Brooklyn Bowl where she previewed some songs off of her new album right before it dropped. It was an intimate venue and, I have to admit, I was singing and dancing along to her songs while trying to apply some music theory concepts to what I was hearing, as nerdy as that can be. Is she singing in a major or minor key? What meter is this song in? Can I identify any triads that I might be familiar with? It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience to be at an album release party, but what made it even better was knowing that I had gained some musical knowledge to dig even deeper to Idina Menzel’s new songs.
Have you ever seen Pitch
Perfect? Hilarious, right? Have you ever wondered how it could possibly be
based on an actual competition? What is this “ICCA”? Icka?! Well. It’s real.
Just a few
weeks ago, one of Fordham’s own a cappella groups, the Fordham Hot Notes,
competed in one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s Quarterfinals for the ICCAs, the
same competition that the movie Pitch
Perfect is based on. We won second place, and are going to be singing at
the Mid-Atlantic Semifinalson March 26th at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Our musical
director was even recognized with an individual award for his arrangements for
our set. We couldn’t be more excited!
We performed four songs at the Quarterfinals at Stockton College on February 6th.
The Hot Notes, Satin Dolls, and Ramblers all sang Silent Night
together at last year's Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony.
As a freshman, I knew off the bat
that I wanted to join an a cappella group as soon as possible. For me, it was a
no-brainer; having always loved to sing, I knew that I wanted to continue doing
this in college, especially in an a cappella group, so I auditioned for the Hot
Notes. At that point, I had no idea what was in store—that I had just become a
member of the quirkiest, most talented, and most supportive family, and a
participant in Fordham’s vibrant a cappella culture. The Hot Notes are one of
five a cappella groups associated with the university—there is also an all-male
group, the Ramblers, an all-female group, the Satin Dolls, and two other co-ed
groups, the B-sides (based at the Rose Hill Campus) and the F#’s (based at
Lincoln Center). Both the Ramblers and the F#’s are competing this weekend in a
different round of ICCAs Quarterfinals at Hofstra University.
^After getting results of the Quarterfinals!
For more information about the Hot Notes and
upcoming events and performances, check out our Facebook pageor look us up on YouTube!
My badge, which I had to wear around
for access to many of the events!
During my sophomore year, I started working in the engineering department as a videographer, editor, & photographer at Fordham's radio station, WFUV. This has, without a doubt, been one of my favorite parts of my time at Fordham, as I have learned a great deal and had some amazing experiences. One of those took place this past March, when I traveled to Texas to work on FUV's video team at South by Southwest.
Each year, FUV sends members of its staff to Austin, Texas for South by Southwest (SXSW), an annual music conference/festival for emerging artists (as well as more established performers). This year, I was lucky enough to spend my spring break as part of the team's video crew.
On two days, we worked from Hotel San Jose, filming exclusive performances with artists for our YouTube channel. Natalie Prass, BØRNS,Seinabo Sey, Gengahr, Ibeyi, Ben Ottewell, and Heartless Bastards all came by to perform stripped back versions of their songs. We scouted the property for visually interesting locations, working against some rainy weather and making quick location changes between artists.
Here's BORNS' performance of "10,000 Emerald Pools":
Our schedule for the
Public Radio Day Stage
Friday was spent in the Austin Convention Center (out of the rain!) at the Radio Day Stage for Public Radio Rocks, which featured six performances for a live audience and to be broadcast live on WFUV (as well as several other public radio stations around the country). It was cool to see all the work that went into putting on such an event, as well as the actual execution of the six-hour event.
We spent the first half of the day filming each of these performances and the second half editing them so they could be published on YouTube. It was a huge team effort to get everything shot, imported, edited, and uploaded within such a short amount of time!
Above is: "Heaven Sent"- a new song from Best Coast and one of our finished products from the Day Stage!
Despite the long days spent shooting videos and editing them, it was a great way to work on my video skills and learn more! Attending SXSW with FUV was an awesome experience that I was so grateful to have during my time here at Fordham!
On Friday after all of my classes were done, I headed into the city to shop around for dresses for the Under the Tent dance, one of the main events of Spring Weekend that is coming up. After browsing around Chelsea, the Flatiron District, and Union Square for a bit, I finally found a jumpsuit that I thought suited the "Illusionists" theme of the dance, for a great price as well! Saturday was also a beautiful day, which I spent half of in the library preparing for finals and the other half enjoying Chipotle on our beautiful Eddie's Parade. I then concluded my weekend by performing in a voice recital in the University Church. As a music minor, I receive credit for my voice lessons and I finally got to experience a culmination of a semester's long work of these musical pieces from my colleagues.
The Flatiron Building
Deirdre Hynes
This weekend a few of my friends from Fordham and I decided to have an adventurous Sunday afternoon by trying an aerial yoga class (for only $10!). We had no idea what to expect going into it, but we all wound up leaving refreshed & excited about going back for another class!
Hanging around in aerial yoga
Cat Gallagher
This weekend was a big one for the Rose Hill theatre community! I went to see Fordham Experimental Theatre's Sketch Comedy and Standup joint show. They completely packed the Black Box, and it was a great show! I also went to see the Mimes and Mummers' production of Inherit the Wind. This show is based on the 1925 Scopes trial about freedom of thought and evolution in schools. This show was also wonderful, and I really enjoyed it!
Earlier this month, I had the great privilege of being a part of a variety show cabaret on campus featuring the many talented performing arts groups at Fordham. While it was an absolutely joy to see the groups come together, the purpose behind all of them uniting is truly a remarkable one. The cabaret was a concert benefitting the Make-a-Wish Foundation put together by Michelle Corr, (FCRH '17 and Mimes and Mummers Sophomore Representative) which seeks to raise money for children with cancer and to make their wishes come true, whether it be a trip to Disneyland, or even making them become a superhero for the day. Groups ranging from a cappella clubs, theatre troupes, improv and sketch comedy clubs, and spoken word performances all filled the auditorium with a camaraderie enjoyed by the audience, while knowing that they were performing for a great cause. I got to perform an acoustic Beyonce mashup with my friends Sarah Bernstein (FCRH '17) and Mara Santili (FCRH '16) and the low-key atmosphere of the show made it seem as if there was no pressure in making mistakes and that having fun was the most important part in the end. It was truly a special night getting to see all of the performing arts clubs come together for this great cause, something that does not happen every day on campus, and to be a part of it for a small moment in the show was a heartwarming experience.
It was also pretty funny that the next day was the day I had tickets to see Cabaret the Broadway musical with Sienna Miller and Alan Cumming. I had always wanted to see this show for the longest time and it was a joy to see Alan Cumming's captivating and charming performance in person as well as Sienna Miller in a role that I would have never pictured her in before. The theatre was intimate and decorated with intricate lights which helped enhance the risqué and sultry nature of the show. Being a student at a university in New York City has so many perks like being able to see Broadway shows with big names for a reasonable price and is something I always enjoy doing in my free time. And lastly, the third of the "Cabarets" that I have attended this past month was a Cabaret show at a supper club known as 54 Below. This venue is located in midtown and is known for its Broadway celebrity guests like Patti Lupone and even hosts casts of Broadway shows to sing specialized shows like the music of Celine Dion and Sam Smith. The concert that I was able to attend was "The Cast of If/Then sings the songs from Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey." The composer and lyrics duo composed If/Then and it was a special sight seeing the performers sing selections that they did not regularly sing on stage at If/Then. I had finished all my midterms and it was so relaxing being able to sit, eat dinner, and enjoy these talented Broadwayperformers sing songs from show that are still in the works even before they head to the Great White Way.
A Playbill
The Roundabout Theatre where Cabaret is playing on 54th street. Behind, you can see the sign for 54 Below.
Whether it's on campus or off, there are so many opportunities to enjoy a variety of musical entertainment as a Fordham student that will definitely appeal to anyone out for a good time!
What is the simplest, but most
important piece of advice I can give to an incoming college freshman? Three
words that freshman will hopefully hear dozens of times during their first few weeks
at school? Join a club! The easiest way to make connections within your campus
community and to make lasting friendships is to get involved with something you
care about, and Fordham has TONS of opportunities to do this!
For me, the
choice was very easy; having always loved to sing, I knew that I wanted to
continue doing this in college, especially in an a cappella group, so I
auditioned for the Fordham Hot Notes, Fordham’s coed jazz a cappella group. The
Hot Notes are one of five a cappella groups associated with Fordham
University. There is also an all-male group, the Ramblers, an all-female group,
the Satin Dolls, and two other co-ed groups, the B-sides (based at the Rose
Hill Campus) and the F#’s (based at Lincoln Center).
This is a group shot of all of us from our Winter Concert last semester! (*we aren't the "Hot" Notes for nothing, of course!)
While the Hot Notes are the newest
to the a cappella scene, only official recognized as a club last year, we have
established ourselves as the fiercest and smoothest group on campus (…okay,
maybe I’m a little biased). As a jazz ensemble, we perform mostly jazz
arrangements, but also work in contemporary repertoire in addition to classic
jazz standards. Last semester, we even
did a jazz salute to Queen Bey with our version of “Drunk in Love”! We’ve also
had some awesome opportunities to perform in different places over the past few
semesters, including the International Championship of College A Cappella
(otherwise known as the ICCAs—think Pitch
Perfect!), and the New York City Jazz Festival at Lincoln Center.
This is from the reception after the New York City Jazz Festival Concert!
Here is another group shot of us, also from Jazz at Lincoln Center, with our clinician, Duane Davis!
Although I didn’t join the Hot
Notes until the second semester of my freshman year, I immediately realized
that not only was I going to be able to keep singing in college, but that I had
just gained a membership to the quirkiest, most talented, and most loving family;
even as a timid freshman, the group made me feel like one of their own from the
very beginning! Now, as a junior and a member of the group’s Executive Board, I
know I am privileged to work with such a group of musicians, and proud to call
them some of my closest friends!
For more information about the Hot
Notes, and upcoming events and performances, check out our Facebook page or look us up on YouTube!
After multiple snow days and cold weather that makes it so tempting to just want to always stay inside, I am still determined to make spring semester start off on just the right foot! As a sophomore, I have more freedom in which core classes I wanted to take and I was particularly excited to be able to choose classes that I had interest in and which suited my schedule best. After much scrutiny of my schedule and of the classes that I still had to take, I decided to spice up my studies here at Fordham. Although I am an Engineering Physics major, I have always had a great love for music ever since I was little and I wanted to keep music as a hobby and a part of my life. I was so ecstatic to finally be able to add a Music minor to my studies this semester by starting off with an Intro to Music History class. Minoring and Double Majoring is not too difficult of a feat to accomplish at Fordham, in fact, many advisors encourage it! Each of Fordham’s academic departments offer such a range of classes that will definitely be able to fulfill a double major or a minor for anyone who is really interested in studying that field, despite what their intended major may be. My music minor, for example, requires me to take two mandatory classes, an Intro to Music History Class and a Musicianship course, as well as six other electives that I may choose from. I can even obtain some credit from my participation in Fordham University’s Schola Cantorum, which is a choir that sings at the 11:00am mass on Sundays regularly as well as holy days, and I could also receive credit from my weekly voice lessons from an instructor at Fordham’s Music Department. The flexibility that each academic department provides in its courses and its requirements for a major and minor all contribute in making sure that every Fordham student meets their academic goals for the major and/or minor they decide to pursue.
A standard practice room in Keating Hall's basement with a piano. I have my weekly voice lessons here and I also love to come here on my spare time to have a quiet, peaceful place to practice.
Two pieces that I am working on with Schola Cantorum, a choir at Fordham that sings at Sunday mass.
My Music History class is by far one of my most favorite classes that I have ever taken in my academic career. My professor, Dr. Eric Bianchi, has got to be one of the most engaging professors and lecturers that Fordham has and has made my interest in studying music stronger to this day. It’s quite a relief from my heavy physics and math workloads to be able to sit in class and listen to some Mozart and Bach to ease my stress.
My required textbook for Music History. It even comes with CDs of various historic musical recordings!
Fordham’s medium-sized student body and diverse course offerings within each academic department allows its students to take full advantage of their liberal arts education and gives them a chance to tailor their education based on their preferences and what they want to study. At Fordham, I don’t feel limited to just taking straight science and math courses. (I do love them of course!) But it is a wonderful feeling knowing that your academic advisors and professors will assist you on every step of the way in your academic endeavors.
This weekend I headed to one of my favorite spots in NYC: the Cloisters. Located at the very top of Manhattan in Fort Tryon Park, the Cloisters is a medieval museum housed in five medieval French abbeys reassembled into a single building. It's like a tiny piece of Europe that’s accessible by the A train.
Who says you can't eat cheap in New York?
Madeline McDermott
On Friday, I used an Amazon local deal to get half-off brick oven pizza in Manhattan at a restaurant named L'asso. Afterward, I went to support my friend and fellow Ram Nicole do stand-up comedy at The Village Lantern in Soho.
Caroline McCue This past weekend, I went to the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center! My Grandma is a big fan of the Philharmonic and had two extra tickets. I brought my best friend and roommate, Lauren. We got all dressed up and went to dinner at PJ Clarke's, right across from the theatre. The Philharmonic was an orchestra made up of mostly string instruments and it was truly beautiful, the music was so relaxing! It was a great night filled with friends, food and music, and I would recommend going before you graduate!
Enjoying a beautiful performance
Caroline Lebranti
Loved catching up in Philly
One of the best parts about studying abroad is becoming friends with people from schools all over the country. This past weekend I took the bus down to Philadelphia with a couple of friends to have a study abroad reunion. Lucky for me, Fordham is so close to great transportation options that visiting them is almost too easy! We did all things touristy like visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art (and ran up the Rocky steps), went ice skating at Penn’s Landing, saw Independence Hall, and even went to a Kevin Devine (a Fordham alum!) concert at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. It was a great weekend and made me realize how easy it is to take weekend trips out of NYC. Places like Philly or New Haven and plenty of skiing or hiking trails in upstate New York are about two hours away, and Boston and Washington DC are about four hours away. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever find yourself sick of NYC, but it’s nice to know that the option to get away is always there!
College students love the snow too!
Claire McGonigle
After track practice on Saturday, my friends and I wanted to spend a little time together and relax so we decided to play in the snow! After a busy week of school work, it was fun to be together and do something silly. Another group of people were building a fort so we all decided to get a snowball fight going which was great!
Despite the stress with studying for finals kicking in during this time of year, both Fordham and the city itself have been so consistent in offering great ways to take some breaks during this intense time of studying. At Fordham, we have a couple of days after our designated last day of class, which was on December 10th, that are called reading days. Basically on reading days, we spend as much time preparing and studying for the coming of finals and although I spent a majority of my time studying for finals, which was incredibly long and stressful, I still had a great weekend to look forward to in the city and on campus! On Friday, I managed to score some tickets to a taping of Live with Kelly and Michael and went with a couple of my good friends. Although we went primarily to see Idina Menzel, who was promoting her Christmas album on the show, we were surprised when they let us stay for a second show that was being pre-taped for the holidays with Nick Jonas and Sting! We even got some rehearsal footage of Sting’s performance before the actual taping, and I had some serious goosebumps from when he sang a song from his newest Broadway show “The Last Ship.” It also didn’t hurt that Idina Menzel gave us a little wave when we cheered for her during a commercial break. :)
Some pics I took of Kelly and Michael interviewing Idina Menzel and Nick Jonas as well as a pic of Idina Menzel getting touched up before singing a song off of her new Holiday Wishes album. We had pretty great seats!
I also found it so interesting to see the behind the scenes action that goes on during these live tapings. Seeing Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan go around the studio and interact with the audience during commercial breaks was something I never realized they could do. They were incredibly gracious, took some pics with fans, and were so funny and down to earth with their interactions with us.
Kelly Ripa at a commercial break. She was equally as charismatic off camera as she was on!
It wasn’t too much fun waiting in the cold, but with good company and a fun experience at a TV show taping, it was definitely all worth it in the end.
With two of my good friends who are also huge Idina Menzel fans. Waiting in the cold was so much better with good company!
Sunday was the beautiful celebration of Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, and I had the honor of being able to participate in two choirs at the 11:00am and 7:00pm masses. Seeing the church filled that day made mass seem so special, everything from the way the candles were set up in the church to seeing everyone light their candles in a solemn procession was so breath-taking and made me appreciate just how despite this stressful time, we can all join together to celebrate the coming of Christmas. After mass, we celebrated the lighting of the Christmas tree, which made me so ready for Christmas to come around. It’s the little things that Fordham does to bring a community together and to lift each other’s spirits up during a stressful time in every college student’s life that make me so grateful to go here. I wish everyone else the best of luck on their finals, a Merry Christmas and safe travels back home as well!
Fordham doing Christmas right. Picture is the University Church and the Christmas tree that was lit during Gaudete Sunday.
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