By Akshatha Achar

The arts challenge us with different points of view, compel us to empathize, and give us the opportunity to reflect on the human condition. Pursuit of the arts at the university-level cultivates skills in both the practice and the critical study of the same. The blanket-term of the arts includes filmmaking, animation, video art, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture, photography, music, theatre, dance, film and visual studies, critical theory, and the study of the built environment.

Undergraduate students would be able to interact with individuals working and teaching in all of these modes. Far from the “arts for arts’ sake” approach that a lot of traditional schools adopt, universities in the US have a strong commitment to fostering dialogue among budding artists, creatives, and scholars. Arts departments in universities are committed to an integrated study of artistic practice, history and culture, and the critical study of the medium. Professors and Artist Affiliates work with students to develop both formal skills, and a sophisticated understanding of the roles played by technical ability and individual voice in the creative process. Often, prolific visiting artists join the department faculty, and present their work and ideas to students, faculty, and the community through lectures, workshops, seminars, class visits, and exhibitions. The artists work with undergraduates in studio classes and participate in individual critiques, ensuring that the students’ learning extends beyond the university’s pedagogy.

I attended Emory University where I was a music major, with a concentration in Vocal Performance. The brilliant professors of the Music department had one unanimous goal: to train ‘thinking’ musicians. I got to enroll in courses concerned with the connection between detailed music analysis and performance, with performance, with ‘musics’ of the world. After taking my core courses, I was able to conduct research on the connection between compositional styles in India and the wider intellectual and political movements. My research advisor was an ethnomusicologist focused on compositional forms with extensive field work in North India. Prior to this semester-long project, I would have never imagined that I would be able to explore my own musical heritage during my undergraduate years.

A major misconception about majoring in the arts is that it will confine the student to a unidimensional study of a field that has no practical applications. I believed it too, until my own experience completely and utterly turned this myth on its head. Interdisciplinary seminars offered right from freshman year offered the opportunity to engage music in a wider cultural context, linking musical works with works of art, literature, or with political or philosophical questions. As a double major in both Music and International Studies, I was able to take classes at the delicate intersection of both of these disciplines - some of these included Soundscapes of the Silk Road; Music, Film, and Politics; Gender and Control in Music, among many others. I believe that studying the arts provides avenues for students to capitalize on the strengths, experiences, and training that they bring to the programs, as well as opportunities to engage deeply with unfamiliar traditions, and ways of thinking and behaving.

My liberal arts education opened my eyes to the fact that music is a historically and culturally embedded human activity. Far from studying just technical aspects of music, I learnt about personal identities, social constructs, psychological states, and aesthetic ideals. Universities have designed majors in the arts to impart an array of analytical, historical, argumentative, and creative skills; these collectively form a sturdy foundation for career paths in business, law, among others.

I would spend hours practicing in music rooms that were furnished with Steinways, metronomes, and unearthly acoustics. I got to be a part of Departmental productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, The Magic Flute and Les Miserables. I was guided on breathing and vocal projection techniques by legends like Renee Fleming (in the flesh)! My musical education, with its myriad of unforgettable experiences, is one that I will cherish for a lifetime. If you are passionate about the arts and are eager to take it to the next level, you can be sure of your university illuminating the path ahead.

- Hale Education Group