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Hamilton students kept busy during spring break, exploring their passions at places far and near. Eighteen seniors traveled to Nepal to trek the Himalayas; the College Choir toured Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and West Virginia, where they performed with other college singers; Alternate Spring Break groups did volunteer work in Kentucky, Delaware, North Carolina, and Syracuse, N.Y. Athletic teams competed in the NCCAs and during trips to Florida, and the Curling team made it to nationals.

For many years, I’ve prided myself on being a musician — someone who knew the notes, rhythms, and techniques of music well enough to find a deeper love for the art form. I knew music, I told myself; I could easily pick up on any of it! Yet, it only took two hour-long lessons in the chaotically beautiful symphony of Javanese Gamelan music to completely flip my worldview on its head.

Charlotte Botha, instructor of music and director of choral activities, talks about the challenges of directing a chorus during a pandemic. She joined the faculty in July.

Although we have all faced the same pandemic and adapted to our own forms of isolation, we each have felt and experienced the past nine months in our own way. Debuted on Dec. 11, the visual, choral Twenty / Twenty project gives viewers a glimpse into both the individual and the collective, drawing from personal responses to COVID-19 in a collaborative and socially distant way.

It took some elaborate planning and extraordinary safety measures, but the Music Department hosted a porch concert featuring Hamilton musicians and members of the College Choir at the Babbitt Pavilion on Sept. 29.

Our student musicians share their talents regularly at concerts. And although we can’t enjoy these performances live and in-person, we can take a look back and appreciate these gifted students’ work through Hamilton Encore. Each week, we’ll post a YouTube video of a recent student performance.

The College Hill Singers kicked off this spring's concert tour with a performance at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, March 17. More than 65 Hamilton alumni, parents, and friends filled the pews to hear the vocalists, under the direction of Danan Tsan, interim director of choral activities.

The Hamilton College Choir and College Hill Singers will present a concert on Wednesday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m., in Wellin Hall on the Hamilton College campus.

The Hamilton College Choir and College Hill Singers, directed by Professor of Music Danan Tsan, will lead a Christmas Service of Lessons and Carols on Sunday, Dec. 2, at 4 p.m., in the Hamilton College Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

Assistant Professor of Music Jace Saplan, director of choral activities and vocal studies, along with choral program student leaders, presented a paper at the NY6 Spectrum Conference on March 23 at Colgate University.