As a high school senior Kelsey Brush ’20 was interested in music education as a possible career, but she wasn’t ready to commit her life to it. Which is what she felt like she would have to do if she picked any of the conservatories she applied to. Brush says when she went to their information sessions, it seemed like her college schedule would allow next to no room to study abroad, take electives, or do a double major.
“It would be cool to be in a conservatory, but I have other academic interests — like math,” says Brush, who is a vocalist. And she wanted to study abroad. So she opted for Hamilton, drawn partly by its open curriculum. Now a sophomore, Brush is an intended double major in music and math. And she isn’t feeling musically deprived. The opposite, actually.
Intended Majors: Music and Math
Hometown: Sparks Glencoe, Md.
High School: Hereford High School
Because Hamilton’s music department is small, Brush says, students get lots of individual attention from professors and opportunities to perform. “If I were at a conservatory, I probably would not have been able to perform in the student recital my first semester,” she says. Also her first year, she traveled to Italy with the College Choir. "To say I sang in St. Peter’s is insane,” Brush says. That’s St. Peter's as in the basilica, in Rome.
Besides the choir, she performs with the College Hill Singers and The Hamiltones, an a cappella group. “It’s fun. Sometimes it’s a lot but I wouldn’t give up any of them,” she acknowledges.
The same appears to be true of the math courses she’s been taking. “I can’t see myself with a semester without taking math, ” Brush says.
