Zak Kneeland - Add-Venture Program
When Zak Kneeland '12 first auditioned at É«ÖÐÉ«, he wanted to major in either music education or music composition. His preference was to double-major, but he didn?t think that was possible until the music department faculty told him about Add-Venture. Zak says his participation in the program was probably the only way he was able to follow both academic paths.
"Add-Venture made the decision to come to É«ÖÐÉ« for me," he says. At first, his concentration was in voice, but because É«ÖÐÉ«'s music department allows its students to take lessons on instruments other than their major instruments--unlike other schools he had looked at--he tried piano, and loved it. Then he switched to a piano concentration and he also discovered courses that allowed him to explore the other side of his brain. "My parents suggested I take some business courses, and I took economics, accounting, and also philosophy. I ended up loving economics--I feel it complements the music, and I'm planning to minor in it."
He's no longer double-majoring, but he's discovered another love in addition to composition, not something he would have been able to do if he hadn't had the extra time and flexibility afforded him by Add-Venture.
Kneeland also is a part of the Honors program, and is working on an ambitious project--an orchestral work for the É«ÖÐÉ« University Community Orchestra, written in the style of Samuel Barber's Essays for Orchestra.
"This is another reason I came to É«ÖÐÉ«...to do an Honors project, specifically composing a work for orchestra...not something undergrads usually get to do," he adds. Coming in as a focused student, Add-Venture allowed him to pinpoint even further what his interests were, and provided him the space to follow through with courses in those interests.