A Small Conservatory Offers Big Opportunities
The decision to become a music teacher was pretty easy for Mitchell Roelecke. And after considering a number of schools, deciding
where was pretty easy, too.
“I was drawn to Capital’s small and personable atmosphere,” says Mitchell, who is pursuing majors in music education and trombone performance. “At some of the larger schools I considered, I would have had a beginning theory class of 100 or 200 people. At Capital, my theory class only had 25 students.”
The small atmosphere also makes for a friendly, hardworking environment, he says.
“We all work hard to become individually proficient, but the end goal is to bring it all together in a larger ensemble,” says the native of Hamilton, Ohio. “The fear of letting down the rest of the group is a pretty powerful incentive to practice.”
For Mitchell, those groups include the Symphonic Winds, Wind Orchestra, Trombone Choir, Trombone Quartet, Brass Choir and a Brass Quintet – all this on top of a course schedule that, he admits, “can get a little intense.” Thankfully, Conservatory students like Mitchell aren’t in it alone.
“The Conservatory faculty involve themselves in our education and our lives,” he says. “The professors know each other so well, and they keep tabs on their students to make sure they’re doing okay.”
Classes are small at Capital, but that doesn’t mean Mitchell’s experiences have been small. During his freshman year, Mitchell and other members of the Symphonic Winds traveled to Taiwan for an international band festival. The group has also recorded a CD with the Boston Brass.
“I never thought I’d have the opportunity to work with people of that caliber,” he says. “We’ve worked with the American Brass Quintet, which is made up of Juilliard professors, and it’s pretty cool that I’m on a first-name basis with the Boston Brass.”
So after all this intense work, he probably wants to take it easy for a little while when he graduates, right?
Wrong.
“I plan to go right to graduate school for a master’s degree in performance, eventually becoming a trombone professor,” he says. “Your studio professor is the most important influence on four years of your life, and if I can be as good a teacher and mentor as Dr. Zugger is to me, I’ll be satisfied.”