Student Spotlight: Matt Torres

How did you decide to come to Tufts and study music at Tufts? 
I decided to come to Tufts because no other school I toured felt as much like home. After my tour, I took some time to explore by myself. I ate a meal in the dining hall, sat out on pres. lawn, and meandered down the Granoff halls, listening to the music that filled them. I knew that this was where I wanted to be, and music was something I wanted to study. 

Tell us about your favorite music course so far. 
As a music major I've taken so many phenomenal music courses. Conducting opened doors to so many musical opportunities on campus, Advanced Musicianship dialed in my aural skills, Studies in the Symphony taught me new methods of music analysis. But if I had to pick one, right now I'm in History of Rock ‘n' Roll with Professor Pennington, which has given me an entirely new outlook on American popular music over the past century as it relates to American History. The listening assignments and response questions have encouraged me to listen to music more thoughtfully, the lectures are incredibly engaging, and Professor Pennington is a true fountain of knowledge. I'd highly recommend this class to anyone of any major, or any experience with Rock music.

What are you involved in at the music department? 
I direct the Freshman 15 Jazz Ensemble, which is made up of two dozen talented Tufts musicians who come together every week with the purpose of sharing our love of jazz music with the Tufts community (performing in fisher April 13th at 8pm). I also just finished music directing Twelfth Night with the department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, which was made possible with the help of the Music Department. I'm on the Music Events Technical staff, who, with the guidance of Peter Atkinson, help bring department events to life through live sound, recording, and live streaming. I'm also working with TUSC to bring the Battle of the Bands to a music department stage, to help lay framework for similar Music Department events in the future.

What are you involved in outside of the music department? 
I'm involved with Jumbocode, where I'm co-leading a project where we're building a web-application for a local non-profit, KeepMassBeautiful.

What are you listening to at the moment? 
An eclectic mix of Couch, Ella Fitzgerald, Tchaikovsky, Earth Wind and Fire, and of course, Twelfth Night.