(Practical courses are instrument lessons, orchestra, and chamber music, while theoretical courses are music history, music theory, and research methods). At first I was surprised that there was so little gender diversity among the faculty, and then I realized that I was more surprised that nobody else seemed to notice or even care when I pointed it out to them. When I write my master's thesis next year, my project will be about a female composer from the 17th century, Francesca Caccini. So I guess it is unsurprising that I feel strongly about the representation of women here in Geneva.
My fellow students, on the other hand, are quite diverse! We are from Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Peru, Germany, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Iraq, Korea, China, Japan...and America.! I’m the only student from the US. I am also the first person from the States that a lot of people have met, so sometimes they ask me questions, as if I can personally speak for every American citizen...like, “Why did everyone vote for President Trump?” or, “Why is everyone obsessed with going to prom?” or, "Does every boy you know play football?" At first I was surprised by some of these questions, but then I soon realized that all most foreigners know about Americans are things they have seen in Hollywood movies!
Since I am attending such an international school in Geneva, I had a really cool experience that was more culturally diverse than any concert I’ve been a part of in in the U.S. In March, the early music department played a concert of music from the Ottoman Empire, mostly pieces that were written down by a man named Ali Ufki in the 1600s.
