The Swarthmore journeys of music majors and minors Andrew Karpenko ’25, T Sallie ’25, Dylan Scollon ’25, Aaron Thammavongxay ’25, Kielor Tung ’25, Moss Wacker ’25, and Isshin Yunoki ’25 are nearing an end. During the academic year, the seniors reflected on the transformative impact of their studies and looked ahead to futures filled with musical endeavors, both professional and personal.

Part 1

Andrew Karpenko ’25

Coming into Swarthmore, Andrew Karpenko ’25 was certain that he wanted to have a college experience immersed in music. “I knew I wanted to do music,” he recalls, “I’d been a musician for a long time.” A passionate and driven performer, Andrew’s decision to attend Swarthmore was partially due to the various opportunities the music department could provide to him. However, majoring in music was something that he hadn’t intended.

Throughout middle and high school, Andrew played the oboe for his schools’ symphony orchestras. “I had plenty of experience playing as a performer,” Andrew notes, “but I hadn’t really gotten to experience the academic side of music yet.” When he arrived at Swarthmore, he decided to take Music 11 and Music 40 to learn more about the theory behind his performances. “For me, this was a nice place to start,” Andrew says, “it helped enrich my understanding a lot.”

As a Pre-Med student, Andrew had to take specific classes to fulfill requirements for medical school post-graduation. “The music classes were a nice change of pace to do something that interested me amidst all my science classes.”

Andrew performed in the Orchestra his freshman fall, but due to COVID-19, the ensemble had to meet virtually. Music helped balance out his schedule as a college student, giving him a more fulfilling and diverse experience that semester. “Music is something that interests me a lot,” Andrew says, “it’s a life skill that never leaves you if you’re willing to give it energy.” Wanting to keep this passion in his life was part of the reason he decided to pursue it as one of his majors.

“It was an area I knew I could pour my soul into and not get tired of,” he says with a smile, “and it’s just something enjoyable that I can do as a college student.” Andrew’s decision was also driven by how much he liked the classes he took and the professors he studied with.

“I just really fell in love with the music classes, and the professors were amazing.” He appreciates Swarthmore’s Orchestra director, Professor Andrew Hauze ʼ04, who teaches Music 40 and Musicianship classes, and has been a part of his journey from the beginning.

Due to the difficulty and competitiveness of medical school applications, having a music major helps Andrew stand out as an applicant with unique skill sets and experiences. “I was recommended the music major because it’s different,” he says, “you can definitely imagine it being uncommon among biology and chemistry majors.”

Andrew specializes in the performance aspect of music, focusing on classical music. He has been active in Orchestra at Swarthmore and has performed a variety of pieces in his time at the college. He played Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D with David Kim from the Philadelphia Orchestra, a memory that he remembers fondly. “It was a wild experience being able to play with someone of that talent,” he says, “and just being part of an orchestra that’s able to keep up was amazing.” Outside of performance, Andrew is also well-versed in music theory, history, and musicology. “I really appreciate how Swarthmore’s music department takes such a holistic approach to the music major,” he says. “When you’re focused on only the performance aspect you can miss things that are important to music.”

After graduation, Andrew hopes to go into the healthcare profession. “I might be able to use music in some application of music therapy,” he muses, “but honestly I don’t really see it tying in with my profession.” For Andrew, music is an interest that could help him build bridges within his community and enrich his life. He looks forward to being involved in community groups and orchestras, hoping his greater knowledge of music will open doors to talking to people from all avenues of life.

“What I want to emphasize is that you can take a lot of music classes here and even be a music major without planning on a music profession,” he says. “It’s just a really fun experience.”

T Sallie ’25

By David Ornelas ’25

Tayja “T” Sallie has been a prominent member of the Music Department throughout his time at Swarthmore, and has a unique connection with his passions and the work he does. Known as a performer, composer, and linguist, T is active all around campus. His senior recital on April 12 contained several of his compositions for solo cello and chamber groups, the premiere of a solo cello piece with orchestral accompaniment, and the first movement of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1.

T began his music journey when he picked up the cello in the second grade. He says, “I was living in Minnesota, and I had just switched schools to enroll in a newly created gifted program, and the school was also starting an orchestra. I went to the open house, expecting to get a violin . . . My mom convinced me to choose cello instead, which saved all of our ears.” After moving to Massachusetts in fourth grade, T participated in the Great Woods Symphony Orchestra at Wheaton College, and later became involved with Boston’s Project STEP (String Training Education Program). Speaking to his passion for music, he says, “Something I love about music is the way that it can convey emotions in a way that words cannot; often when I have strong feelings eating at me, I will start composing a piece, and as I work through the piece, I work through processing my feelings as well. Sometimes I'm oblivious to the process though; in the morning I might start creating a really depressing piece that makes my family look at me sideways, like ‘You okay?’ and I'll think I'm completely fine, and by the end of the day, I'll realize that it was reflecting my mental state the entire time.”

T has been a part of numerous activities on campus. He frequently performs in Lunch Hour Concerts, participates in the Fetter Chamber Music Program, plays at WaR3house 3 (a local music venue in Swarthmore), is a member of the Lab Orchestra, and leads the cello section in the Orchestra. He has also acted in multiple theater productions and is involved with the Taiko Ensemble, Offbeat A Cappella group, Chinese Music Ensemble, and played varsity basketball for two years. In addition to his contribution to the music scene at Swarthmore, T is an active member of the Linguistics Department. Having studied Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and American Sign Language, T’s love for language has flourished at the College. For the past two summers, he was a part of the Middlebury Language Schools Italian immersion program — hosted at Bennington College in Vermont — where he reached the highest level offered to undergraduates and was recommended to pursue a master's through their language program.

T’s various studies have intersected in his degree: a special course major in linguistics and languages. Speaking about his initial plans for his degree, T says, “I came into Swat considering a major in chemistry, but that fell through after my first-year second semester of Ancient Greek course conflicted with the first semester of Organic Chemistry. I realized I had to make a choice,” and T chose Ancient Greek. This led to his focus on both Ancient Greek and Sanskrit, which he combined to fulfill the requirements of a regularized linguistics special major. T successfully completed his thesis defense last fall. In addition to his special major, he is double minoring in music and computer science.

Past his graduation this May, T will remain active in music. He says, “This summer I'll be attending Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music.” He will also begin his journey to earn an M.A. in Italian from the Middlebury Language Schools immersion program over the course of four summer semesters. Regarding the future, T says, “I'm not sure what next fall holds for me, but at worst, I will be spending lots of time with my moms at home, which is fine with me.” He also adds, “I'm excited to explore more options with Italian after I graduate from college as well.” T will undoubtedly continue his work in composition and performance, as the Music Department will long remember the resonant sounds left lingering from his cello after performances.

Dylan Scollon ’25

By Bohou Zhang ’27

For Dylan Scollon, his musical journey has been one of discovery, rediscovery, and obsession.

Although Scollon was part of the orchestra in middle school, it was during high school that he began to discover his interest in music. “My middle school didn’t have the most prestigious program — it was more focused on getting kids to play for the sake of playing,” he said. “High school was where I found out I enjoyed music, where I began to take it seriously.”

He attended Central High School in Philadelphia where he joined the orchestra on the trumpet, eventually switching to violin and then viola.

Despite his previous experience, music was the last thing on Scollon’s mind when he decided to apply to Swarthmore. “The reason I chose Swarthmore was actually because of Discover Swat,” he said. Discover Swarthmore — also known as DiscoSwat — is a program that offers an all-expenses-paid trip to Swarthmore for rising high school seniors to explore campus, with preference given to low-income and first-generation college students. Scollon was the first in his family to attend college, and his high school chemistry teacher was the one who pushed him in the direction of Swarthmore.

When he first arrived, Scollon felt opposed to even joining the orchestra at Swarthmore. “I was scared of the audition process,” he said. “I felt that if I had to audition for it, I was never going to make it in to play.”

Throughout his time in the Music Department, however, this began to change. The people, environment and philosophy of the department gave him opportunities for exploration and a sense of belonging. “I like how the process behind making and creating music as a community is stressed at Swarthmore,” he said. “It’s just like with visual art or dance, or any other form of artistic expression — the process might seem weird at first, but when you experience it yourself, it feels quite amazing.” Scollon is now the principal violist of the Swarthmore College Orchestra, a position he has held for many years, and a consistently active member of the Fetter Music Chamber program.

Taking MUSI 023: 20th-Century Music with Professor Barbara Milewski further allowed him to explore the art of composers that he cared about. “I was fascinated by this Soviet composer called Dmitri Shostakovich,” he said. “I really felt that I needed to learn more about this man in a formal way.” He started taking more theory courses to learn composition and music history courses to learn more about his life. Eventually, he found that it had snowballed into a thorough understanding of Shostakovich’s musical tradition. Though Scollon’s musical pursuits span many subfields, he felt that his thematic through line was in 20th-century music, especially in France and the Soviet Union. “I like using that style of music as a way to inform my composition and playing,” he said.

A lot of his musical experiences at Swarthmore, though, were outside of his main field of interest of Soviet Russian music. However, that didn’t mean he wasn’t open to the exploration of and participation in making all sorts of other music. “I really enjoyed this piece called Nights in the Gardens of Spain by Manuel de Falla with the orchestra and soloist Marcantonio Barone,” he said.  “I also enjoyed when we played the Romeo and Juliet Overture by Tchaikovsky.”

Looking back, Scollon found himself supported throughout his intellectual pursuits by the professors in the department. “For a lot of music students,” he laughed, “Barbara [Milewski] really becomes a treasured mentor, counselor, and therapist.” Her open-mindedness, kind disposition, and willingness to help students with all sorts of troubles attracted Scollon to the faculty of the music program. “She understands that you are human and are going through real life,” he said. “In her advising, she focuses on the academics, but she also makes sure that you’re doing okay; not just surviving, but thriving.”

After graduating, Scollon wants to keep music in his life despite experiencing some uncertainty about the future. “I want to keep playing the violin and the viola in chamber groups, but the difficult part in that comes in finding people to play with when I don’t really know where I’ll be,” he said.

Scollon plans to work on habitat conservation and biology-focused landscape design, creating spaces and ecosystems that are functional but also beautiful at the same time.

Speaking to prospective music majors, Scollon talks of the same conviction that drove him on his journey. “Prioritize classes that interest you, and to the students who especially want to do ensemble and chamber, dedicate yourself to it.” He smiled. “Put passion into it. It really shows in your performance.”

Aaron Thammavongxay ’25

By Chung Sze Kwok ’27

When Aaron Thammavongxay arrived on campus almost four years ago, he had no idea that music would become a central part of his Swarthmore experience. “I’ve never been sure how Aaron does it all,” marvels fellow musician and former frisbee teammate Kai Williams ’24. As a frisbee team captain, biochemist, First-Year Orientation director, and editorial assistant for the Music Department newsletter, Thammavongxay’s time at Swarthmore has been multifaceted. So, too, has his unique journey through Lang Music, which has been defined by a series of fortunate encounters with professors, instructors, and peers.

Growing up, Thammavongxay received some musical instruction in piano and bassoon, but experienced years of interruption due to the pandemic. He knew he wanted to become a doctor by the end of high school, yet it was neither music nor medicine that led him to Swarthmore. “It was kind of by accident,” he recounts. While researching colleges on a platform that his high school provided, he jokingly set filters for schools with small class sizes and an ultimate frisbee team. This search led him to Swarthmore.

Upon arrival, Thammavongxay followed through and joined the Earthworms, Swarthmore’s men’s ultimate frisbee team. Academically, he discovered that his passions and professional aspirations intersected in the biochemistry major. Other classes that piqued his interest naturally formed an Asian studies minor. It wasn’t until later, however, that Thammavongxay found his path to a music minor.

“When I came to [Swarthmore], I didn’t even know if I was going to continue doing music,” he admits. He decided to take Music 11 (Harmony, Counterpoint and Form I) and its counterpart, Music 40A (Elements of Musicianship) primarily because “there was a spot in the schedule.” These classes turned out to be crucial. “It was my first time learning music theory,” Thammavongxay explains, noting that working with Professors Jon Kochavi and Andrew Hauze ’04 was particularly inspiring. Around this time, Thammavongxay was recruited to play piano in a senior thesis production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, put on by Marie Inniss ’23. “That was a really memorable and enjoyable experience,” he recalls.

When the time came to formulate his sophomore plan, Thammavongxay’s experience taking Music 12 and Music 40B, coupled with performing in Cinderella, inspired him to declare a music minor. He has since enjoyed bridging his academics with his passion for music. Nineteenth-Century Music in Europe and the United States with Professor Barbara Milewski was “especially interesting because [the class covered] a lot of the composers that I enjoyed listening to.” In particular, Thammavongxay appreciated the “great discussions” he had with Milewski and his classmates. “I was excited to go to that class,” he emphasizes.

Thammavongxay began in his junior year to venture more into music performance. The Music 48 (Individual Music Instruction) program enabled him to take piano lessons at no cost with instructor Marcantonio Barone. “It was my first time taking lessons in four years,” Thammavongxay comments. “Working with [Barone] has been very fulfilling. He does demand a lot and pushes me to do better, but it’s been a really enjoyable experience.” Echoing this sentiment, Barone notes that “Aaron’s lesson is always one of the highlights of my week. His love of music, his dedication to his work, and his gracious personality have made him a joy to teach.”

Since beginning his studies with Barone, Thammavongxay has explored more collaborative performance opportunities. In his junior year, he and Kielor Tung ’25 premiered an original work by Kai Williams ’24 for his senior recital. “Having the composer in the room with you when you’re rehearsing was a cool experience,” Thammavongxay underscores. Last fall, he partnered with soprano Maria Fan ’25 through the Fetter Chamber Music Program to perform a selection of pieces from Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Op. 48. With his current Fetter collaborator, Yixin Cui ’25, he is exploring songs by Messiaen and Lili Boulanger: “It’s outside my comfort zone. I’ve never played that era of music before and I don’t have too much experience accompanying singers . . . this has definitely pushed me a lot.” Thammavongxay may not have accompanied many singers, but he’s done his fair share of singing. He joined the Swarthmore Chorus his junior year, and was made tenor section leader last semester, highlighting that Chorus Director Nathan Reiff created a very welcoming environment.

Now, music permeates Thammavongxay’s life. “Music is my favorite department at Swarthmore,” he declares. 

Thammavongxay’s journey as a solo pianist at Swarthmore culminated in his senior recital on Friday, April 25 at 4:30 p.m. in Lang Concert Hall. The program featured a collection of pieces from the turn of the 20th century. To punctuate his Swarthmore musical journey in this way seems “fitting considering how much I’ve improved and learned since coming to Swarthmore,” he remarks. Close guidance from Barone during this process has “opened my mind a lot about approaching music in general.” In true Swarthmore fashion, this learning goes both ways; Barone is “grateful to [Thammavongxay] for having acquainted me with several very fine pieces that I hadn’t known previously,” including an étude by Chaminade on this recital program. Thammavongxay’s senior recital is not one to be missed — in the words of Barone, “it’s going to be an inspiring afternoon of great music and beautiful playing!”

Following graduation, Thammavongxay will work for a year as a medical assistant near Boston while applying for medical school. “I’m not sure how feasible it will be, but I would like to keep music in my life next year and throughout medical school,” he asserts. “I’ll see what the community has to offer wherever I find myself.” And with such a diverse range of Swarthmore experiences under his belt, Thammavongxay will undoubtedly have much to offer in return. 

Kielor Tung ’25

By Chung Sze Kwok ’27

It is difficult to find a corner of Lang Music Building that Kielor Tung has not inhabited at some point over the past four years. “He contains multitudes,” remarks Ava Pressman ’25, fellow music student and Tung’s study carrel neighbor in Underhill Music and Dance Library. A conductor, violinist, violist, cellist, vocalist, and music theory grading enthusiast, Tung has made his mark on five ensembles, four chamber groups, and many more projects along the way. 

Tung’s Swarthmore story begins long before he stepped foot on campus as a first-year student. His first music teacher was his mother, Deborah How ’89, Swarthmore’s first Honors music major. Both his parents, as well as his brother, played piano. Growing up in such a musical family, Tung’s love for music developed naturally from a young age. Nonetheless, Tung forged his own path; “I didn’t want to just play piano,” he recalls. “I wanted to play the violin really badly — I thought it was really cool and impressive what a violin could do.” His parents, though initially hesitant, eventually gave in. From then on, he embarked on a difficult but rewarding journey of mastering the violin, picking up the viola along the way. “There were times when I wanted to quit, but I stuck with it and found an appreciation for not only enjoying classical music as a listener, but also as a player.”

This love for music strongly influenced Tung’s college decision. Throughout high school, he enjoyed learning about the applications of math and science, leading him to want to become an engineer. Nevertheless, he underscores, “I knew I really liked music and didn’t want to give it up.” Realizing that at Swarthmore, he could major in music and engineering simultaneously and graduate within four years, Tung intended to “become an engineer and get a music degree on the side.”

However, this plan changed completely upon meeting Senior Lecturer and Orchestra Director Andrew Hauze ’04 and taking his Conducting and Orchestration course as a first-year. “Andrew is super inspiring,” Tung emphasizes. “He can teach pretty much anyone, no matter what level you’re at. It was because of him that I realized that I really liked conducting and wanted to become a conductor.” Though Tung continued on his dual path of double majoring in music and engineering, he redirected his focus towards his newfound aspiration to become a conductor.

When reflecting on his journey as a conducting student, Tung is quick to note that the opportunities he has been fortunate enough to access have been incredibly special and unique to Swarthmore. Lab Orchestra, a student chamber orchestra led by advanced conducting students and coached by Hauze, allows Tung to practice and hone his technique in a live setting. “Getting to lead an orchestra weekly is a luxury… I am very privileged to be able to work with an orchestra on a regular basis, something that most undergraduates do not get to do.” One of the biggest highlights of Tung’s Swarthmore musical journey involved conducting Lab Orchestra in a semi-staged production of the Act II finale from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in the fall of his junior year. “Figaro is probably my favorite opera of all time, and this just so happened to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of when I conducted the overture at the age of 11. It was a very special moment for me.”

Tung’s conducting journey has not been confined to the walls of Lang Music Building. With the support of Hauze and funding from Swarthmore, Tung has spent the past two summers at The Conducting Institute in Fort Worth, Texas, to study with Miguel Harth-Bedoya, one of the leading conductors of the 21st century. “It was a huge opportunity to be able to work with someone of his caliber, and to be able to study conducting virtually non-stop for three weeks,” he shares. The Conducting Institute provided the space for a special gathering of Swarthmore conductors, as Tung was able to meet Andrew J. Kim ’18, music director of the New York Youth Symphony, and Shira Samuels-Shragg ’20, assistant conductor of the Dallas Symphony: “We all caught up and talked about conducting futures and our shared love for Andrew Hauze. It was so cool.”

Beyond conducting, Tung has been an active member of the Swarthmore Orchestra since his first semester. He is particularly appreciative of the value of collaboration: “Working with others is such an important experience to me. I probably end up learning way more [working with others] than I do in private lessons.”

Through participation in the Fetter Chamber Music Program, Tung has further developed his collaborative musicianship. “I’ve been doing chamber music pretty much every single semester here, and it’s probably been one of the best experiences of my life,” he affirms. Having explored a range of groups, including duets and piano quintets, he is currently playing viola in a string quartet, with an upcoming performance of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor.

During the pandemic, Tung ventured into new territory, teaching himself cello and singing. This exploration motivated him to take voice lessons under the Music 48 (Individual Music Instruction) program. To support his learning, Tung joined Garnet Singers in the spring of his junior year, noting that “it was the first time I’d ever been in a choral ensemble.” Tung particularly enjoyed performing Nach dir, Herr, BWV 150, a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach: “I personally love Bach very much, and to be able to sing a full cantata as a group is a feat that I am very proud of.”

Within a semester, Tung was invited to be a bass section leader for both Chorus and Garnet Singers. “Stepping into this new role has been a very interesting experience,” Tung acknowledges. “It was definitely very new to me since compared to a lot of people, I don’t have that much chorus experience, but I am nothing but grateful and honored.” Alongside his fellow section leaders, Tung will perform in an octet at the Chorus and Garnet Singers concert this November. He is particularly looking forward to this experience as “this is the first time something like this has been done at Swarthmore.”

When not collaborating with fellow musicians, Tung might be found collaborating with engineers. Regardless, music does not leave his mind; recently, he has been exploring the intersections between music and engineering through a Directed Reading of Music Acoustics with Professor Carr Everbach. “It’s basically looking at the science and math of music production,” Tung describes. “It explains how music works, which is something that I’m really interested in.” For his Senior Design Project, Tung plans to work on a lightweight and portable soundproof wall, which he may test out in Lang Music Building’s practice drum room.

This final project is only one of many ways in which Tung will wrap up his time at Swarthmore. Later this fall semester, Tung will be conducting the Wind Ensemble in their performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with Hauze as soloist.

Just a few weeks afterwards, Tung will then lead the Orchestra in performing the world premiere of "The Green Path Ahead" by Omar Camps-Kamrin ’20. “It’s very exciting and a little nerve-wracking to premiere someone else’s work, especially when the composer is still living and the work is so new. But it’s also very rewarding to get to bring someone’s ideas and creation to life, especially a Swarthmore alum’s,” he reflects.

Tung’s senior recital served as a culmination of the varied skills he has cultivated over the past four years, tying together his accomplishments as a conductor, violinist, and vocalist. This showcase of everything that Tung has learned at Swarthmore took place on Sunday, May 4 in the Lang Music Concert Hall.

Post graduation, Tung hopes to pursue graduate programs in orchestral conducting. Currently in the midst of graduate school applications and auditions, he admits, “I don’t know what the future holds for me.” Despite this uncertainty, Tung expresses gratitude for the past four years and hope for the future. “The students and faculty here have been so helpful and inspiring. From the Class of 2022 to the Class of 2028, everyone has been such an inspiration in my life, and I don’t think I would have appreciated music for what it is if it weren’t for everyone.”

With such a supportive community behind him and a vast range of formative experiences under his belt, Tung poses an excellent question: “Who knows what will happen next?”

Moss Wacker ’25

By Lucy Tobier ’28

“I started dancing before I can actually remember,” says Moss Wacker ’25. Wacker danced ballet from the time they were a small child through high school, while also studying piano and then eventually bassoon. The two mediums of music and dance intertwined once they began composing their own music to choreograph dances to. “I have a really specific vision of what I want out of music,” they explained.

At Swarthmore, Wacker was given the opportunity to combine their interests in a music and dance special major, and a sociology and anthropology minor. They were also introduced to taiko – the art of Japanese drumming – as the perfect combination of music and dance.

“All dance and all music is embodied, but taiko specifically, it's really an embodied practice and it's one of very few things that I found that I can give 100% of my attention and focus to,” Wacker said. “Then there's the sound of it that I really love. You can feel the vibrations in you.”

Wacker started taiko during their first year at the College. They prefer using bigger drums, such as odaiko, and performances with more movement, true to their interest in combining dance and music. Since discovering taiko at Swarthmore they’ve traveled to Australia for two summers to work with a professional group, and attended the East Coast Taiko Conference in February 2024.

“That's probably one of my favorite performances,” Wacker said of the Taiko Conference. “The audience was composed entirely of other taiko players who really got it. A lot of times, people who are in the audience, it's their first time seeing taiko, so they don't really know what's going on. It's a totally different experience when you're doing it with an audience that knows it.”

Wacker has choreographed taiko performances, including duets with modern dancers at Swarthmore. Their senior project, a grand walking exhibit of four performances hosted throughout the Lang Music Building, is an ambitious finale to their taiko work at Swarthmore. It’s also a nod to one of their favorite places through the practice of “site-specific work” which they have focused on in research and classes.

“The space of the music building is really important to me,” Wacker said. “It's basically where I was for four years, and I really wanted to celebrate it . . . There was a lot of stuff that I wanted to do in terms of the movement and the music that I couldn't do in just a proscenium stage format.”

The performance involves a cast of about 20 performers, with Wacker performing odaiko in Lang Concert Hall and coordinating the entire evening. With four different groups to rehearse with each week, the preparation has been strenuous.  However, Wacker is excited about the opportunity to pull off something so unique.

“The music is written for odaiko and piano, which was a challenge because there are very few examples of that being done before… Because taiko is such a new art form, it's really hard to find people who have composed with Western music.”

Wacker was inspired to combine piano with taiko from world-famous taiko player Eitetsu Hayashi’s visit to Swarthmore. The ongoing experimentation with taiko — which only started about 50 years ago in Japan and rapidly spread internationally — excites and fascinates Wacker. So much so that their anthropology thesis is centered around it.

“There are people playing taiko on every continent except Antarctica now, and that's happened just in the last 30 years or so,” Wacker said. “That's a really interesting human phenomenon, and the culture surrounding it, and the way it's evolved is all really fascinating. I think it has contributed a lot to my understanding of taiko as a performer.”

Wacker is grateful to have gained experience in both music and dance while at Swarthmore. Studying composition with Music Department faculty, taking the Introduction to Music Technology course, and completing Dance Labs 1, 2, and 3 have given Wacker the confidence to take on ambitious projects like their senior recital. They encourage all students to take entry-level dance classes at Swarthmore, stressing their importance in personal development even without an initial interest in or experience with dance. For music and dance majors, they recommend students to get involved with as performances as possible.

“Some of the places that I've learned the most are being in other student works, and faculty works, and performing as much as possible, because having performance experience is, to me, more important than anything that they tell you in class,” Wacker said.

Wacker’s site-specific performance walking tour took place in four rooms across Lang Music Building on March 29 at 5:30 p.m.

Isshin Yunoki ’25

By Aimee Lee ’28

Music minor Isshin Yunoki immersed himself in classical piano throughout childhood, but his shift towards jazz and composition since coming to Swarthmore has defined his growth as a musician. Classically trained since the age of four, Yunoki used to use music competitions to mark his progress. But by the end of high school, he felt his passion waning. “I almost quit altogether,” he admits. “I could no longer play for my own joy.” It wasn’t until he arrived at Swarthmore that he approached music with a new perspective: to play and create with heart over hands.

Time at Swarthmore quickly rekindled Yunoki’s love of music. As a first-year music student, he found creativity in learning jazz piano through private lessons, where he ventured out of the traditional structures of classical style. “Jazz gave me freedom,” he recalls. “But it also challenged me because I had to make musical choices within that freedom.”

Yunoki runs and performs at Jazz Poetry Nights, a monthly late-night event where artists spontaneously craft music inspired by live poetry readings. There are no rehearsals or sheet music; instead, Yunoki plays almost entirely by ear, responding to the energy in the room. “It’s not easy to come up with new things on the spot,” he admits. “It can be draining, but I’ve never grown tired of it. There’s always some new spark, some fresh idea to explore.” When not on the keys, Yunoki keeps busy singing in the a cappella group Sixteen Feet and in The Toes, a barbershop quartet. He sees each musical setting as a chance to broaden his creative horizons.

Yunoki’s musical experience at Swarthmore has ultimately driven him to focus on composing, a passion that he has matured into. “I've grown up enough to realize that I have things I want to say to the wider audience.” He continues, ”I think music is one of the strongest ways to carry emotions, opinions, and sentiments.”

Yunoki has grown his musical foundation in the practice room and the classroom. To further his knowledge about the impact of music, he took 19th-Century Music in Europe and the U.S. taught by Professor Barbara Mileswki. More than textbook reading and note-taking, the course leaned heavily on discussion about the impact of historical music and musicians on society and culture.

Yunoki is a computer science major, and the research on assistive AI tools for music composition has begun to bridge the gap between his two areas of study. Cautiously optimistic about AI’s hand in music, he feels strongly that there still needs to be a human element in compositional processes. “If no human-led creative process can be present in computer-based music making, that feels so empty and meaningless. To me, the very concern of music is humanity.” In the future, Yunoki hopes to explore technology and tools that nurture human creativity without altering it. “I’d love to work in the music technology field and keep these discussions going,” he says.

On April 5, Yunoki presented his senior recital — a curated selection of pieces that represent different facets of who he is. Featuring timeless masterpieces and original works, the recital showcased the eclectic range of his influences over the years.