Emily Richmond Pollock '06 Assistant Professor, MIT musicologist, oboist, opera fan Music concentrator because: When I came to Harvard I was very interested in studying composition and intended to learn as much music theory as possible to support that interest. I also had a strong interest in ethnomusicology, because I had studied anthropology in the IB program at my high school and wanted to learn to apply those ideas to music. The first two years I was at Harvard, I pursued a joint concentration in music and social anthropology, but I came to be more and more interested in the history of Western music and especially in the history of opera, and I eventually decided to finish my degree in the music department alone. Sophomore tutorial in particular was a transformative experience for me, because it was in that course that I discovered all the wonderful music that I had never heard growing up as an oboist in orchestras. Harvard's curriculum was phenomenal preparation for pursuing a PhD in music history, and as an undergraduate I benefited from the generous mentorship of faculty and from unparalleled access to resources through the library and through programs like the Harvard College Research Program. Harvard's extracurricular music scene (HRO, DHO, RCS, BachSoc, HEMS, and HRCME) was also incredibly important for my growth, because those organizations gave me practical experience with different art forms as well as opportunities to spend time and make music with the best friends I've ever had (including my Leverett roommate Emily Zazulia '06, who is now an assistant professor of musicology at the University of Pittsburgh, and my husband, Andy Pollock '04, who played trombone in HRO but also had a work-study job in Loeb - where I spent all of my time studying for sophomore tutorial!).  Current job: I teach music courses to undergraduates at MIT, including a music history survey, a symphonic repertoire course, and a course on opera. As an academic, I also conduct research, publish articles (and soon a book!) and give presentations at conferences. The way music fits into that: As far as practical music-making goes, I do still play the oboe as an amateur and consider performance to be an important part of my ongoing learning as a musician and scholar. As a teacher and writer, not a day goes by that I don't use the concepts and strategies I learned during my time in Harvard's music department.

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