IES Abroad Milan – Music: Voice, Composition & Instrumental

My experience at the IES Milan - Music: Voice, Composition, and Instrumental program was truly stellar, filled with invaluable opportunities to learn about Italian music, language, culture, and social issues. I studied opera there and received the finest instruction from music professors like Patrizia Zanardi, Anna Fre, and Stefano Pintor. I was able to apply what I had learned in recitals and one-act operas that my fellow students and I presented at IES, and we had terrific fun in doing so. Not only that, but I was also able to learn by attending not one, not two, but FIVE La Scala opera productions, four of which were paid for by IES. My Staging Italian Opera class also got to observe a rehearsal at La Scala for Mozart's Idomeneo and tour the opera house's workshops. These opportunities shaped my abroad experience, and I am very grateful to IES for having provided them. Not only was my music education wonderful, but my other classes were excellent too. For example, I took Service Learning and gained insight into the European migration crisis by volunteering at the Municipality of Milan's immigration office, putting the skills I was learning in the seminar (and in my advanced Italian class) to action. I also volunteered as an English tutor to the social worker I shadowed at this office, helping him better serve the English-speaking migrants who came to the office. I found all of the staff at IES Milan to be superbly helpful. Whenever I had a question about anything, whether it involved an upcoming IES-sponsored trip or a personal health concern, they always answered my questions and showed that they cared about me. I felt that I was in very good hands for the entire semester. I lived in a homestay with a very kind and loving Milanese family, and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything, as it was so fun to have younger "siblings" and to truly immerse myself in the Italian language. My homestay became my home away from home, and in difficult moments I was so grateful to have "parents" to lean on. And the food was incomparable, of course! Nothing in this world is better than a home-cooked Italian meal. Really the only thing that would have made the experience better for me would have been to feel better connected with the other IES students at the start of the program. Not having any roommates and living 35 minutes away from the IES center made socialization somewhat more difficult at the beginning of the semester, and I think my experience was similar to those of other homestay students in Milan. However, I made incredible friendships once I settled in and got my bearings, and I still stay in touch with them to this day! I hope that anyone who reads this will be able to study at IES Milan, especially if you are an undergraduate music student. It was the best semester of my life!

I can not say that studying abroad was the best time of my life. I can say that I faced more challenging days than easy ones, but it has changed me. In the end, I am glad that I choose to be apart of the music program. I did things that I never even imagine I would do. I preformed at an Italian prison at 9am, a recruitment home for past musical masters, and performed and studied music alongside Italian students. It was also a very nice perk to have been to the Teatro alla Scala for free twice for being in the music program. I was amazing to not only learn and study music, but I was also a great experience to what my peers and what they have studied and practiced throughout the duration of the program.

My experience with the IES Abroad Program in Milan, Italy was absolutely incredible! When I first started to look through my university's study abroad programs, I didn't see many for music. So when a friend pointed out IES Abroad's music programs in Vienna and Milan, I was immediately excited. Both Italy and Vienna can be considered birthplaces for music, as many important composers of the past were born or have worked there. I knew I couldn't pass these experiences up. Many of my friends also decided to apply to the same program, which made it even more exciting. The months after we were all accepted were a whirlwind. Finally, the day came to leave for Milan. Arriving in Milan, I felt anxious but excited overall. When I arrived at the apartment where I would spend the next 3 month of my life, I was really impressed. The housing was in a really nice area with a historical landmark just down the street. My CA was also very welcoming and friendly. Most of my classes were at the IES Abroad Center, except for my music lesson and orchestra. The teachers were all very friendly and very willing to help, especially my Italian Language professor. I really enjoyed every class I took, and I can say that I learned a lot in each class. Don't expect to be able to coast through the semester just because you're abroad. Overall, I truly had a wonderful time in Milan, and I miss it every day, especially now since I am back at my home university. The memories I have mad in Milan will stay with me and throughout my life.