Music degree a prelude to career in math

Rempel

Now that he has a music degree in his repertoire, Philip Rempel will be back at UVic this fall to start another undergraduate degree—this time in math.

"I’ve always enjoyed doing math, but it’s nice to have something artistic that you can do as well," says Rempel of his unusual academic combination. "I needed to develop my skills and overall appreciation of music."

He succeeded—with distinction. Rempel is this year’s winner of the Victoria Medal as the top student in the faculty of fine arts.

Victoria Medal in Fine Arts

The performance major opted to earn a degree in music first so that he could build on his lessons from high school. His percussion instruments of choice are the snare drum, marimba (a deep-toned xylophone), and timpani (kettle drums).

"I chose percussion in Grade 8 because I thought it would be fun to hit things and I didn’t know any other instruments," he says. "I picked the one that seemed easiest to learn."

Rempel, who was assisted in part by a Stephen A. Jennings Memorial Scholarship, attributes his high GPA to hard work and a lot of practice. "I practised almost every day, depending on rehearsals and on how much other work I had to do."

While at UVic, Rempel says he had "a lot of good experiences playing with different groups, as well as on my own." He played with UVic’s wind symphony and orchestra, as well as with the Victoria Youth Orchestra.

His long-term plans are to earn BSc and MSc degrees in math and to one day teach math at a college. But hitting musical instruments will continue to be a big part of his future. "I’m not sure exactly how that will work out, but I definitely plan to continue using what I’ve learned."