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Department of
Music

The Department of Music at Santa Clara University provides an intellectual and stimulating artistic environment fostering individual expression and creativity through the study of music and musical performance.

About Our Program

The Department of Music offers a degree program leading to the bachelor of arts in music as well as a minor in music. A minor in musical theatre is available in conjunction with the Department of Theatre and Dance. The Department of Music's curriculum is designed to provide students of diverse backgrounds with the skills necessary to comprehend, perform, and appreciate music's role in human history and its power to enhance the lives of all people. Because individual study and performance is essential to the expression and acquisition of music as a language and art form, private instruction and membership in all departmental music ensembles is available to all Santa Clara students.

To declare or change a major, minor, or emphasis, fill out the SCU Registrar's Program Petition form.

Student Spotlights

AZhae-Turay

A'Zhae Turay

A'Zhae Turay, an engineering and music double major, was a winner of the Concerto Aria competition. A'Zhae also won the Descalzi Award this year.

0605: A'Zhae Turay Senior Feature

Rebecca An

Rebecca An was a winner of the Concerto-Aria and a Goldwater Scholar this year. A biochemistry major, Rebecca wants to redesign how cancer drugs find their targets.

0512: Goldwater Scholars
Rebecca An in the lab

Ensembles

Faculty & Staff

Department Chair
  • Scot Hanna-Weir joyfully conducting with a baton
    Associate Professor

    Director of Choral Activities, Conducting

Academic Department Manager

Faculty Spotlights

Christina Zanfagna

Music Professor Christina Zanfagna and Film/Communication Professor Michael Whalen are collaborating on a documentary entitled BLACKITALIAN.

Teresa McCollough standing on stage wearing an orange jacket.

Professor Teresa McCollough celebrates 35 years at Santa Clara University and reflects on the path she has forged as a professional pianist, teacher, and advocate of new music.

Beyond the Classroom

News & Events

Our Stories

More pages:
    View the full Performance Calendar

    Life After SCU

    Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10 working with students.

    His return to campus for the Sinatra Series marks a full-circle moment of performing and teaching at the place where he began his classical music journey.

    A male student wearing medical-grade gloves holds a silicon disk in front of a large microscope and screens filled with magnified images in a lab setting.

    Riley Carpenter ’25 found a well-rounded education at Santa Clara, designing cutting-edge superconducting thin-film dark matter sensors while pursuing his passions in the humanities and arts.

    Sam Pluta with his music making electronics.

    Today, the Guggenheim fellow and professor at the Peabody Institute performs alongside live instrumentalists, using technology to manipulate sounds in real time to create a vibrant sonic universe.

    Isaac Raven

    From concrete formwork construction to a music doctorate scholar, Isaac Raven ’15 has put his SCU degrees to work!