Note from the Chair

Dear Alumni and Friends,

We hope that this newsletter finds you all well. The twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racist police brutality presented us all with a difficult Spring quarter. The social rebellion in defense of Black lives, the global health crisis that turned the world upside down, and the challenges of teaching and learning in a fully online remote environment all reshaped not only our lives but the music we make. We would like to share with you some of the work that our music students and faculty have been able to create during the Spring 2020. Stay well and we hope the words and sounds below will bring you some joy and hope.

Bruno Ruviaro
Chair, Music Department

Sharon Chu

SCU’s talented pianist and vocalist, Sharon Chu, performed works by Handel, Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Webber.

Listen

Julian Nesbitt

We invite you to listen to graduating senior Julian Nesbitt singing two sets of 3 pieces. First, a set of English Art Songs by Vaughan Williams and Finzi, and followed by a set of two Sondheim pieces and an art song by Florence Price.

Listen to Part 1   |   Listen to Part 2

Jazz Concert

Led by Carl Schultz, relax and listen to five pieces created by the SCU Jazz combos and Ensemble.

Listen

SCU Choirs

Embrace the Lag

The Santa Clara University Chamber Singers under the direction of the director of choral activities, Scot Hanna-Weir, present a concert of music that is perfect for this moment of social distancing and isolation. Using the latest in online collaborative music-making technology, their performance demonstrates what can be done remotely with pieces that embrace the lag and allow for the inevitable delay of performing across wires.

Listen

Saunder Choi's The New Colossus

The Santa Clara University Chamber singers were to perform Saunder Choi's magnificent setting of the Emma Lazarus poem that sits at the base of the Statue of Liberty as part of their "Where are we from? Where are we going?" March 2020 concert. Unfortunately, the global pandemic of COVID-19 cancelled this performance. The choir felt the piece was too important not to perform, and so we created this virtual version as our final project of the 2019-2020 academic year.

Listen

Orchestra Demonstration Project 

Orchestra Director John Kennedy led the students through the creation of a composite orchestra performance made of individual parts recorded at home. Students worked with each other's recordings as the entire mix was built step by step. Completely new challenges emerged in this remote orchestra environment, and students learned a lot along the way.

Music in the Community

This quarter, even while sheltered-in-place, we were able to create incredibly profound connections to our community outside of the University walls -- using music as the vehicle. Led by Ray Furuta in collaboration with the local organization OnRoute22, our students connected, shared, bonded, and created with previously/currently-Homeless and Veteran Women within our community. Together, they shared the creative process to make these amazing projects that have amplified the voices and stories of the amazing women through music and art.

Take a look at the students' projects

Electronic Music

Students in Bruno Ruviaro's Introduction to Listening: Electronic Music class created a number of electronic tracks that you can listen to on SoundCloud. As they learned a number of computer music techniques, students were encouraged to push their creativity to new places.

Listen

In Art We Trust

Finally, we would like to end this newsletter with this inspiring reflection by Christina Zanfagna, where she discusses the role of music in times of crisis.

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