Santa Clara’s Hidden Gem
New Music Ensemble is one of the many student groups to perform at Music @ Noon
“I feel like it’s almost a secret and I don’t know why,” said Professor Teresa McCollough of the Santa Clara music department who co-created the Music @ Noon series. For around 25 years, the Santa Clara Recital Hall has hosted free, weekly 50-minute concerts at noon on most Wednesdays of the school year, and nearly 15-years-ago began offering the experience as a one-credit elective open to all students.
“It has functioned as a class in which the whole point is not to be academically rigorous, but more to offer an escape in a way where students can just relax, chill and be exposed to music,” said program director and curator, Ray Furuta, of the Santa Clara music department. “In a setting where there is no pressure, that exposure has so much profound impact which you might not even realize.”
Under Professor Furuta’s direction, the series has evolved into an incredibly diverse display of genres and sounds ranging from jazz and classical to Egyptian, hip-hop and EDM, all of which are represented in this fall quarter’s schedule alone.
“They appointed me to this position because of my connection to the local artistic community,” said Professor Furuta.“With around 28 performances a year, it takes a large network of artists who can come and present without having the same artists come every year.”
The laid-back course only requires students to attend each of the concerts and be an attentive audience member. Students submit a reflection of their experience with the music, which Furuta describes as something like a review of the concerts.
“I'm not looking for any kind of theory,” he said. “You don’t need to know how to write about music, you don’t even need to know anything about music and you can still thrive in the class. That’s the whole point, it doesn’t alienate anyone.”
So why have you probably never heard of this series? For McCollough and Furuta, it’s not a question of the quality of the music or community interest but rather one of promotion. Both professors see an incredible amount of potential for the program and have been working with the series long enough to see some of that prospect come to fruition.
Without the resources to self-promote on a broader scale to the greater Santa Clara community, Music @ Noon depends on the Santa Clara administration to realize its value and spread the word to students outside of the music department’s reach. Whether that be via newsletters, signs or more promotion outside of the department, for Furuta, this is where the root challenge lies.
Free access to such a unique mix of performing arts is a rare opportunity that Santa Clara offers, and Professor Futura believes it should be marketed accordingly.
“There’s a wide range of ways for this ‘secret’ to go from a convenience to a resource on so many different levels,” Professor Futura said.
Looking forward, Professor Furuta and others involved in the program all hope to see more attendance and engagement from the whole Santa Clara community, especially from students. Information regarding the schedule of the series can be found on the SCU Presents website under the events tab and information regarding the class can be found on workday or by contacting Professor Furuta and the music department.
Next Wednesday, Music @ Noon hosts St. Louis, Mo. jazz guitarist and composer, Dan Rubright. Accompanied by some Santa Clara faculty guest performers, Rubright will be performing his own works that combine his jazz roots with world and experimental sounds.
In another upcoming performance, Professor McCollough, with other faculty members and guest artists, will be performing one of Brahm’s instrumental pieces, his piano quartet in C minor.
“I hope students don’t feel that there is a barrier to attend something like this,” said Professor McCollough. “If you don’t know Brahms it doesn’t matter but by the end of it you will probably really love it;it’s a beautiful peace.”