The Artist’s Angle: Darren Inouye

The Santa Clara art scene is passionate. Student extracurriculars enable expression outside of academia. From writing to performance to composition, clubs, groups, bands and student forums convey their love of art with each other and the world. This Q&A series aims to highlight how different students have come to excel in their respective pursuits.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Darren Inouye, fourth year COEN major, sings in the Santa Clara Mission during the 23rd Annual Festival of Lights. SCU Presents

Darren Inouye: Hello, I'm Darren Inouye. I'm a fourth-year COEN major.

John Redinbo/Matthew Lallas: How did you first get into choir?

I did choir in high school and joined not because I wanted to, but because my sister forced me to. There are very specific experiences with choir that kept me in there–especially since a lot of my friends that I grew up with were in there, and I found satisfaction in knowing music by heart.

Dr. Hanna-Weir reached out to me during my first year before I registered. He probably saw that I had music on my transcript from high school. So, he reached out and I auditioned for him online.

Was it a good experience?

It's quite interesting. Dr. Hanna-Weir taught me how to do voice recording work, which is pretty interesting, but it's definitely not the same. He actually mentioned it at C4 [a cross-university choir festival] two days ago: how the communication required to sing with other people in a physical space is different from a virtual environment.

And where does acapella come into all this?

I'm in Supertonic, one of the co-ed acapella groups at Santa Clara. I love the people that I have met in Supertonic and see them like a family. Acapella is a lot less formal and a lot less structured, I'd say. Coming back from COVID-19, it was pretty messy. Just being able to get new members online was almost impossible. However, we have seen a surge in new numbers because people wanted to branch out and really socialize.

Can you tell us about the recent concert?

The C4 concert is basically a concert in which colleges around the area get together to perform music together. Because it happens every year, we get the music and plan it out at the start of the quarter and we just start preparing to sing.

How'd you feel it went in general? What were your takeaways after having done it?

I learned a lot just by performing with the other choirs and directors. It's a lot different being able to sing with that many more people. You get to learn how different directors direct their choirs and how the slightest difference in what you're being taught can really affect both your choir and how you sound with others.

What has being a part of this group meant for your college experience? Has it characterized your time here at Santa Clara and if so, how so?

I think I'd say it helps me relax a little bit to really do something else other than work and general school stuff. But also, it's a place where I can really meet people who like to sing, just like me, and really have a community of people I can get along with and make new friends and just overall work on myself in a different aspect.