About the Music DepartmentMusic has maintained an active and vital presence at Santa Clara University since Father Nobili had a piano brought to campus in 1851 and the first band, called the Cecillian Society, was formed in 1855. Today, the Department of Music offers its majors professional training in performance, pedagogy, theory, musicology, and arts administration. The program has graduated students accepted into master and doctoral programs at the top schools in the country including the Curtis Institute, Eastman,Cleveland Institute, Indiana, USC,and the University of Houston. Committed to the education of the whole person: intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual, the goal of the Department of Music is to provide an intellectual and stimulating artistic environment, which fosters individual expression and creativity through the study of music and musical performance. Inasmuch as music is a fundamental characteristic of the human experience and an important component of the liberal arts education within the context of a Jesuit university, the curriculum is designed to provide students of diverse backgrounds with the skills necessary not only to understand and to perform music, but also to appreciate music’s role in human history and its potential to enhance the lives of all people. As the University community enters into the 2009-20010 academic year, the Department enrolls almost one hundred majors and minors and engages hundreds of students across many academic disciplines through ensemble courses and private instruction. The traditions established with the Cecillian Society over 150 years ago remain strong, as demonstrated by the Department's successful choirs, jazz ensemble, orchestra, guitar ensemble, and opera theatre program. With the dawn of the twenty-first century, the burgeoning diversity of cultures and styles provides new opportunities to build on this tradition, incorporating contemporary forms of expression into music education at Santa Clara. The Music at Noon concert series and triennial New Music Festival are two of several programs designed to foster collaboration between students, faculty, and guest artists who come together to create and share new art. In addition to the academic program, Santa Clara University has a thriving Center of Performing Arts which presents numerous productions by the Department of Music and the Department of Theatre and Dance. Students have the opportunity to perform, direct, choreograph, and provide design and technical support for these exciting works that are widely attended by the campus and local communities. |
