The Department of Music Presents:
Swelling sounds, impressive voices, passionate playing, and euphoric experiences in a stimulating musical season. Attend their next concert!
STUDENT ENSEMBLE SERIES
Fall Orchestra & Wind Ensemble
Student Ensemble
November 15
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Mission Santa Clara
SCU’s Orchestra and Wind Ensemble join together in a performance of classic and contemporary works, filling Mission Santa Clara with exhilarating sounds. The Wind Ensemble program includes Arturo Márquez’s Danzón no. 2 and David Maslanka’s Give Us This Day: A Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble. The Orchestra will perform Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerto Grosso in C minor, Op. 6 No. 3, Edvard Grieg’s Ase’s Death from Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 conducted by student conductor Brian Park, Chen Yi’s Shuo, and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8.
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This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Mission Santa Clara.
TICKET PRICES:
Adult: $22
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18
SCU Students FREE.
Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
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The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
Fall Jazz Band & Combos Festival
Student Ensemble
November 18 - 19
Tuesday and Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
Passion and precision blend in an unforgettable celebration of live jazz. Join SCU’s talented Jazz Band as they breathe new life into time-honored hits from jazz greats, create innovative improvisations, and explore brand new compositions. Whether you’re a jazz lover or a newcomer, join us for captivating concerts that are sure to have you bopping to the beat.
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This event is reserved seating. Learn more about the venue: Music Recital Hall.
TICKET PRICES:
Adult: $22
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18
SCU Students FREE.
Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program. -
The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
26th Annual Festival of Lights
Student Ensemble
December 5 - 6, 2025
Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Mission Santa Clara
Celebrate the season with this decades long holiday tradition. The SCU Chamber Singers and Concert Choir fill the beautiful Mission Santa Clara with a diverse set of repertoire and the soft glow of candlelight.
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This event is general admission within the section you purchase. Learn more about the venue: Mission Santa Clara.
TICKET PRICES:
Friday, December 5: Adults - $30, Faculty/Staff/Senior/18&Under - $25, SCU Students FREE.Saturday, December 6: Adults - $32, Faculty/Staff/Senior/18&Under - $28, SCU Students FREE.
Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
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The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
ORFF: Carmina Burana
Tony Rivera, conductor; University Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Combined Choirs; winners of the Concerto/Aria competition
Student Ensemble
February 27, 2026
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Mission Santa Clara
The SCU Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, and Choirs join together to perform Carl Orff's epic Carmina Burana. In addition, the student winners of the Concerto/Aria competition will perform with our Wind Ensemble and Orchestra.
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This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Mission Santa Clara.
TICKET PRICES:
Adult: $22
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18
SCU Students FREE.
Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
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The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
Winter Jazz Band & Combos Festival
Student Ensemble
March 4 - 5
Wednesday and Thursday, 7:00 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
Passion and precision blend in an unforgettable celebration of live jazz. Join SCU’s talented Jazz Band as they breathe new life into time-honored hits from jazz greats, create innovative improvisations, and explore brand new compositions. Whether you’re a jazz lover or a newcomer, join us for captivating concerts that are sure to have you bopping to the beat.
-
This event is reserved seating. Learn more about the venue: Music Recital Hall.
TICKET PRICES:
Adult: $22
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18
SCU Students FREE.
Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program. -
The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
Spring Jazz Band & Combos Festival
Student Ensemble
May 20 - 21
Wednesday and Thursday, 7:00 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
Passion and precision blend in an unforgettable celebration of live jazz. Join SCU’s talented Jazz Band as they breathe new life into time-honored hits from jazz greats, create innovative improvisations, and explore brand new compositions. Whether you’re a jazz lover or a newcomer, join us for captivating concerts that are sure to have you bopping to the beat.
-
This event is reserved seating. Learn more about the venue: Music Recital Hall.
TICKET PRICES:
Adult: $22
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18
SCU Students FREE.
Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program. -
The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
Spring Orchestra & Wind Ensemble
Student Ensemble
May 29
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Mission Santa Clara
SCU's Orchestra & Wind Ensemble join together in a performance of classic and contemporary pieces, filling Mission Santa Clara with exhilarating sounds.
-
This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Mission Santa Clara.
TICKET PRICES:
Adult: $22
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18
SCU Students FREE.
Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
-
The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
Fusion
Directed by: Scot Hanna-Weir and Jason Gallardo
Student Ensemble
June 4
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Mission Santa Clara
The SCU Chamber Singers and Concert Choir perform a diverse set of repertoire to close out the year, including Alex Berko's new work Sacred Place, an ecological service that connects the old with the new, the sacred with the secular, and the individual with their community.
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This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Mission Santa Clara.
TICKET PRICES:
Adult: $22
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18
SCU Students FREE.
Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
-
The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
FACULTY RECITAL SERIES
Tamami Honma, piano
Faculty Recital
October 4
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
Acclaimed pianist and SCU affiliate Tamami Honma is known for refreshing and exciting interpretations. She brings works by JS Bach to Argentine composer Ginastera which will both move and generate a surge of energy for the audience throughout the concert. She recently received four independent stellar reviews by critics in Fanfare Magazine for her recent release of the 35 Beethoven Piano Sonatas.
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This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Music Recital Hall.
TICKET PRICES:Adult: $22.00
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18.00
SCU Students FREE.Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
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The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
SCU Voice Faculty Showcase
Faculty Recital
October 17
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
SongFest, SCU's vocal faculty and pianists.
An evening of songs in many styles and languages, from opera to zarzuela to musical theater to art song, performed by our accomplished voice instructors, coaches and conductors. Featuring Debra Lambert, Elizabeth Neff, Michele Rivard, and Jason Gallardo.
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This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Music Recital Hall.
TICKET PRICES:Adult: $22.00
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18.00
SCU Students FREE.Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
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The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
Anthony Rivera, conductor/arranger
Faculty Recital
January 9
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
Featuring: Anthony Rivera, conductor/arranger; Rachel Zephir, guest conductor; and guest artists
Enjoy an evening of Music arranged by Dr. Anthony Rivera. Presenting Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Borodin's Symphony No. 3 reimagined for Chamber Winds.
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This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Music Recital Hall.
TICKET PRICES:Adult: $22.00
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18.00
SCU Students FREE.Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
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The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
Carl Schultz, saxophone
Faculty Recital
January 23
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
A program of original arrangements and compositions featuring Jazz musicians from around the Bay Area and throughout the US.
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This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Music Recital Hall.
TICKET PRICES:Adult: $22.00
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18.00
SCU Students FREE.Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
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The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
Nancy Wait-Kromm, soprano
Faculty Recital
April 24
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
Nancy Wait-Kromm, soprano, and friends
A festive evening of solo and ensemble singing, including selections from the Brahms Liebeslieder Wálzer, Mendelssohn Two Part Songs, PDQ Bach's Liebeslieder Polkas and others. Wait-Kromm will be joined by SCU faculty, alumni, and friends from the community in this melodious concert of classical vocal repertoire.
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This event is general admission. Learn more about the venue: Music Recital Hall.
TICKET PRICES:Adult: $22.00
Faculty/Staff, Senior, 18 & under: $18.00
SCU Students FREE.Get more information about the SCU Student Free Ticket Program.
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The performance schedule is subject to change at the discretion of SCU•Presents and the Department of Music. If there is a change in the schedule, you will be notified via the email that is associated with your ticket account.
SINATRA SERIES
Established in 1980 and housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts inspires and energizes the arts at SCU through the innovative, creative work of performing arts faculty and professional artists.
Teresa McCollough, professional pianist, professor of music at Santa Clara University, and the 2024-26 Sinatra Chair, brings to campus a celebration of new music created in collaboration with her former students—award-winning alumni artists and composers, Brian Thorsett ‘00, Sam Pluta ‘01, and Nicolás Lell Benavides ‘10.
These events are free to all.
FEATURED CONCERTS
Music Recital Hall | Free to all
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Featuring Brian Thorsett ‘00 & Teresa McCollough
Thu. Oct. 9, 2025 | 7:30 p.m.
Tenor Brian Thorsett ’00 is joined by Teresa McCollough, professor of music and 2024-26 Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts, for a special Grand Reunion alumni recital featuring art songs by Benjamin Britten, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, and Eric Choate.
Co-sponsored by Grand Reunion Weekend
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With Sam Pluta ‘01 & Teresa McCollough
Fri. Nov. 21, 2025 | 7:30 p.m.
Drawing on tradition, 2019 Guggenheim Fellow Sam Pluta ’01 joins SCU Professor of Music and 2024–26 Sinatra Chair, Teresa McCollough, for the premiere of Set the Sun, a work for laptop and piano inspired by Bach’s 25th Goldberg Variation, The Black Pearl. The program also features music by George Crumb and Frederic Rzewski, whose works reimagine history through sound.
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Fri. Mar. 13, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
Guggenheim Fellow Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10 begins his residency at SCU with a full performance of his chamber opera, Tres Minutos. In collaboration with 2024–26 Frank Sinatra Chair Teresa McCollough, and featuring vocalists Jessica Jacoby ’27 and Nathan Tu ’27, the work—inspired by a real program briefly reuniting immigrant families at the U.S.–Mexico border—explores the profound emotional consequences of separation.
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Sun. Apr. 19, 3:00 p.m.
Teresa McCollough, professor of music and 2024-26 Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts, plays music of American composers including Aaron Copland and guest composer Nicolas Lell Benavides ’10.
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World Premiere for Bowed Piano with SCU New Music Ensemble
Fri. Jun. 5, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
Experience the premiere of a newly commissioned work by Guggenheim Fellow Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10, written for bowed piano ensemble. The piece is performed on the original 9-foot Baldwin bowed piano, gifted to Santa Clara University by the family of renowned composer Stephen Scott (1944–2021), whose pioneering work with his own ensemble transformed the possibilities of the instrument. Now under the care of 2024–26 Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts Teresa McCollough, the instrument finds new life in this collaboration. Benavides joins McCollough and the SCU New Music Ensemble as both composer and performer, honoring Scott’s legacy while carrying the bowed piano into a new era of performance.
SINATRA + MUSIC@NOON
Brian Thorsett, ‘00
Wednesdays, 12 p.m. | Music Recital Hall | FREE
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In Conversation about the Art of the Song with Brian Thorsett ‘00
Enjoy a preview of “Songs of Love and Loss” performed by tenor Brian Thorsett ’00 and Sinatra Chair Teresa McCollough.
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Classical Indian music takes the spotlight during a special Raga Music@Noon featuring Sameer Gupta ’98 with Sruti Sarathy on violin and Akshay Naresh on Bansuri Flute.
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In Conversation for Electronics and Other Instruments with Sam Pluta ‘01
Award-winning composer Sam Pluta ’01 shares excerpts from his new work, Set the Sun, and joins Sinatra Chair Teresa McCollough for a conversation about composing for instruments and electronics.
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A Conversation about Tres Minutos
Join Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10 and Sinatra Chair Teresa McCollough for a conversation about Benavides’s timely and emotional opera Tres Minutos. The event will feature live excerpts performed with vocalists Jessica Jacoby ’27 and Nathan Tu ’27.
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Music for mezzo-soprano & string quartet
Melinda Martinez Becker ’04, M.A. ’06 and the Friction Quartet perform selections composed by Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10.
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In Conversation with Nicolás Lell Benavides ‘10
Enjoy a preview of a newly commissioned work by Nicolás Lell Benavides ’10, inspired by composer Stephen Scott (1944–2021) and performed on his original 9-foot bowed piano by Sinatra Chair Teresa McCollough, Benavides, and SCU’s New Music Ensemble.
Sam Pluta, ‘01
Nicolás Lell Benavides, ‘10
Teresa McCollough, Sinatra Chair
FABULOUS & FREE SERIES
Music@Noon - Fall 2025 Series
Free Concerts
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Wednesdays at 12 p.m.
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Free Concerts 〰️ Wednesdays at 12 p.m. 〰️
50 Minute in-class performances
October 8 - December 3, 2025
Wednesdays, 12:00 p.m.
Music Recital Hall
Wildly diverse and enriching concerts are presented as a part of the Music @ Noon class. Take a lunch break to enjoy this fresh free series! Explore the groups that will be performing through Music @ Noon below. Use the “+” to expand the section and learn more.
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Enjoy a preview of “Songs of Love and Loss” performed by tenor Brian Thorsett ’00 and Sinatra Chair Teresa McCollough.
*Frank Sinatra Chair Event–Preview to the Grand Reunion Concert, Thursday October 9th at 7:30 p.m.
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Featuring the sounds of Egypt – from classical heritage to modern fusion.
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Celebrating the composer’s 150th birthday. Featuring Gwendolyn Mok, piano.
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Classical Indian music takes the spotlight during a special Raga Music@Noon featuring Sameer Gupta ’98 with Sruti Sarathy on violin and Akshay Naresh on Bansuri Flute.
*Frank Sinatra Chair Event
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Sally Koo, violin; Teresa McCollough, piano
Featuring the music of Kyong Mee Choi, Maurice Ravel, and George Gershwin.
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Featuring the Jim Witzel Quartet performing selections from their recently released album:
Very Early–Remembering Bill Evans
Jim Witzel, guitar, Adam Shulman, piano, Doug Pahorski, bass, and Jason Lewis, drums
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Award-winning composer Sam Pluta ’01 shares excerpts from his new work, Set the Sun, and joins Sinatra Chair Teresa McCollough for a conversation about composing for instruments and electronics.
*Frank Sinatra Chair Event–Preview to the Faculty Recital Series, Friday, November 21st at 7:30 p.m.
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Jennifer Lien, soprano; Gwendolyn Mok, piano
Featuring new song cycles from Kamala Sankaram and Justine F. Chen, juxtaposed with images of Asia from Maurice Ravel.