Performing arts faculty are 'Crazy About Love'

By Brittany Benjamin

After an abundance of practice, students have come to expect certain things while listening to professors, like daydreaming about the weekend, doodling in the margins of their notebooks while professors go off on tangents, and even perhaps a monotonous 65-minute lecture on the social effects of Charlemagne's reign.

One thing students don't expect is to witness their professors on stage singing about love.

This is exactly what students will get in "Crazy About Love."

In Friday's recital, the voice faculty from the performing arts department will perform about 20 love songs from all different genres -- ranging from opera to pop. The performance will feature songs in several different languages.

"It's all about the weird, wonderful, crazy and sometimes scary things we do when we're in love," said April McNeely-Zissman, the event's coordinator and a member of the music department.

"It's the fun and crazy things that we (as faculty) want to sing, but usually can't," she added.

"Crazy About Love" is only one recital in a series of faculty performances that happens every quarter. Each of these faculty recitals has a different theme.

As this performance is so close to Valentine's Day, McNeely-Zissman suggested a show about love to the department. With their approval of the theme, she started coordinating the event.

"We try to do two to three performances as a faculty every quarter," McNeely-Zissman said.

Later this year, the vocal faculty expects to hold a recital featuring women in music. The faculty members rotate turns coordinating these recitals.

Setting it apart from these other performances, the production's focus on love songs is not the only aspect of this show that makes it unique.

The performers are all Santa Clara professors, but "Crazy About Love" features only the vocal talents of female faculty.

Out of the nine total faculty members in the department, only two are men, and they each had previous engagements that prevented them from singing, according to McNeely-Zissman.

"There's no love duets because there's no men," said McNeely-Zissman. "There's no male point of view."

As all of these performers are vocal professionals, rehearsals for this production are different than they are for student productions.

Instead of months of preparation, the performers come together last-minute for one quick rehearsal close to the actual performance date.

She notes that the professors are able to perform material that is often too difficult for students.

"You get to see teachers perform so that you're confident that they know what they're talking about," McNeely-Zissman said. "Students need to know that we are performers and do a good job."

She also personally thanked pianist Melissa Lin for her contributions to the entire music department.

McNeely-Zissman said students should be interested in the faculty's recital because it allows exposure to new and different kinds of music. The show includes classical, opera, Broadway and pop music.

Some of the songs that the performance will include are "Crazy" by Willie Nelson, "Crazy World" from "Victor/Victoria" and German and French songs.

"What's unique about our faculty is we're pretty evenly divided between classical and musical theater," McNeely-Zissman said. "It's unusual to have that balance."

The performance of "Crazy About Love" is at 8 p.m. in the Recital Hall.

Contact Brittany Benjamin at (408) 551-1918 or brbenjamin@scu.edu.