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The Singers perform their traditional Lessons and Carols concert, signaling the Christmas season, every December.
@SINGERSSMU / INSTAGRAM

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Barbara Vasquez, Editor-in-Chief 

Manhattan University (MU) is introduced to many people as an “engineering school,” but stepping onto campus shows that there is more to the university than its STEM reputation. The liveliness of the arts is felt everywhere around. The music of the university, however, can not be defined by one distinct sound.  

The Quadrangle spoke to various members of the music community from the university, asking for their thoughts on the “sound” of the school. Most had different answers, but the one thing they shared in their interviews: the community around them defined their musical experience. 

Still, as a university with a rich Irish heritage, many first point to Pipes and Drums as the distinctive music of MU. With the group’s signature uniforms, bagpipes and Celtic sounds, the group represents the school at St. Patrick’s Day throughout New York State.  

Craig Chambers ‘23 studied mechanical engineering and was a drummer for Pipes and Drums during his time at the university. For Chambers, the band’s practice is what he thinks of first when recalling his time at MU 

“Pipes and Drums is one of the most unique aspects of the school’s atmosphere,” Chambers wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “Students can attest that hearing a bagpipe in the distance on a crisp Thursday is something that you only get at this school.” 

Chambers joined the group as a freshman with “little experience with drumming,” but quickly immersed himself in all the “fun” he had. Even as a student, he felt the history of the band brought him a deeper connection to the university community. 

“I think the band’s continuity is exactly what gives it its unique quality,” Chambers wrote to The Quadrangle. “It’s the only club where you get to interact with so many alumni on a regular basis, and share stories of each other’s time both in the band and at the school. MU has always had a lot of pride in its alumni and how they shape the city. The band is an extension of that sentiment, I feel.” 

Pipes and Drums, dating back to 1981, is not nearly the oldest musical group in MU history. The school’s Music Ministry has performed at weekly masses since the school’s formation in 1853; the MU Singers, Orchestra and Jazz Band have been around since the 1970s. It is not the only group inclusive of non-students as well, with faculty and alumni being invited to join a few of the different music organizations at the school.

Andrew Bauer, director of performing arts at MU, has been at the university for 15 years, serving as director of Singers and professor teaching vocal lessons, composition classes, choir and Album Class. The Quadrangle spoke to Bauer about the history of these musical groups at MU. 

“All of our ensembles have been around for a long time,” Bauer said. “The Orchestra dates back way into the last century, and our jazz band has been around for a long time. So, we have a longstanding tradition for these ensembles. They really become part of the fabric of our social [life] here at MU.” 

The Jazz Band began as a small group of people led by a previous professor at the school, according to Bauer. He then shared that this is how most music groups at the university are first created and get to live on at MU. 

“The ensembles sometimes come out of need or desire or aspirations from the student body to create a particular group,” Bauer said. “Some groups never really change… but other groups are more influenced by the times and the students.” 

Music groups at MU are not limited to university-sanctioned organizations, allowing for even more creativity amongst students. Jose Arroyo, senior electrical engineering major, plays for the Pep and Jazz Bands at the school. Last year, Arroyo participated in Bauer’s Album Class, a course where students deconstruct, analyze and recreate a famous album from pop rock history. He became close with some of his fellow classmates, and after the class finished, joined together with them to form their own band, Trade Eight.  

Trade Eight is just one of many student-formed groups that’s come out of the university. Different groups often take advantage of the school’s New York City location to explore venues outside of campus and develop their own sound. The passion the students have for music at MU, especially to take it outside of campus grounds, is something that helps define the school’s environment for Arroyo. 

“I think [music] is great in terms of contributing to campus atmosphere,” Arroyo said. “Having a music program filled with people who not only want to do music in the school but also outside of it, I think that’s a really good thing about our music program and the people in it.” 

The care that’s poured into the music by the community at MU is something that Chambers thinks is evident in the songs that are created. 

“Between [Pipes and Drums] and Jazz Band and Pep Band and even the student-formed bands that you can often find jamming out in the music room, the music here can be so distinct and energetic,” Chambers wrote to The Quadrangle. “Any atmosphere where that kind of variety exists must be doing something right.” 

The university also benefits from its small size when it comes to the arts, at least to Arroyo. With the smaller ensembles, students are able to get more involved with the music they’re creating, easily finding community with each other. Arroyo told The Quadrangle that the Pep Band members are able to create their own arrangements and even take requests while performing, as well as forming more personal relationships with everyone in the department. 

“I think that our strength is in our small numbers and our relationships to each other,” Arroyo said. “Personally, I felt like I’ve developed a lot as a musician in the school because I’ve had such a direct connection to the faculty… so I think that closeness and family [aspect]. That’s kind of what really describes the performing arts department.” 

At MU, music resonates as a celebration of culture and community. Some events are traditions on campus, such as the Lessons and Carols concert in early December, performed by the Singers and Orchestra in a celebration of the Christmas season. Others are more spontaneous or recent, like on-the-quad jam sessions and Album Class’s final performances. 

When asked about his most memorable musical experience while at MU, Bauer recalled the Singers’ performance of Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Fauré during the installation of the stained-glass windows in the Chapel of De La Salle in 2016. He described it as one “particularly fine moment,” for the performing arts. However, he admits that it is hard to pinpoint any specific instance from his time here. 

“If you ask me this question again tomorrow, another idea would pop into my head that is equally as wonderful,” Bauer said. 

When asked the same question, Arroyo and Chambers had different answers, naming moments from Album Class and performances from 5th Avenue in their answers. While the “sound” of the university may, evidently, not be easily defined by one specific group, music is deeply intertwined into the fabric and memory of many Jaspers’ experiences at MU.  

With the presence of such a strong music community at the school, every individual can point to music and what it represents, primarily, the surrounding community, as something they will remember about their time here. 

“These moments are very important for our memories when we tie something into an art form, especially music,” Bauer said. “We get this sort of nostalgic thing. And music does that. Music seeps into our soul and permeates our being, so that our memories are stronger and more refined and wonderful.”