Ráyo Furuta Recognized by the College of Arts and Sciences
Francisco Jimenez Reaching Out Award
In recognition of faculty and staff who, through their actions and contributions to our local and global community, strive to serve society’s most disadvantaged and under-served members.
Ráyo Furuta has shared his expertise with the Department of Music for seven years both as a “rockstar” flutist and committed instructor who designs far-reaching experiential curricula. Through his Experiential Learning for Social Justice class “Music in the Community,” Santa Clara University students experienced meaningful engagement with marginalized communities through the power of music. Most recently the course connected students with Mexican immigrants and farmworkers in Hollister, culminating in a collaboratively created music project with and for community members.
In his scholarship, themes of social justice are front and center. For example, Ráyo recently combined his own compositions with those of Arabic-Muslim and Mexican-National composers to create “ Precious Scars,” a project that connects the narrative of WWII Japanese concentration camps with the similar xenophobia experienced by other communities.
Beyond his campus activities, Ráyo founded the Mas Amor Arts initiative, which brings music to juveniles in detention centers, and also led collaborative projects with homeless women of color to address injustices of gender, race, finances, healthcare, and homelessness.