By day, the St. Michaels University School music building hums with structured classes and rehearsals. By evening, it shifts into a supervised creative space where students explore ideas, experiment with sound, and collaborate with peers. On Monday and Tuesday evenings, that opportunity expands even further, with professional alumni musicians in residence to mentor, coach, and work directly with students.
The initiative was brought together by Head of Music and Band Teacher Ian Farish ’89, who saw an opportunity to build an even stronger creative community in Schaffter Hall. By inviting alumni who once spent their own evenings jamming and writing in the music building, Farish has helped create a space for collaboration, exploration, and mentorship.
Leading the sessions is Zachary Santella ’12, joined regularly by fellow alumnus Fintan O'Brien ’14. Both were once the students hanging out in the music building after hours — listening to music, jamming with friends, and writing songs. They credit their time at SMUS with giving them the freedom and support to pursue music seriously, and now return with professional experience and industry insight to share.
“What’s really cool about Zack and Fintan is that in their days at SMUS they were the kids hanging out in the music building — listening to music, jamming, writing songs, playing music with friends,” recalls Farish. “We want to continue that subculture of boarders and day students coming together after school or in the evenings to make music. Both Zack and Fintan pursued music professionally and found success. Perhaps, it was this time together after school being creative and finding the joy in the music that helped give them the confidence to do that.”
These sessions welcome songwriters, bands, producers, instrumentalists, and students simply curious about making music. Whether focused on writing, recording, experimenting, or collaborating, participants are helping shape Monday and Tuesday evenings into a dynamic space for collaboration and experimentation in Schaffter Hall.
Zachary Santella ’12
A jazz-trained keyboardist, songwriter, producer, and musical director, Zack Santella studied jazz performance at McGill University before launching a multi-faceted music career. He has toured internationally, most recently performing across North America with artist Diamond Cafe while opening for Teddy Swims, including appearances at iconic venues such as Radio City Music Hall.
In addition to touring, Santella runs Dreamclub Studio in downtown Victoria, where he works as a producer and recording engineer. At SMUS, he brings a wide-ranging skill set that spans performance, songwriting, production, and music direction. Students can collaborate with him as a creative coach, develop original material, explore production techniques, and potentially record their work in a professional studio setting.
Fintan O'Brien ’14
Singer-songwriter and producer Fintan O’Brien has built a career performing, writing, and recording across North America and Europe. Based for several years in Berlin, he has worked extensively as both an artist and producer, bringing an international perspective to his craft.
Returning to SMUS as a guest mentor alongside Santella, O’Brien works closely with songwriters and guitar players, offering insight into the creative process and the realities of the music industry. His sessions focus on songwriting, artistic development, and helping students shape ideas into finished songs.
