UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music - The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

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Honoring Mo Ostin, 1927–2022

Honoring Mo Ostin, 1927–2022

As chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records, Mo Ostin shaped decades of popular music, leaving a legacy for us all to share. A major gift from Mo and his wife Evelyn funded the construction of the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center, designed to provide students with access to the latest advances in music technology. The Ostins provided support for the School of Music’s Music Partnership Program. In addition, Mo was an active force for the Dean’s Board of Advisors. We will always cherish his passion and partnership.

Honoring Mo Ostin

The UCLA Brass area kicks off the new school year ...

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The UCLA Brass area kicks off the new school year with a FREE exceptional performance by professional horn quartet Quadre. Quadre's recital includes a horn quintet performance with Amy Sanchez, lecturer for horn performance. A newly formed UCLA Gluck Fellows Horn Quartet will also perform and students from the UCLA Brass area will join Quadre to perform the entire brass ensemble repertoire!
🎺🎵 🎷🎵 Quadre has been performing and touring for 25 years and is a model chamber ensemble for successful touring, recording, commissioning, branding, and, most importantly, purpose-driven chamber music. Join us as we welcome you back for a year full of memorable music and joyous performances. #thisisUCLAmusic

Sonic and sculptural beauty combine at "Bach ...

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Sonic and sculptural beauty combine at "Bach in the Serra", a performance by Prof. Antonio Lysy, our cello performance and strings area head. ♬♪🎻♫ Tonight, Lysy will play Bach Suites for solo cello for a revolving audience within an informal and openly accessible, walk-through setting: Richard Serra's T.E.U.C.L.A. sculpture in UCLA's Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden! Like most of UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s programs, this event is FREE! Early arrival is recommended. No RSVP is required. #Bach #Serra #Music #UCLA #thisisUCLAmusic

We are greatly saddened to hear about the passing ...

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We are greatly saddened to hear about the passing of legendary music executive Mo Ostin, who was a committed supporter of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. As chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records, Mo shaped decades of popular music, leaving a legacy for us all to share. A major gift from Mo and his wife Evelyn funded construction of the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center, designed to provide students with access to the latest advances in music technology. The Ostins also provided support for the School of Music’s Music Partnership Program. Mo was also active on the Dean's Boards of Advisors for our school. We will be forever grateful for his passion and partnership. In Memoriam: Link in Bio ⬆️

#SecretChordConcerts returns with Episode 3 ...

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#SecretChordConcerts returns with Episode 3 featuring @neta_elkayam, premiering on Wednesday, August 3rd, at 12pm PT (3pm ET)! Don’t miss the world-renowned Israeli singer of North African music who connects the spirits of her Moroccan Jewish mothers to audiences around the world. For this season's lineup and to find out more about this series, visit the Secret Chord Concerts 🔗 Link in Bio ⬆️. Presented by @UCLAMAJE and @weitzmanmuseum

Join us on Saturday, July 30 🗓 as Arturo ...

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Join us on Saturday, July 30 🗓 as Arturo O’Farrill (@pianitis) – professor of Global Jazz Studies and GRAMMY winner – headlines the Summer SoundWaves concert series at The Music Center’s (@musiccenterla) Jerry Moss Plaza📍Arturo will share the stage with the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble (@afrolatinjazz) and Cuban rapper, musician and spoken word artist Telmary (@_telmary_). 🎶 @UCLAAlpert students🐻 and alumni💙 are offered a special Bruin discounted rate of $5 per ticket with promo code the UCLA5! Check out the link in our bio to get your tickets and enjoy a night of those Summer SoundWaves. 🔉 #ThisisUCLAMusic #LAEvents #LosAngeles #DTLA #GlobalJazz

Terence Blanchard’s original dramatic score for ...

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Terence Blanchard’s original dramatic score for "They Call Me Magic" has been nominated for Outstanding Musical Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score) for the 2022 Emmy Awards. “This nomination is an honor,” said Terence Blanchard, professor of music and global jazz studies at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, “it is humbling to be nominated for composing music for the documentary about one of my heroes, Magic Johnson—someone that I admire. Working on this documentary was a reminder of what it takes to be great and the focus and effort that are needed to be the best you can be.” Read More: 🔗 Link in Bio ⬆️ Pictured: Earvin "Magic" Johnson, whose life and legacy in the NBA is chronicled in the new docuseries "They Call Me Magic."
@terence_blanchard @magicjohnson @AppleTV

Frank D’Accone and Marie Louise Martinez ...

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Frank D’Accone and Marie Louise Martinez Göllner both passed away in 2022. Each had a pivotal role in building the department of musicology at UCLA during their long tenures at UCLA, which spanned the 1970s to the 1990s. “For me,” said Ray Knapp, current chair of the department, “Frank and Marie Louise will always be the visionaries who saw what musicology could be at UCLA. Together they led the group that created the department, they served as the department’s first two chairs, and through strategic hires, they set the stage for its emergence as the premier musicology program in the nation. We owe both of them a huge debt.” Read More: 🔗 Link in Bio ⬆️

Flutist, UCLA instructor, composer and ubiquitous ...

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Flutist, UCLA instructor, composer and ubiquitous studio musician Sheridon Stokes passed away in July 2022. His career as a classical flutist and studio musician spanned over six decades. He was a beloved UCLA faculty member for nearly forty-five years and an anchor of the music performance wing of the music department before it became The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.
“Sheridon’s career is inseparable from Los Angeles,” said Neal Stulberg, director of orchestral studies at The Herb Alpert School of Music. “He had a connection to its golden age that was lifelong.” In Memoriam: 🔗 Link in Bio ⬆️

David Kaplan has plans for the Shapiro chair. ...

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David Kaplan has plans for the Shapiro chair. “The opportunity of a gift like this is that it can create truly big things,” said Kaplan, assistant professor of piano performance.
Shirley and Ralph Shapiro donated $1 million to establish the Shapiro Family Chair in Piano Performance. The gift primarily supports a faculty member in The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and students in piano performance, and David Kaplan is the inaugural chair holder. Learn about Professor Kaplan's ambitions for the chair. Read More: 🔗 Link in Bio ⬆️

How often do you get to “premiere” a Richard ...

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How often do you get to “premiere” a Richard Strauss opera? Not very often. Strauss is considered one of the great composers of late Romantic opera, and his works are well known and widely performed. However, Strauss’s The Silent Woman (Die Schweigsame Frau) has only been performed a handful of times in the U.S. and Europe, and is ripe for an intriguing rediscovery. Jana McIntyre, an alumna of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music (class of 2014), will sing the role of Aminta with Bard Summerscape Festival at Bard College from July 22 through July 31. It promises to be an imaginative rendering of Strauss’s truly comic, Italian-inspired opera, with an elaborate set, colorful costumes and precision staging. Read More: 🔗 Link in Bio ⬆️

Duane Benjamin’s latest project involved just a ...

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Duane Benjamin’s latest project involved just a single track. He orchestrated and co-produced it, hired live musicians, and directed them during a live video shoot. The video “Proof” by K-Pop super band BTS (@bts.bighitofficial) garnered 12 million views on its first day, and now is approaching 20 million views.
It’s all in a day’s work for Duane Benjamin, who teaches in the Global Jazz Studies inter-departmental program at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. That is, when he’s not orchestrating music for television shows like The Voice and American Idol. But Benjamin (nickname Ben-jamin’) is not just a recording producer and orchestrator. A jazz and R&B trombonist, he has also recorded with legends like the Count Basie Orchestra, Marvin Gaye, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stanley Clark, and Diana Ross, and with contemporary artists including Justin Timberlake and Jamiroquai. Read More about Duane Benjamin's collaboration with BTS: 🔗 Link In Bio ⬆️

Don't miss TONIGHT's live jazz ...

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Don't miss TONIGHT's live jazz performance by UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music students in Westwood Village, CA. Bring your family and friends and enjoy an outdoor movie screening of Disney and Pixar's Soul, play games, and more!
RSVP for FREE: 🔗 Link in Bio ⬆️
#UCLAFirstThursdays

This time tomorrow, five wildly talented jazz ...

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This time tomorrow, five wildly talented jazz students from @UCLAAlpert will be performing at #UCLAFirstThursdays. Don't miss this performance by Earth Foundation (Dalton Mumphrey, Colin McClure, Chris Ruiz, Raven Adair, and Oliver Cooper.) Bring your families and a blanket and join us in Westwood Village on July 7th from 7–10PM for this special performance, plus an outdoor evening screening of Disney/Pixar’s “Soul,” games, food trucks, a photo-op and giveaways from Disney/Pixar. LINK IN BIO 🔗 ⬆️

Today at Noon PST! Acclaimed Klezmer-rock band ...

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Today at Noon PST! Acclaimed Klezmer-rock band @mostlykosher highlights their new album This World is Yours in this Secret Chord Concert, filmed in UCLA's beautiful recording studio. The performance features modern protest music, challenging norms of intolerance and indifference, including songs inspired by the band's work with Los Angeles's unhoused population through the Urban Voices Project, co-founded by Leeav Sofer, frontman of Mostly Kosher. **YouTube Premiere Link in Bio 🔗 ⬆️** ... Find out more about this series presented with @weitzmanmuseum and this season’s lineup at www.uclamaje.com (link in bio). All #SecretChorsConcerts Episodes will premiere on their release date on the @weitzmanmuseum Facebook Page and the @uclamaje YouTube page. The series will be available on-demand after the event on those sites as well as The Weitzman’s website. #uclamaje #ucla #americanjewishmusic #herbalpertschoolofmusic #mostlykosher #weitzmannmajh @uclamaje

Congratulations to all of the 2022 Graduates!
...

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Congratulations to all of the 2022 Graduates! On Friday, June 10, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music honored its newest graduates in an engaging commencement celebration featuring student speakers and an inspiring keynote address by National Endowment for The Arts Chair Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson. The event also included special performances by the school of music’s commencement brass ensemble, the African Drum Ensemble, and Mariachi de Uclatlán. The UCLA Alma Mater was sung by Christina Perez. We are so proud of these graduates and their astounding success in the face of many challenges. We wish them well as they take their leadership, creativity, and dedication to music out into the world. View a photo album of the celebration or watch the full ceremony on demand, Links in Bio ⬆️

#SecretChordConcerts Episode 2 premieres on ...

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#SecretChordConcerts Episode 2 premieres on Wednesday, July 6th, at 12pm PT featuring @mostlykosher! Don’t miss the acclaimed Klezmer-rock band that is boldly redefining Judaic and American cultural music. Find out more about this series presented with @weitzmanmuseum and this season’s lineup at www.uclamaje.com (🔗 link in bio) All #SecretChorsConcerts Episodes will premiere on their release date on the @weitzmanmuseum Facebook Page and the @uclamaje YouTube page. The series will be available on-demand after the event on those sites as well as The Weitzman’s website. #thisisuclamusic #uclamaje #ucla #americanjewishmusic #herbalpertschoolofmusic #mostlykosher #weitzmannmajh #ThisIsUCLAMusic

UCLA has established the Shapiro Family Chair in ...

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UCLA has established the Shapiro Family Chair in Piano Performance, made possible by a $1 million gift from alumni Shirley and Ralph Shapiro. David Kaplan, an assistant professor of piano performance and music performance, will serve as the inaugural chair holder. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music from UCLA in 2005 and joined the faculty in 2016, the year the music school was founded. “I’m deeply honored to serve as the inaugural Shapiro Family Chair in Piano Performance,” Kaplan said. “I joined the faculty relatively recently, but my roots at UCLA are much deeper. I wouldn’t be the artist, person and teacher I am today without this school, so I’m thrilled that the Shapiros’ generosity is going to serve many future generations of UCLA piano students.” READ MORE: 🔗 Link in Bio ⬆️

“The pandemic’s influence on higher education ...

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“The pandemic’s influence on higher education will be long-lasting and transformative – but not necessarily negative.” Read the latest @latimes op-ed by Stephen J. Handel and School of Music Inaugural Dean Eileen Strempel featuring their “Beyond Free College” research. Link in Bio ⬆️

In celebration of commencement, we are thrilled to...

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In celebration of commencement, we are thrilled to introduce our 2022 student commencement speakers! 🎉🎵💙 Our Graduate Commencement Speaker is Mx. Kim Mendez-McLeish, who has been involved in music, choral singing, and musical theater productions for over 30 years. 🎙 This year, Kim was a Seraphic Fire Ensemble Artist through UCLA Choral Studies and performed twice with Seraphic Fire in Miami. Additionally, they performed with the UCLA Chamber Singers on the 2020/21 Grammy winning recording of Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua with the Buffalo Philharmonic. 🏆 They have enjoyed community connection through music with The West Coast Singers, the LGBT+ Chorus of Los Angeles, and worked with Uclatlán, the UCLA Mariachi ensemble during their time there. 💙 Our Undergraduate Commencement Speaker this year is Herman Luis Chavez. Raised by Bolivian immigrants, Herman researches the paradigms of Latin American aesthetics with cultural and social policy. Their honors thesis as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow investigates the coloniality surrounding Bolivian composer and musicologist Atiliano Auza León. 🇧🇴 In their time at UCLA, Herman has performed in the UCLA Symphony, Old Time String Band, and Music of India ensemble. They worked at the Hammer Museum, Academic Advancement Program and Transfer Student Center, taught a course through the Undergraduate Student Initiated Education program, and served as the Transfer Student Representative in the Undergraduate Students Association Council. 🎉🥳 Congratulations to all our graduates! We look forward to hosting you, your families and your friends on campus at this week’s commencement ceremonies. 💙🐻 #ThisisUCLA #UCLA2022 #UCLAGrad

As we approach the end of the school year, we’re...

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As we approach the end of the school year, we’re excited to announce that Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, the 13th chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) (@neaarts), will deliver the keynote address at the @UCLAAlpert 2022 commencement celebration, which will be held in Dixon Court North on Friday, June 10 at 4 p.m. PT. 🎓 Born and raised in South Los Angeles, Dr. Jackson is the nation’s first African American and Mexican American woman to be appointed as chair of @NEAarts, an independent federal agency that is the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts. By advancing equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, the NEA fosters and sustains an environment in which the arts benefit everyone in the United States. 📚🎨🎵 “We are thrilled that Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson will be participating in The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s 2022 commencement celebration,” said inaugural dean Eileen Strempel. “Dr. Jackson understands that the arts are a transformative force in our communities. Her tireless commitment to attracting national attention to the value of the arts and broadening accessibility to the arts is inspiring, as is her desire to share words of encouragement with our students and provide a guiding light as they reach this critical milestone.” 🎉 Congratulations to all our graduates! We can’t wait to celebrate all your hard work 💙💛 To learn more about Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson and the commencement, click the link in our bio ⬆️
#ThisisUCLAMusic #Classof2022 #UCLA2022 #Commencement #Music

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WELCOME BACK TO THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC

WELCOME BACK TO THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC

The School of Music is excited to welcome new and returning students back to campus. This page includes COVID-19 policies specific to the School of Music, links to campus resources for learning, teaching and safeguarding our musical community this fall.

Please check back here regularly. We will update this page as new information becomes available.

Welcome Back to the School of Music

Celebrating William Kraft, Los Angeles New Music Legend

On Saturday, October 1, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will host a celebration of William Kraft. Kraft, who taught composition at UCLA in the 1980s after a thirty-year career in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, was an indispensable feature of Los Angeles’s vibrant new music scene in the post-World War II era. “Bill was

A Warm Welcome Back to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

Photos by Juan Tallo At an event in Schoenberg Hall on Sept. 21, associate dean Robert Fink welcomed students back to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for the 2022-23 academic year – the first year most of the community had been together in person since the pandemic began. Students ranging from first-years brand

Meet Ken Fisher, Associate Director of that Solid Gold Sound

The Solid Gold Sound of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band is, to say the least, world traveled. The band has performed in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The band has opened for the Rolling Stones, backed up Gwen Stefani, and recorded with BTS on its best-selling album Map of the Soul: 7. The video of

2022-23 Events Spotlight at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

The Statement Series Towering figures in the music world, both invited guests and members of our own world-class faculty, bring you a unique experience. From peerless performers to accomplished scholars, come and experience artists who make a statement. Bach’s cello suites are an enduring classic. Come hear them performed in the acoustic and visual wonder

Music Education Hire Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen Puts Students First

Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen was driving back to her house when the call came. “I was driving down one of those beautiful rural highways in New England, in the woods,” recalled Gamboa-Kroesen. It was 2006, and she was in the final stages of completing her M.M.Ed. at the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, Connecticut. She

In Memoriam Ron Logan

In the summer of 1961, Ron Logan traveled with the UCLA band for a tour of Europe. The senior trumpet major led a breakout jazz band that played for King Frederick of Denmark. In attendance as a special guest of the king was Walt Disney. It turned out to be an omen. Logan, who graduated

Ethnomusicology

Ethnomusicology
The study of musical traditions from around the world through hands-on performance training and academic study.
Music

Music
The study of Western classical music with specializations in performance, composition, conducting, and music education.
Musicology

Musicology
The scholarly study of the histories, cultures, and critical interpretations of music and music-making.

Global Jazz Studies

Global Jazz Studies
A cross-disciplinary curriculum pairing music performance, studio instruction and musicianship courses with African American Studies.
Music Industry

Music Industry
A practical program helping students discover and prepare for music-related careers though coursework, events, and internship opportunities.

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