Regina Carter-Garnett
Professor

A recipient of the 2023 NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship, a MacArthur “genius” award, and a Doris Duke Artist Award, violinist Regina Carter has been widely hailed for her mastery of the instrument and her drive to expand its possibilities. Her current project, Gone in a Phrase of Air, is a musical, spoken word, and media exploration of the impact of urban renewal beginning in the 1950s on Black and immigrant communities and the displacement that resulted—of people and culture—from neighborhoods in Regina’s hometown of Detroit to others in St. Louis, Chicago, New York City, and elsewhere. In the work’s collection of original and reimagined music of the era, Regina shines a spotlight on what’s been lost—gone in a phrase of air—then finds celebration in the ashes.

Regina began studying violin at the age of four using the Suzuki method. She attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit, and her training continued at the New England Conservatory of Music and at Oakland University in Michigan.

A winner of multiple readers’ and critics’ poll awards from DownBeat, JazzTimes, and other publications and a three time Grammy nominee, Regina tours with her own group and has appeared frequently as a guest soloist, including with such performers as Wynton Marsalis and JALC, Kenny Barron, Arturo O’Farrill, the late bassist Ray Brown, Omara Portundo, Chucho Valdes, Mary J Blige, Dolly Parton , Rhiannon Giddens, Steve Turre, Stefon Harris, the late Aretha Franklin, Joe Jackson, Billy Joel, Akua Dixon, Cassandra Wilson, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Eddie Palmieri, Papo Vasquez and others.

Her albums include a self-titled solo debut Regina Carter (Atlantic 1995), Something for Grace (Atlantic 1997), Rhythms of the Heart (Verve 1999), Motor City Moments (Verve 2000),Paganini: After a Dream (Verve,2003), on which she made history by being the first non-classical violinist to play Niccolò Paganini’s Il Cannone, I’ll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey (Verve 2006), Reverse Thread (E1 Music, 2010), Southern Comfort (Sony Masterworks, 2014); Ella: Accentuate the Positive (OKeh, 2017); and Swing States: Harmony in the Battleground (Tiger Turn, 2020).

Regina recently joined the esteemed faculty of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Past positions have included being on faculty at Manhattan School of Music and New Jersey City University, resident artist for San Francisco Performances and resident artistic director for SFJAZZ. She has also served three times as a jurist for the Pulitzer Prize for music and as a film and music panelist for the Kresge Artist Fellowships. She received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Albion College in 2006
Regina resides in Maywood, New Jersey, with her husband drummer, composer, and educator Alvester Garnett. She also volunteers as an End-of-Life Doula.

Dante De Silva
Lecturer - Composition and Music Theory
Ian Krouse
Distinguished Professor - Co-Area Head, Composition
Richard Danielpour
Distinguished Professor; Director of Gramian-Emrani Center for Iranian Music
Lindsey Beardsley
Manager - Department of Music Performance, Education and Composition
James Darrah
Professor - Director of Opera UCLA
Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen
Assistant Professor - Music Education
William Kinderman
Distinguished Professor and Elaine Krown Klein Chair in Performance Studies
Jan Berry Baker
Professor - Saxophone, Head of Woodwinds, Vice Chair of the Department of Music, Special Assistant to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring
David Lefkowitz
Professor - Composition, Vice Chair of the Department of Music
Kay Rhie
Assistant Professor - Composition
Aubrey Foard
Lecturer - Tuba Performance
Travis J. Cross
Professor - Conducting, Director of Bands
Arturo O’Farrill
Director, UCLA Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra; Professor
Rakefet Hak
Continuing Lecturer - Opera UCLA
Michael Dean
Professor - Voice Performance
David Kaplan
Inaugural Shapiro Family Chair in Piano Performance
Che-Yen Chen
Professor - Viola Performance
James Lent
Lecturer - Collaborative Piano
Ryan Brown
Lecturer - Choral Studies and Music Education
Hitomi Oba
Lecturer and Director of Contemporary Jazz Ensemble
Lou Anne Neill
Lecturer - Harp Performance, Harp LA Philharmonic
Varty Manouelian
Lecturer - Violin Performance, Violin LA Philharmonic
Camilo Cedeno
Assistant to the Chair - Department of Music Performance, Education and Composition
Chris Hanulik
Adjunct Professor - String Bass Performance; Principal Bass LA Phil
Melissa Bilal
The Promise Chair in Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture, Director of Armenian Music Program
Iris Malkin
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Ben Hong
Lecturer - Cello Performance
Andrew Ordonez
Events Manager - Department of Music Performance, Education and Composition
Cheryl Lin Fielding
Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Wendy Richman
Lecturer - Performance Studies
Dwayne Milburn
Lecturer - Conducting and Composition
James Miller
Lecturer - Trombone Performance, Associate Principal Trombone LA Phil
Jonathan Davis
Lecturer - Oboe Performance
Lily Chen-Hafteck
Professor - Music Education, Special Assistant to the Inaugural Dean for Curricular Reform
Inna Faliks
Professor - Head of Piano
Nick DePinna
Adjunct Assistant Professor - Musicianship
James Bass
Professor and Chair of the Department of Music, Director of Choral Studies
Alison Deane
Associate Adjunct Professor
Shahab Paranj
Gramian-Emrani Postdoctoral Fellow in Music and Lecturer - Composition, contemporary concert music
Christoph Bull
Adjunct Professor - Organ Performance
Amy Sanchez
Lecturer - Horn Performance
Noel Cano Hearn
Lecturer - Alexander Technique and Music Education
Sarah Koo Freeman
Visiting Professor - Cello Performance
Wendy Caldwell
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Ji Young An
Lecturer - Violin Performance
Vladimir Chernov
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Mildred Yi
Lecturer - Music Education
Juliana Gondek
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Movses Pogossian
Distinguished Professor of Violin; Founder and Advisor, Armenian Music Program - Music Performance
Joshua Ranz
Lecturer - Clarinet Performance
Lucy Yates
Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Gloria Cheng
Adjunct Professor - Contemporary Music, Performance Studies
Jens Lindemann
Distinguished Professor - Trumpet Performance
Neal Stulberg
Professor - Conducting, Director of Orchestral Studies
Theresa Dimond
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Noah Meites
Lecturer - Music Theory
Victoria Kirsch
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Benjamin Smolen
Lecturer - Flute Performance
Boris Allakhverdyan
Lecturer - Clarinet Performance, Principal Clarinet LA Philharmonic
Brendan McBrien
Lecturer - Music Education
John Steinmetz
Lecturer - Bassoon Performance
Peter Golub
Lecturer - Composition, Music and Film
Gregory Goodall
Lecturer - Percussion Performance

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