Through a special pledge by Mike Curb, California’s former lieutenant and acting governor, and music industry veteran, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will begin construction on a new student recording facility in the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center in 2025. The generous gift builds upon a philanthropic partnership between the Mike Curb Foundation and the school of music which traces back more than a decade.
“I am very pleased to extend my commitment to create a creative lab space that will serve as a training ground for young music professionals to hone their skills and master their craft at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music,” said Mike Curb. “We are proud to be joining our support with philanthropists and music industry pioneers Herb Alpert, Mo Ostin and Berry Gordy.”
The Mike Curb Foundation made its first gift to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in 2012, then providing funding for the creation of a computer music lab in the Ostin Music Center. The new funds provide for a complete renovation of that space, allowing the creation of the Mike Curb Student Recording Facility, as well as two new mixing/editing rooms and faculty studios.
“Mike Curb has a passion for educational philanthropy,” said Eileen Stempel, inaugural dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. “We are thrilled that he has provided our students with professional-level facilities to foster their development. This will be a significant enhancement for our music industry program.”
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music has been named a top music business school by Billboard Magazine since becoming a stand-alone school in 2016. In 2023, the school of music launched an independent music industry program. Taught by an interdisciplinary faculty of academic researchers and working professionals, the program draws on the school of music’s substantial resources, including two large theaters, one of the world’s most comprehensive music instrument collections and the UCLA music library, the largest in Southern California. Along with the recently established Berry Gordy Music Industry Center, the music industry program supports course development, and facilitates internships and professional opportunities with industry professionals.
“Music industry students require professional level facilities to apprentice in, while also having their own creative space to experiment and explore their musical ideas,” said Robert Fink, special academic senior associate dean and inaugural chair of the music industry program. “We are excited to be opening the Mike Curb Student Recording Facility, so we can provide our students even more opportunities to develop these industry critical skills.”
The gift from the Mike Curb Foundation follows the Foundation’s mission and history of supporting education and culture. Since its inception over twenty years ago, the Mike Curb Foundation has provided more than $200 million in grants and gifts to support education, culture and arts, historic preservation, programs to alleviate homelessness and other community projects and services. It is committed to a charitable program that reinforces founder Mike Curb’s desire to give back to the community and inspire others to do the same.
ABOUT THE UCLA HERB ALPERT SCHOOL OF MUSIC
The school of music prepares students for twenty-first century music careers. Home to renowned musical scholars, music industry experts and world-class musicians, educators and composers within one institution, the school of music offers students an interdisciplinary education that prizes music performance and scholarship while also emphasizing active engagement in the greater Los Angeles community. Esteeming all musical traditions as vital expressions of an evolving global society, the school of music boasts over 40 ensembles performing music from around the world. Founded in 2008 with a naming gift of $30 million from the Herb Alpert Foundation, the school of music was formally established as UCLA’s 12th professional school by the UC Regents in 2016. The school originally comprised the departments of ethnomusicology, music and musicology, and has since added interdisciplinary programs in global jazz studies and music industry, and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance. School of music graduates and faculty members are recipients of prestigious MacArthur fellowships, Grammy Awards and Emmy Awards, and are leaders as composers, musicians, educators, scholars and innovators in the music industry. Learn more at www.schoolofmusic.ucla.edu.
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