Michael Beckerman is Dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He is a leading music historian and public intellectual. His groundbreaking studies of Central European composers have been described as “ingeniously conceived” and “brilliant,” and his work has...

Helen Rees is a specialist in Chinese music, which she studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music as a British Council scholar (1987–1989). She has conducted extensive field and archival research on ritual music, music and tourism, and musicians’ lives...

Canadian American saxophonist Jan Berry Baker has performed as a concerto soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician on many of the world’s great stages.  Recent engagements have taken her across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, France, Germany, Scotland, England, Switzerland,...

Travis J. Cross (he/him) serves as professor of music and director of bands at UCLA, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and leads the graduate wind conducting program. He chaired the music department from 2018–23 and was associate dean for...

Helen Rees is a specialist in Chinese music, which she studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music as a British Council scholar (1987–1989). She has conducted extensive field and archival research on ritual music, music and tourism, and musicians’ lives...

Salim Washington is a composer and multi instrumentalist, playing tenor sax, flute, oboe and bass clarinet. He has played and recorded with many of the luminaries of the art form, and has been featured in festivals and other venues throughout...

Joy H. Calico is professor of musicology and chair of the Department of Musicology. Her scholarship focuses on interdisciplinary Cold War cultural politics, opera since 1900, and Arnold Schoenberg. Her current projects include a theory of twentieth- and twenty-first-century opera...

James K. Bass, GRAMMY®-winning singer and conductor, is professor and chair of the Department of Music Performance, Education & Composition, and director of choral studies at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He is the associate conductor for the...

Robert Fink is Professor of Musicology and Music Industry, and the director of the Berry Gordy Music Industry Center. Trained as a music theorist and musicologist, his primary areas of interest include musical analysis, avant-garde and minimal music, popular music...

Mark Kligman is the Inaugural holder of the Mickey Katz Endowed Chair in Jewish Music at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music where he is a professor of Ethnomusicology and Musicology.  He specializes in the liturgical traditions of Middle...

Tiffany Naiman is the director of music industry programs and an assistant teaching professor at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, as well as a lecturer in the department of musicology. She is a feminist scholar of aging and disability in...

Iranian-born composer, conductor, instrumentalist, and educator Shahab Paranj holds degrees in music composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is considered one of the pioneers among his...

Melissa Bilal is a sociocultural anthropologist and historian specializing in music and performance studies, gender and sexuality studies, and memory studies. Her ethnographic research explores the role of music in the transmission of Armenian memory in Turkey, while her archival...

Steven Loza is a professor of ethnomusicology at UCLA, where he has been on the faculty for thirty-four years, and also served as professor of music at the University of New Mexico, where he formerly directed the Arts of the...

Holley Replogle-Wong received her PhD in Musicology from UCLA in 2009. She teaches courses on film music, American musical theater, and popular music in the Department of Musicology at UCLA, and is the Program Director of the UCLA Center for Musical Humanities. Holley...

Helen Rees is a specialist in Chinese music, which she studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music as a British Council scholar (1987–1989). She has conducted extensive field and archival research on ritual music, music and tourism, and musicians’ lives...

Adam Fox was appointed interim assistant dean on May 1, 2026. He has served as director of student affairs, and joined The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music with over five years of professional experience supporting and advising performing artists. Prior...

Andrea Arias joined The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in November 2020 as the chief financial officer. In addition to her duties as CFO, she also oversees HR matters for staff, academic student employees, and graduate student researchers. Andrea...

Shannon Tyra comes to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as the director of operations with over 35 years of experience at UCLA Health. She leads a small but mighty team focused on facility and equipment management and known...

John Ho-Joon Lee joined The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as the MSO of the ethnomusicology and musicology departments in 2018.  Lee began working at UCLA in 2011 at the career center and most recently served as the operations...

Luis currently serves as the director of the recording studio in the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center as well as the director of music technology and production. In these capacities, Luis supports faculty and students by planning, designing, and...

Lindsey joined The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in the Fall of 2023. She has over 10 years experience working in higher education, including in positions at the University of South Dakota and the American Musical and the Dramatic...

In 2023, Dawnyelle joined The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as the manager for the Music Industry Program. In her role, she is responsible for the overall budget and finances and administration of the Music Industry Program and the...

Robert Baker writes news stories, press releases and social media copy for The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and for publications more broadly. He is always interested in student, faculty and alumni news and profiles. Please reach out to...