The Bachelor of Arts in Composition is specifically interested in welcoming composers who demonstrate extraordinary intellectual curiosity and whose primary goal is to communicate with others on a profoundly human level. The program emphasizes the collaborative relationship between composers and performers in such a way that a simulated professional experience is achieved. The school’s renowned composition faculty expect students to acquire and master basic skills, which involves an intensive study of: music theory (written and oral), counterpoint, orchestration, analysis, technology, performance, the traditional Western canon and its history, in tandem with the study of popular, jazz, rock, folk, and non-Western traditions. Students who successfully complete the B.A. at UCLA are prepared to enter the professional world as practicing artists, film composers, or to continue with graduate studies at the highest level.
Music Composition
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Featured Alumni
Jake Heggie ’84, M.A. ’05
B.A. Composition ’84, M.A. Composition ’05
Jake Heggie is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestral and chamber music. He is best known for his operas and art songs, as well as for his collaborations with internationally-renowned performers and writers. Hailed by the Associated Press as “one of the pre-eminent contemporary opera composers,” Heggie is most known for his contributions to the American operatic repertoire, which includes “Dead Man Walking,” “Moby-Dick,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and “Three Decembers,” among others. His work has been produced on five continents at some of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. In September 2021, “Dead Man Walking” received its 71st production at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet in Oslo, Norway, making it the most widely performed American opera of the 21st century.
Read more to learn about his experiences at UCLA, the silver linings of challenges throughout his career and advice for young musical artists.
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Composition Faculty
Andreas Foivos Apostolou
Composition for Visual Media
Richard Danielpour
Distinguished Professor; Director of Gramian-Emrani Center for Iranian Music
Dante De Silva
Lecturer - Composition and Music Theory
Peter Golub
Lecturer - Composition, Music and Film
Ian Krouse
Distinguished Professor - Co-Area Head, Composition
David Lefkowitz
Professor - Composition, Vice Chair of the Department of Music
Noah Meites
Lecturer - Music Theory
Dwayne Milburn
Lecturer - Conducting and Composition
Hitomi Oba
Lecturer and Director of Contemporary Jazz Ensemble
Shahab Paranj
Gramian-Emrani Postdoctoral Fellow in Music and Lecturer - Composition, contemporary concert music
Related News
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Bruins Who Score- UCLA's film composition students
Anything but generic, UCLA’s Composing for Visual Media Program, which awarded its first degree in 2008, provides exposure to a broad range of musical styles, as well as what Lefkowitz calls a “focus on fundamentals” — long a hallmark of UCLA’s curriculum.
Richard Danielpour presents The Passion of Yeshua at the Oregon Bach Festival
“Yeshua,” co-commissioned by OBF, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Soli Deo Gloria Music Foundation, will receive another performance in December at UCLA.
‘Inside the (G)Earbox: John Adams @ 70’: an up-close look at America’s most innovative composer
Composer John Adams turns 70 this month, and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is joining the world-wide celebration with a daylong symposium, “Inside the (G)Earbox: John Adams @
Composer Jon Jang will be artist-in-residence at UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Department of Ethnomusicology will welcome pianist and composer Jon Jang for a week-long artist residency, from Jan. 16-20. Jang’s music has been likened
GRAMMY Nominations at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
The 60th GRAMMY Award nominations, announced recently by the Recording Academy, include a handful of UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music faculty, artists-in-residence, staff or alumni, among them Richard Danielpour,
UCLA to host first piano festival devoted to contemporary canonic works
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music presents the “Dialogues and Re-imaginings Piano Festival,” a three-day event that will feature the responses of contemporary composers to canonic works for the piano.
Feb 11 Tue
8:00pm
Free
Free
contemporary
Winter Undergraduate Composers' Concert Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for an evening highlighting the music of undergraduate student composers. This event is made possible by the David and Irmgard Dobrow Fund.
Ensemble Room: Ostin Music Center
Feb 18 Tue
8:00pm
Free
Free
classical, contemporary
Winter Graduate Composers' Concert The graduate-level students of the UCLA Department of Music Composition Area showcase their latest works. Join us for a variety of creative, unique, and emotive pieces. This event is made
Ensemble Room: Ostin Music Center
May 1 Thu
8:00pm
Free
Free
contemporary
Faculty Composers' Concert Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for an evening featuring a vivid program of original music by our UCLA Composition Faculty. This event is made possible by the
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