Music Performance

Master of Music / DMA

Music
Illuminated

Graduate music performance in the UCLA Department of Music combines intensive individual applied study and ensemble collaboration with courses designed to illuminate musical context and stimulate creativity, curiosity, and interpretation. Students pursuing the Master of Music (M.M.) and Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degrees learn from master artist-teachers, dynamic ensemble directors and chamber music coaches, and scholars dedicated to informed and relevant performance of Western classical music. The D.M.A. program, in particular, is intentionally small and designed for students with outstanding performance ability, extraordinary intellectual curiosity, and a well-articulated musical research agenda. All this happens within the multi-disciplinary community of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the academic energy of America’s premier public research university, and the excitement of one of the world’s most vibrant and diverse cultural capitals.

Student Perspectives:<br />
Irina Bazik
Student Perspectives:
Irina Bazik

“I chose The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for an opportunity to work closely with Professor Inna Faliks (pictured right). I admire her artistry and feel fortunate for the years we spent together. I am also  grateful that every single class I took during my studies at UCLA made me a better artist and scholar.” – Irina Bazik DMA ’21 | Music Performance

Music Performance Faculty

Boris Allakhverdyan
Lecturer - Clarinet Performance, Principal Clarinet LA Philharmonic
Ji Young An
Lecturer - Violin Performance
Jan Berry Baker
Professor of Saxophone, Vice Chair of the Department of Music, Special Assistant to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring
James Bass
Professor and Chair of the Department of Music, Director of Choral Studies
John Buffett
Lecturer--Choral Studies, Voice
Christoph Bull
Adjunct Professor - Organ Performance
Wendy Caldwell
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Che-Yen Chen
Professor - Viola Performance
Gloria Cheng
Adjunct Professor - Contemporary Music, Performance Studies
Vladimir Chernov
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Travis J. Cross
Professor - Conducting, Director of Bands
Jonathan Davis
Lecturer - Oboe Performance
Michael Dean
Professor - Voice Performance
Theresa Dimond
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Inna Faliks
Professor - Head of Piano
Cheryl Lin Fielding
Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Aubrey Foard
Lecturer - Tuba Performance
Juliana Gondek
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Gregory Goodall
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Rakefet Hak
Lecturer - Music Director of Opera UCLA
Chris Hanulik
Adjunct Professor - String Bass Performance; Principal Bass LA Phil
Ben Hong
Lecturer - Cello Performance
David Kaplan
Inaugural Shapiro Family Chair in Piano Performance
Peter Kazaras
Distinguished Professor - Director of Opera UCLA
William Kinderman
Distinguished Professor and Elaine Krown Klein Chair in Performance Studies
Victoria Kirsch
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Sarah Koo Freeman
Visiting Professor - Cello Performance
James Lent
Lecturer - Collaborative Piano
Jens Lindemann
Distinguished Professor - Trumpet Performance
Iris Malkin
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Varty Manouelian
Lecturer - Violin Performance, Violin LA Philharmonic
James Miller
Lecturer - Trombone Performance, Associate Principal Trombone LA Phil
Lou Anne Neill
Lecturer - Harp Performance, Harp LA Philharmonic
Movses Pogossian
Distinguished Professor of Violin; Founder and Advisor, Armenian Music Program - Music Performance
Joshua Ranz
Lecturer - Clarinet Performance
Amy Sanchez
Lecturer - Horn Performance
Benjamin Smolen
Lecturer - Flute Performance
John Steinmetz
Lecturer - Bassoon Performance
Lucy Yates
Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Alumnus Will Baker Wins Position with Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra
William A. Baker graduated cum laude from The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in 2010 with a bachelor’s in music performance, studying euphonium and bass trombone. He earned a master’s degree at Northwestern University and spent several years in Chicago before relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he played frequently with the
Decoda's Album Reviewed in New York Times
The New York Times picked its monthly five albums you can listen to right now, and Decoda’s debut, self-titled album made the list. Praising (among other things) Catherine Gregory’s skillful flute playing, the review concludes that “with performances of this quality, you can see why Carnegie – which just named Decoda its first affiliate ensemble
Jake Heggie, Composer and Alum, to Give 2024 Commencement Address
By Robert Baker By any measure, 2023 was good to Jake Heggie. He had several high-profile world premieres, including his new opera Intelligence with the Houston Grand Opera and his instrumental work “Fire” (part of violinist Joshua Bell’s five-composer commission collectively called The Elements) with the New York Philharmonic. And the New York Metropolitan Opera
James Bass Leads Chicago Symphony Chorus in Stunning Rendition of Mahler's Symphony No. 2
James Bass, director of choral studies and chair of the music department, has recently served as the guest director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Under his direction, the chorus achieved "rich and lustrous vocalism, clearly delineated sections, and impressively clear articulation of the German text, even with 119 singers." The Chicago Symphony likewise soared. Read the full review by Lawrence A. Johnson in Chicago Classical Review.
Debut Album of Decoda, Featuring Faculty Catherine Gregory and David Kaplan, Reviewed
Decoda, the chamber music collective and affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall, just released its first album. Recorded at Tippet Rise Arts Center in Montana, the album explores the concept of revelry as “humanity’s universal need to connect through celebration.” It features a world premiere recording of Valerie Coleman alongside evocative works by Reza Vali and
Inna Faliks Discusses Her New Album on NPR's Morning Edition
Manuscripts Don’t Burn, the latest album by piano professor Inna Faliks, was inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, which she took with her when her family fled Ukraine, when it was part of the Soviet Union. The album’s title comes from a scene where Satan, disguised as one Professor Woland, grants Margarita a

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