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.
Music Performance
Master of Music / DMA

Music
Illuminated
Performance Areas

Student Perspectives:
Irina Bazik
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 - Saxophone, Head of Woodwinds, Vice Chair of the Department of Music Performance, Education, and Composition, Special Assistant to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring
James Bass
Professor and Chair of the Department of Music Performance, Education, and Composition, Director of Choral Studies
John Buffett
Lecturer - Choral Studies, Voice
Christoph Bull
Adjunct Professor - Organ Performance
Wendy Caldwell
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Noel Cano Hearn
Lecturer - Alexander Technique and Music Education
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
James Darrah
Professor - Director of Opera UCLA
Jonathan Davis
Lecturer - Oboe Performance
Michael Dean
Professor - Voice Performance
Theresa Dimond
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Inna Faliks
Professor - Head of Piano Performance
Cheryl Lin Fielding
Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Aubrey Foard
Lecturer - Tuba Performance
Mircea Gogoncea
Lecturer - Guitar
Juliana Gondek
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Gregory Goodall
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Rakefet Hak
Continuing Lecturer - Opera UCLA
Chris Hanulik
Adjunct Professor - String Bass Performance; Principal Bass LA Phil
David Kaplan
Inaugural Shapiro Family Professor in Piano Performance
William Kinderman
Distinguished Professor and Elaine Krown Klein Professor 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
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