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

Master's student Damon Zavala wins Sphinx Orchestral Futurist Fellowship
The National Orchestral Institute + Festival in partnership with the National Philharmonic and the Sphinx Organization has just awarded their 2023 Futurist Fellowships, and first-year viola performance master’s student Damon Zavala is among them. The fellowship provides leadership mentoring and aims to develop the next generation of visionaries and leaders in arts administration. Zavala identified
Alumna Sarah Saturnino Wins Metropolitan Opera's 2023 Laffont Competition
Sarah Saturnino, class of 2016 is one of six winners of the Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Saturnino, who majored in voice performance and minored in music industry, was a student of Juliana Gondek while completing her bachelor’s degree at UCLA.
Meet the Man Transforming Opera As we Know it
Drawing on pop culture and technology, Long Beach Opera’s James Darrah is one of the most exciting directors working today. And he found his love of opera under Peter Kazaras’s mentorship at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. 
UCLA Trumpets Make History at the National Trumpet Competition
The UCLA trumpet studio sent two ensembles to the National Trumpet Competition in Boulder, Colorado. Two of its members, Remy Ohara (second-year undergraduate) and Aric Kline (graduate student) also competed as soloists. It was a big deal. Big enough that both Ohara and Kline made a key decision. “We flew out a day early,” said
Reimagine! Contemporary Piano Pieces with Inspiration from the Past
Pianist Inna Faliks’ project “Reimagine — nine world premieres” includes composers’ responses to Beethoven’s late Op. 126 Bagatelles as wella s Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit. Piano Street enjoyed her performance at the Cremona Musica and got the opportunity to talk to her about her ambitious project.
Euan Shields Wins Siemens Hallé International Conductors Competition
Euan Shields (class of 2021), stood out in a field of over 200 conductors. He will become assistant director of Manchester's Hallé and direct its youth orchestra.
May 31 Wed
8:00pm
Free
classical
Tributes, UCLA Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band Spring Concert
For their final concert of the academic year, the UCLA Symphonic Band and UCLA Wind Ensemble present a concert of all-American music, celebrating connections between composers and recognizing two leaders in the field as they retire from professorial positions. The UCLA Symphonic Band opens with Michael Markowski’s Shadow Rituals, winner of the first Frank Ticheli Composition Contest
Schoenberg Hall
Jun 2 Fri
2:00pm
Free
student-recital
Rebecca Beerstein Violin Recital
Rebecca Beerstein, a student of Varty Manouelian, presents a Senior violin recital. To view this recital online, please click “Watch Livestream”.
Ensemble Room: Evelyn & Mo Ostin Music Center
Jun 2 Fri
5:00pm
Free
student-recital
Ela Kodzas Violin Recital
Ela Kodzas, a student of Movses Pogossian, presents a Masters violin recital. To view this recital online, please click “Watch Livestream”.
Ensemble Room: Evelyn & Mo Ostin Music Center

Explore Other Degrees

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Graduate study and training in choral, orchestral, or wind conducting
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The study of global musical traditions through performance training, research, and field work
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Jazz performance and musicianship courses are paired with African American Studies
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Mentorship in the creation and realization of music for concerts, opera, and visual media
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Preparation for music educators leading to a B.A. and teaching credential in just four years
Music History & Industry
Combining Musicology and the Music Industry minor for practical hands-on training with the study of music within the context of different societies, cultures, and theories
Music Industry
Industry professionals and UCLA faculty prepare students for music-related careers
Musicology
The scholarly study of the histories, cultures, and critical interpretations of music and music-making
Music Performance
Study and training towards professional performance careers in Western classical music