Our purpose is to transform the string student into an independent young colleague. Our strength lies in our unique holistic pedagogical approach and the multitude of diverse learning and performance opportunities available to them. We seek for each student to explore the power of musical communication and to help them acquire the tools to express themselves at their highest potential. The String Area’s strength is in its dedication to communication through the art of mastering the instrument to the best of one’s ability – as a philosophy, and compass that everyone can benefit from. Whether by virtue of in-depth studio lessons and classes, or performing opportunities, experimentation and research, students learn how to focus, contemplate, share, lead, follow, and ultimately equip themselves with the tools to express themselves confidently.

Strings Faculty

Ji Young An
Lecturer - Violin Performance
Che-Yen Chen
Professor - Viola Performance
Chris Hanulik
Adjunct Professor - String Bass Performance; Principal Bass LA Phil
Ben Hong
Lecturer - Cello Performance
Ela Kodžas
VEM Ensemble, Violin
Sarah Koo Freeman
Visiting Professor - Cello Performance
Varty Manouelian
Lecturer - Violin Performance, Violin LA Philharmonic
Lou Anne Neill
Lecturer - Harp Performance, Harp LA Philharmonic
Movses Pogossian
Distinguished Professor of Violin; Founder and Advisor, Armenian Music Program - Music Performance
Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner

“One of the most memorable musical student/teacher interactions I have ever witnessed occurred during a concert I attended in Tuscany last summer near Montepulciano. A group of exceptionally gifted young students from the UCLA string department performed an array of classical and contemporary works together with their distinguished professors – Movses Pogossian, Guillaume Sutre, and Antonio Lysy. The results were breathtaking and brilliant.”

Feb 26 Wed
8:00pm
Free
classical, contemporary
Vladimir Chernov and Alexander Boldachev in Recital
Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for a vibrant night of music featuring Professor Vladimir Chernov and guest harpist Alexander Boldachev.   About Alexander Boldachev: Alexander Boldachev is
Schoenberg Hall
Feb 27 Thu
8:00pm
Free
classical, contemporary
UCLA Philharmonia
Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for an evening of music with the UCLA Philharmonia.   UCLA Philharmonia is the flagship orchestra of the UCLA Herb Alpert School
Schoenberg Hall
Feb 28 Fri
7:00pm
Free
classical
Camarades - Winter Vivaldi
Join us for the string area’s annual Vivaldi concert, featuring first year students as soloists in the historic Schoenberg Hall. UCLA Camarades (“The Music of Friends”) is the title given
Schoenberg Hall
67th GRAMMY Award Winners
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is proud to share that faculty and alumni were well represented at the 67th GRAMMY Awards. In all, thirteen faculty and six alums
Louisville Orchestra Remembers its Concertmaster with an Opera He Played in a Nazi Concentration Camp
Adam Millstein, doctoral student in violin performance at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, was the producer for Der Kaiser von Atlantis for the Louisville Orchestra.
Serenade with a Dandelion Named a Top Classical Album in 2024
Long-running and influential online magazine Textura has just released its top 20 lists for classical and jazz recordings of 2024. Coming in at number three on the list for quartet, ensemble or

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