Strings - The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

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
Continuing Lecturer - Violin Performance
Regina Carter-Garnett
Professor - Music Performance and Global Jazz Studies
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
Varty Manouelian
Continuing Lecturer - Violin Performance, Violin LA Philharmonic
Lou Anne Neill
Continuing 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.”

Mar 12 Thu
7:00pm
Free
chamber-music, classical
Camarades
UCLA Camarades (“The Music of Friends”) is the title given to the chamber music program that is guided and driven by the String Department. It offers superior coaching to all
Band Room, 1345 Schoenberg Music Building Learn More
Mar 14 Sat
2:00pm
Free
chamber-music, classical
Ehnes Quartet Open Rehearsal
Rare behind-the-scenes access: Step inside the rehearsal room and watch the world-renowned Ehnes Quartet bring Beethoven’s revolutionary quartets to life as they prepare for the opening night of their complete Beethoven Cycle.
Schoenberg Hall Learn More
Mar 15 Sun
6:00pm
Free
chamber-music, classical
Guitar Ensemble and Studio Recital - Winter 2026
The End-of-quarter Guitar Recital will feature solo, chamber, and ensemble performances by guitar students, alumni, and faculty, conducted by Dr. Mircea Gogoncea.
Lani Hall Learn More
Cellist Ben Hong Joins Faculty
Ben Hong, associate principal cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has joined the faculty as professor of cello performance.
UCLA Students Sweep Instrumental and Piano/Harp Category at Annual Competition
Every year, the Pasadena Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota offers a scholarship for woodwinds, piano and voice area undergraduate and graduate students. In 2026, UCLA students swept the woodwind
Gabriel Esperon, Violin Student, Appointed LA Phil Resident Fellow
Gabriel Esperon, a master’s student in violin performance, has been appointed a Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen LA Phil Resident Fellow in Fall 2025. As a fellow, Esperon will perform

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