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


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...
Niall Tarō Ferguson
VEM Ensemble, Cello...
Mircea Gogoncea
Lecturer - Guitar...
Chris Hanulik
Adjunct Professor - String Bass Performance; Principal Bass LA Phil...
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...
Damon Zavala
VEM Ensemble, Viola...

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.”
May 15 Fri
2:00pm
Free
Free
chamber-music, classical, masterclasses
Anthony Marwood - Masterclass Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as we welcome Anthony Marwood for a violin and chamber music masterclass. About Anthony Marwood: Anthony Marwood enjoys a wide-ranging...
Lani Hall Learn More
Jun 3 Wed
8:00pm
Free
Free
classical, contemporary
UCLA Symphony Spring 2026 Concert UCLA Symphony, our remarkable all-campus orchestra, presents its third concert of the 2025-26 season. 108 musicians strong, Symphony is led by graduate conducting majors and features graduate performance-major soloists. It...
Schoenberg Hall Learn More
Jun 4 Thu
7:00pm
Free
Free
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
Related News
More News
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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