Antonio Lysy
Antonio Lysy
Message from the Area Head

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.

– Antonio Lysy

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 Phil
Lou Anne Neill
Lecturer - Harp Performance; Harp LA Phil
Movses Pogossian
Distinguished Professor of Violin; Founder and Advisor, Armenian Music Program - Music Performance
Damon Zavala
VEM Ensemble, Viola
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.”

"He Danced the Music He Was Playing:" In Memoriam Antonio Lysy
Virtuoso cellist taught for twenty years at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music On Sunday, February 4, the UCLA community learned of the sudden and unexpected loss of Antonio Lysy (1963-2024). Known the world over for his virtuosic performances and astounding creativity, Lysy was a beloved colleague and teacher, mentor and friend. Lysy’s sudden
VEM Ensemble Sets out on 2023 Eastern U.S. Tour
The VEM Ensemble of the Armenian Music Program at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is coming to Detroit, Boston and Montreal as part of a tour sponsored by the Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) of the United States and Canada, with full concerts on, respectively, May 9, 11 and 13, held with local co-sponsoring
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

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