Music of India and Music of Mexico Ensembles

Ensemble Directors

Rahul Neuman

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Rahul Neuman has been a student of Hindustani music since he was a child. He began studying sitar at age 12 with his aunt, Sharmistha Sen, and Jeff Lewis, a disciple of the late Z.M. Dagar. In 1992, Neuman began intensive training under his guru, Ustad Shujaat Khan, in Seattle, where he was a visiting artist at the University of Washington.

Neuman made several subsequent trips to New Delhi, India, where he continued training under the guidance of his guru.

Neuman has performed at a variety of venues in Delhi, Chicago, and Southern California. In Chicago, he performed at the Silk Road Oasis, the University of Chicago, the Old Town School of Folk Music, and on Chicago NPR station WBEZ-FM. He also performed for MTV’s Aerosmith icon show in front of a live audience. Currently, Rahul is an Artist-Teacher in Residence for the Center for World Music in San Diego.

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Abhiman_Kaushal

Abhiman Kaushal

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Abhiman Kaushal is an outstanding exponent of tabla. Belonging to an illustrious lineage, he was initiated by his father, R B Kaushal, who was a disciple of the legendary Ustad Amir Hussain Khan. Later Abhiman became a direct disciple of highly revered Ustad Shaik Dawood and Pandit B Nandkumar of Hyderabad, India.

Abhiman has performed with most of the prominent artists of Indian classical music globally. He has numerous recordings which have been received with high acclaim.

White Sun II, an album on which Abhiman was a featured percussionist, won a Grammy award under the New Age Music category. Some of his other noteworthy recordings have been Passages, with Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, and Delbar/ Saffron, with Ustad Shujaat Khan and Katayoun Goudarzi, that was short-listed for a Grammy.

He has been on the faculty at UCLA since 1998 where he imparts his knowledge of tabla to students from all across the campus.

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Jesús “Chuy” Guzmán

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Jesús “Chuy” Guzmán is widely recognized as arranger, director, instructor, and musician in the genre of Mexican mariachi music.

Guzmán is the musical director of Mariachi Los Camperos De Nati Cano, and master of numerous traditional mariachi instruments: trumpet, vihuela, guitarron, guitar, and violin.

For over nearly 20 years, Guzmán has served as head instructor for numerous international mariachi festivals in the United States and Mexico. Career highlights include collaboration on the orchestration and musical arrangements for the Symphony Orchestra of Jalisco and recording as a guest artist with Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan.

Mr. Guzmán also toured and recorded with Linda Ronstadt on her Grammy Award-winning album, Canciones de Mi Padre (Songs of My Father) and has appeared in several Hollywood motion pictures. Mr. Guzmán’s production for Mariachi Los Camperos titled Llegaron Los Camperos was nominated in 2006 for a Grammy Award under the Mexican-American category.

Most recently, his production for Mariachi Los Camperos, Amor, Dolor, y Lagrimas was awarded a Grammy for 2008 Best Regional Mexican Album. Guzmán has been a faculty member in the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology since 2000.

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Program

Music of India Ensemble

Directed by Rahul Neuman and Abhiman Kaushal

 

Sitar

ACOSTA, GABRIELA R

AGGARWAL, AVANTIKA

BARKAN, RISE

BHOWMIK, SRIJA

CHINCHWADKAR, OM GAJANAN

GOVIER, ROHINI KIRA

INDOLIKAR, MANASI SUHAS

JHUNJHUNWALLA, VIDHI

KARTHIK, ADITI

KATHIRAVAN, ANOUSHKA

LACANLALE, GAVIN XAVIER TALUSAN

MANJESHWAR, CHAYA

MCHENRY, LUCY SAYAMA

MCNAMARA, WILLIAM MICHAEL

PILLAI, APARNA

PFEFFER, ALISSA LINNEA-AMELIE

PIOUSTIN, GEORGE

PRABHAKAR, RIYA

RANDALL, DESI FITZGERALD

REAVIS, SAMANTHA BRYN

SCHRAM, MEIA XIAO QING

SESHADRI, NIMISHA

SHER, REMY

SMITH, JEFFREY LEWIS

SYAL, SUJAY

TORAN, SAIYANA WESTLEY

ZHAO, CHANGHENG

 

Tabla

 

ADAIR, RAVEN VERA

ANDREWS, ISABELLA SOFIA

AVADHANI, UDBHAV ANAND

BALASUBRAMANIAN, SHAMINI SARASWATHY

BHARGAVA, VEDANT

BRAHMBHATT, KUSH

CALLAGHAN, LILY ISABELLA

CAO, JOHN

CHEN, LINGJUN

CHEN, LOUISE

CHOPRA, RIYA

FAN, CHENHAO

FINK, JULIA KAI

FU, XIAO

GAO, YAFAN

GORMAN, SARA ELISABETH

HUO, ZHENGXI

JAIN, NISHANT

JHUNJHUNWALLA, VIDHI

KANDALA, ASHUTOSH HARA-SAI

LEI, SIYAO

LI, JIAQI

LI, MINGYUAN

LIU, MAX

LUO, HELEN

MA, ZESEN

MANOJ, ARJUN

NARAYAN, MAANASI DHIRAJ

NEEDHAM, KEVIN MCGRATH

ONGKO, ZIVANA NATALIN

PANDEY, PAURUSH

QI, JACOB

SHEN, HERCY

SRIKANTH, KALYANI

SU, MEAGAN MAY

SUN, ZIXUAN

SYAL, SUJAY

TAN, LIYUAN

TAN, MEIXIN

TIAN, JAMIE

VASISHT, RAEVA MOHANTY

VENKATESH, ROHITH

WANG, CHENGYUAN

WANG, YAWEI

WANG, YIQING

WU, YADONG

XU, YUECHEN

YANG, JIAQI

YANG, YAN

YU, JASON

ZAMAN, ABRAHAM

ZHAN, STACY

ZHANG, YIXUAN

ZHU, LEMING

ZHOU, RUJIA

ZOU, LIANDONG

 

UCLA Music of Mexico and Mariachi de Uclatlán

2023-2024 Program

Note, our official name does not capitalize the C-L-A in Uclatlán. Only the U is capitalized.

 

Faculty Director:                               Jesús “Chuy” Guzmán

Continuing Lecturer, Department of Ethnomusicology & Global Jazz Studies

Faculty Director, Music of Mexico & Mariachi de Uclatlán

UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

 

Ensemble Assistant:                        Elías Rodríguez, UCLA ’20, MPH ‘25

 

Student Director:                              Carlos Oliva, Ethnomusicology ‘24

 

Assistant Student Directors:           Bobby Alvarez, Ethnomusicology ‘25

Aviv Schifrin, Public Affairs ‘24

 

Toolkit:  https://ucla.box.com/s/hhxtryqanhudkzaoud6vmr00lurwcf8c

 

TikTok:                                    https://www.tiktok.com/@uclatlan/                  @uclatlan

Instagram & Threads:             https://www.instagram.com/uclatlan/              @uclatlan

YouTube:                                https://www.youtube.com/@uclatlan               @uclatlan

Facebook:                               https://www.facebook.com/uclatlan/               @uclatlan

 

 

The Music of México Ensemble features mariachi music in a variety of musical styles from various regions of Mexico, including son jalisciense, son huasteco, bolero, ranchera, and huapango. This performance course is designed to familiarize and expose musicians to the repertoire, technique, and musical styles of the mariachi tradition. The performing branch of the class Mariachi de Uclatlán, was formed in 1961, making it the first academic mariachi group in the world. Since the early 1960s, the ensemble has held an important legacy in the transmission of mariachi music in the United States.

 

Beginner’s Music of Mexico Ensemble Students:

 

Ivy Nicole Caneng Adaoag, Isabella Rachel Appell, Abigailh Barrios, Katherine A. Cruz-Alvarez, David Joseph Delgado, Juliana Alexandra Edelnant, Jose-Joaquin Apolonio Garcia, Teodoro Gunther Gnass, Yalit Guadalupe Gonzalez Hernandez, Nataly Guadalupe Gonzalez, Emily Gabriela Gramajo, Karla Gutierrez, Brandon Hernandez, Zaraleen Hernandez, Maya Isabel Iribarren, Natalie Julliana Jimenez, Lucia Isela Martinez, Cole Wingfield McQuinn, Angel Mendoza, Daniel Ryan Meza, Matthew William Meza, Sophia Carline Newton, Jonathan Nguyen, Erick Santiago Portillo, Joshua Ruiz, Natalie Bea Silverman, Luan Xiang Ye

 

Founded informally in 1961 and first introduced as a formal course of study in 1964, Mariachi de Uclatlán is the first ensemble of its kind to be established at an academic university and is dedicated to the performance and preservation of traditional Mexican music, culture, and heritage at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

 

Under the tutelage of Grammy-winning musical director, Jesús “Chuy” Guzmán, the ensemble is admired around the world for its exceptional legacy of passionate musical excellence and impact on mariachi education.

 

Mariachi de Uclatlán features UCLA students – both graduate and undergraduate – and staff from diverse backgrounds and in fields spanning the full breadth of UCLA. Along with the Music of México Ensemble, Uclatlán features mariachi music in a variety of musical styles from various regions of Mexico, including son jalisciense, son huasteco, bolero, ranchera, and huapango.

 

Mariachi de Uclatlán and Danza Uclatlán:

 

Violins and Flute:                  Ariana Quiñónez, Angie Amparo Trujillo, Cesar Puente, Raina Markham, Aleah Delgado, Ariel Villaroya, Bobby Álvarez, Elizabeth Robles Petrick, Camila Cordero, Jocelyn Wang, Yulenny Vidaña

 

Trumpets:                              Rifqi Akhyar, Saúl Gutierrez-Sandoval, Citlaly Ortiz, Aviv Schifrin, Jake Sherry, Sylvia Rutkowski, April Zavala

 

Harp:                                       Alaina Rose

 

Guitarrón:                              Alejandro Esparza, Alexis Romero, Angel Ramirez

 

Vihuela and Guitars:             Carlos Oliva, Saveena Patel, Enrique Rodriguez Gonzalez, Paulina Pérez, Charlie Zheng

 

Danzantes:                             Alondra Banda, Joseph Rosales, Andrea Tarelo, América Barrera, Alfredo Morán, Sarah Ward