Travis J. Cross serves as professor of music at UCLA, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, directs the graduate wind conducting program, and chairs the music department. He was also associate dean for academic mentoring and opportunity during the initial years of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Cross has conducted the UCLA Wind Ensemble at the California All-State…

Robert Fink is a past chair of the UCLA Musicology department, and currently Chair of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s Minor in the Music Industry. He also currently serves as President of the US Branch of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM-US). His research focus is on music and culture after 1950, with special…

Juliana Gondek is a renowned vocal pedagogue whose success with students has been informed by a more than 40-year performance and recording career on the world’s most celebrated opera, symphony, festival, and recital stages. She has starred in both soprano and mezzo-soprano roles with renowned conductors, including Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, James Levine, Carlos Kleiber, Nello Santi,…

Steven Loza is a professor of ethnomusicology at UCLA, where he has been on the faculty for thirty-four years, and also served as professor of music at the University of New Mexico, where he formerly directed the Arts of the Americas Institute. He has served as chair of the Department of Ethnomusicology and is currently chair of the Global Jazz…

Elisabeth Le Guin is a performer and musicologist whose dual allegiances manifest as a series of dialogues, in tones and words, between theory and practice. As a Baroque cellist, she was a founding member of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and the Artaria String Quartet, and appeared in over 40 recordings; she continues to perform and record, while aspiring ever more earnestly…

Mark Kligman specializes in the liturgical traditions of Middle Eastern Jewish communities and various areas of popular Jewish music. He has published on the liturgical music of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn in journals as well as his book, Maqām and Liturgy: Ritual, Music and Aesthetics of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn (Wayne State University, 2009), which shows the interconnection between the…

Raymond Knapp is Distinguished Professor of Musicology, and has served twice as Chair of his the Department (2006-09 and 2013-16); he is currently Academic Associate Dean in the School, and Director of the UCLA Center for Musical Humanities. Knapp has a broad interest in classical and contemporary music, and has authored 5 books, including the award-winning The American Musical and…

Shannon McGarry’s appointment as the School’s inaugural Assistant Dean began in July 2016.  Shannon is a UCLA alumna with over 18 years of service on campus.  She began her UCLA career at the Luskin School of Public Affairs and held program management positions at Luskin and the UCLA Graduate School of Education before moving to the Social Science Division of…

Jesse Cano is a finance professional with over 11 years of campus experience. Coming to the Herb Alpert School of Music from the Office of Academic Planning and Budget, Jesse brings with him a deep knowledge of campus budgets and financial structures. With a background in human resources, Jesse has worked closely with Staff, Faculty and Academic Apprentice Personnel throughout…

Luis currently serves as the director of the recording studio in the Evelyn and Mo Ostin Music Center as well as the director of music technology and production. In these capacities, Luis supports faculty and students by planning, designing, and overseeing all music technology related activities at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Luis also oversees the School’s Theaters…

John Ho-Joon Lee joined the Herb Alpert School of Music as the MSO of the Departments of Ethnomusicology and Musicology on June 18, 2018.  Lee began working at UCLA in 2011 at the Career Center and most recently served as the Operations Manager and Staff Personnel for the College, Office of the Deans.  Before his career at UCLA, he was…

Ava Sadripour is a development professional with ten years of experience in fundraising, with a focus on music philanthropy in Los Angeles.  She has successfully created initiatives for increased fundraising across multiple areas, including major gifts, board engagement, membership and patron programs, foundation and corporate giving, annual fund, and signature events – including an education luncheon with First Lady Michelle…

Sandra Topete joined the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in the fall of 2018 as Director of Academic Personnel. Sandra is a UCLA alumna with over 27 years of service at UCLA. She began her career at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics working for the Space Science Group, and for the last 14 years she has specialized…

Allison Taka joined the Herb Alpert School of Music in March 2017. She completed her undergraduate degree at UCLA in Sociology with a minor in Education and her Master’s at USC in Educational Counseling. Taka played on the UCLA Women’s Basketball team as an undergraduate and thus is a fervent supporter of all things UCLA athletics. In her free time, she…