The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is delighted to announce that three exceptional artists have accepted the offer of an appointment in the Department of Music: Denis Bouriakov, principal flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and composers Richard Danielpour and Kay Rhie.
Denis Bouriakov, who will serve as lecturer in flute performance, succeeds Sheridon Stokes following his retirement after 45 years on the UCLA faculty. Bouriakov is one of the most active and sought after international soloists in the flute world. He has been principal flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel since 2015, and holds the Virginia and Henry Mancini Chair. Previously he was principal flute of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, from 2009. He has won prizes in many of the most important international competitions, including the Munich ARD, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Prague Spring, Carl Nielsen, and Kobe competitions. An avid transcriber for the flute, Bouriakov has expanded the limits of flute technique and artistry. His first solo CD included the Sibelius Violin Concerto and Bach Chaconne in his own arrangements. Other CD releases include the Bach Concerto for Two Violins with flutist William Bennett and the English Chamber Orchestra. His 2017 engagements include recital, chamber music and concerto appearances, as well as master classes in Europe, Asia, Canada, and the U.S.A.
Richard Danielpour, one of the most sought-after composers of his generation, will join the department’s composition faculty as professor. He has served as a lecturer in the department for the past four years. His list of commissions include some of the most celebrated artists of our time, including Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Dawn Upshaw, Emanuel Ax, Gil Shaham, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Hampson, Gary Graffman, and Anthony McGill, and ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Maryinsky and Vienna Chamber Orchestras, Orchestre National de France, Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, Guarneri and Emerson String quartets, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and New York City and Pacific Northwest ballets. With Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, Danielpour created Margaret Garner, his first opera, which premiered in 2005 at the Detroit Opera House and had a second production at New York City Opera. In 2016, Danielpour had seven world premieres in the U.S., notably his Percussion Concerto (January 2016) with the New Jersey Symphony and most recently, the premiere of Talking to Aphrodite, a song cycle for voice and string orchestra, written in collaboration with Erica Jong and premiered by the Sejong Soloists and Sarah Shafer at Carnegie Hall in December 2016.
Kay Kyurim Rhie is a composer of contemporary classical music. She will join the theory and composition faculty as assistant professor. Her influences include film and jazz music, European avant-garde as well as various folk traditions. A recipient of the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, her music has been performed at the Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, and by the BBC Singers, Winsor Music, Ensemble X, Ardesco String Quartet, In Flux, New Spectrum Ensemble, In Mulieribus, Seattle Promusica, Andrew/Gail Jennings Duo, Los Angeles Chamber Singers, and California EAR Unit. Upcoming commissions include a large chamber orchestra work for Seoul Philharmonic’s 2017/18 New Music Series,?Ars Nova, and a large ensemble piece for Ensemble X. She has taught as a visiting lecturer at Cornell University and Ewha Woman’s University. In 2016, she also worked as a researcher, overseeing the implementation of a pilot program to train young teenage composers in Korea.
Photo: From left, Richard Danielpour, Denis Bouriakov and Kay Rhie.