News - The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

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Inna Faliks Premieres Concerto for Minimoog Synthesizer
On November 15, 2025, Casa da Música in Porto hosted the world premiere of Gabriel Prokofiev’s Concerto for Minimoog Synthesizer and Orchestra, a groundbreaking work that bridges electronic and classical traditions. The
Hollywood Reporter Names The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music a Top Music School
Bob Fink, department chair of the school of music’s music industry program, says UCLA’s rigid academics help breed students who are ready to work in the industry.
Opera UCLA's The Turn of the Screw Explores Themes of Puppetry, Control.
The opera, which revolves around a governess who encounters ghosts while acting as a caretaker for two children, experiments with themes of constantly being puppeted, said assistant director Katya Lynch. 
The Keys of Ol' Blue Eyes
Frank Sinatra’s Daughter gifts her dad’s Bösendorfer to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. (From the UCLA Magazine)
Opera UCLA revives haunting classic to new ears with ‘The Turn of the Screw’
From the Daily Bruin: Based on Henry James’ 1898 novella of the same name, the story follows a governess sent to a remote estate to care for two children whom
Britten’s The Turn of the Screw Launches Daring New Season for Opera UCLA
What could AI do for an opera? This was a question on James Darrah’s mind as he planned his first full season of Opera UCLA. Darrah, professor of voice and
Adam Gilberti Cooks Up a Symphony
Tucked away in the basement of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is Adam Gilberti’s workshop. As the school’s musical instrument curator, Gilberti performs the essential task of maintaining
Faculty and Alumni Earn Multiple 2026 Grammy Nods
BRUIN GRAMMY NOMINATIONS! Congratulations to faculty and alums of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music who have been nominated for a 2026 Grammy Award.  Music Industry faculty member Erik
Freedom Melody Concert Caps Steve Dyer Residency
Steve Dyer, the South African multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, visited The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music the week of October 27 with his quartet Aaron Rimbui (piano), Jimmy Mngwandi
Shannon Tyra Finds Hidden Gems for the School of Music
Shannon Tyra, the director of operations at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, knows a thing or two about running things. For 36 years she worked for UCLA Hospital,
The Lost World of African-American Cantors
From the LA Sentinel: The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience hosted an event telling the little-known story of African Americans who performed and recorded Yiddish and
A Concert That Asks the Audience to Listen to Their Voices, and Others
Forty years after the African music festival Freedom Melody challenged apartheid, an artist brings the songs of resistance and humanity to the stage On Wednesday, October 29, The UCLA Herb

News from 2024-25

Answering the Call: Meet Wade Dean, 2025 Graduate Commencement Speaker
In December 2024, just before the start of Spring Semester, Wade Dean received some bad news. At the time, He was teaching courses in music theory and jazz history at
Spring Festival of World Music Enters Its Sixty-Fifth Year
This year marks the 65th year of the Spring Festival of World Music (May 4 through June 7, 2025). Since its founding under ethnomusicologist Mantle Hood, who began teaching at
Walking that Line between Art and Entertainment
An Interview with Composer Tod Machover Hailed as “a composer biography like no other” (The Boston Globe) and praised for its “ingenious music” (The Wall Street Journal), Tod Machover’s opera
Climate Notes: Where Science Meets Symphony at UCLA
The inaugural performance of “Climate Notes” on April 27 at 4 p.m. in Schoenberg Hall is more than a concert; it’s a vital intersection of music, science and advocacy, encouraging
UCLA Philharmonia Triumphs with Mahler's Symphony No. 6 at Disney Hall
On Sunday, March 2, UCLA Philharmonia took the stage at Disney Hall as part of the LA Philharmonic’s “Mahlerthon,” a daylong event celebrating the symphonies and chamber music of Gustav
UCLA, Virginia State 'Trouble the Water' Events Dive into HBCU Choral Tradition
From the Daily Bruin: The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is set to host a group of choral musicians from Virginia State University, an HBCU, later this week for
The Poem is the Music, the Musician is the Poet
Celebrated Poet Nathaniel Mackey Talks About the Deep Connections between Jazz and Language On Friday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m. in Schoenberg Hall, Salim Washington, professor and chair of global
67th GRAMMY Award Winners
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is proud to share that faculty and alumni were well represented at the 67th GRAMMY Awards. In all, thirteen faculty and six alums
The Sinatra Piano Finds a New Home at UCLA
On Wednesday, December 4, four skilled piano movers wheeled a nine-foot Model 275, 92-key Bösendorfer grand piano into the recording studio at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. The
A Wicked Orchestration
One of this holiday’s biggest blockbuster film releases is Wicked, the film adaptation of the smash 2003 Broadway musical. Crowds flocked to the theaters to see the movie over the
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Receives $5 Million to Establish Gramian-Emrani Center for Iranian Music
New academic center bolsters UCLA as a major force in the study of Iranian culture Through a $5 million pledge by Haleh Emrani in honor of her late husband, Ahmad

Press Releases

Award-Winning Scholar and Musicologist Michael Beckerman Named New Dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
Acclaimed higher education scholar and author Michael Beckerman has been named the new dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. He will begin his role at UCLA on
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Receives Gift from Mike Curb Foundation for State-of-the-Art Student Recording Facility and More
Through a special pledge by Mike Curb, California’s former lieutenant and acting governor, and music industry veteran, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will begin construction on a new
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Receives $5 Million to Establish Gramian-Emrani Center for Iranian Music
New academic center bolsters UCLA as a major force in the study of Iranian culture Through a $5 million pledge by Haleh Emrani in honor of her late husband, Ahmad
GRAMMY-Nominated Opera Director James Darrah Joins The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
James Darrah, the GRAMMY Award-nominated director/producer of acclaimed and innovative opera and film productions will join The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music faculty in Fall 2024.
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Announces the 2024-25 Season
September 26, 2024. The new season features celebrated poet Nathaniel Mackey, Tod Machover's opera "Schoenberg in Hollywood," student performances and scholarly symposia.
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to Receive $5 Million Gift to Establish The Berry Gordy Music Industry Center
May 21, 2024. Berry Gordy, founder of the iconic record label and hit-making enterprise Motown, has pledged a $5 million gift to establish The UCLA Berry Gordy Music Industry Center.
Opera UCLA Presents the World Premiere of Richard Danielpour’s The Grand Hotel Tartarus at the Freud Playhouse
May 9, 2024. Opera UCLA, a collaboration between The Herb Alpert School of Music and the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television, will present the world premiere of Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour’s new opera, The Grand Hotel Tartarus.
Jazz Violinist, Composer and Educator Regina Carter Joins Faculty at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
March 27, 2024. Regina Carter, the acclaimed jazz violinist who has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (2007), a Doris Duke Award (2018), and honored as an NEA Jazz Master Fellow (2023), will join The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music faculty in 2024.
Serenade with a Dandelion
MEDIA ADVISORY The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music features a world premiere of Serenade with a Dandelion. This live concert event showcases internationally-renowned musicians performing a curated selection of top Armenian composers’ work, all featured on a new 4-CD set. Hailed as a “game changer,” “a five-star
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to offer new Music Industry Bachelor of Arts degree beginning in Fall 2023
October 6, 2023. Responding to student demand, a new B.A in Music Industry from The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will set graduates on track toward careers in artist and label management, publicity, music publishing and licensing and more.
Happy Holidays from the UCLA Klezmer Ensemble! Enjoy their joyful performance of “Khanike iz Freylekh” by Yehoyshue Kaminsky and follow along as the music spills into the hallways of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.  Watch the full performance on YouTube. Link in bio.  #thisisuclamusic #ucla #music #klezmer #happyholidays

Happy Holidays from the UCLA Klezmer Ensemble! Enjoy their joyful performance of “Khanike iz Freylekh” by Yehoyshue Kaminsky and follow along as the music spills into the hallways of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Watch the full performance on YouTube. Link in bio.

#thisisuclamusic #ucla #music #klezmer #happyholidays
...

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Take a walk with oboe performance major Cayden Bloomer as he hits the practice room, the reed-making studio, and Philharmonia rehearsal.  A Day in the Life of a Student at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.  #ThisisUCLAMusic #DayintheLife #studentperspectives

Take a walk with oboe performance major Cayden Bloomer as he hits the practice room, the reed-making studio, and Philharmonia rehearsal.

A Day in the Life of a Student at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

#ThisisUCLAMusic #DayintheLife #studentperspectives
...

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Need plans for tonight? The UCLA Chinese Music Ensemble, directed by Professor Chi Li, performs its annual Fall concert featuring traditional and contemporary music, including Chinese opera aria, zheng unison, qin unison, folk dance, and silk-and-bamboo music.  🗓️ Saturday, November 22‌
🕚 5:00 PM‌
📍‌Schoenberg Hall‌‌‌‌
‌‌
Concert is free and open to the public.
-
For more information, see the event page. Link in bio.  #thisisUCLAmusic #UCLA #music

Need plans for tonight? The UCLA Chinese Music Ensemble, directed by Professor Chi Li, performs its annual Fall concert featuring traditional and contemporary music, including Chinese opera aria, zheng unison, qin unison, folk dance, and silk-and-bamboo music.

🗓️ Saturday, November 22‌
🕚 5:00 PM‌
📍‌Schoenberg Hall‌‌‌‌
‌‌
Concert is free and open to the public.
-
For more information, see the event page. Link in bio.

#thisisUCLAmusic #UCLA #music
...

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BACKSTAGE WITH: The Ginger Smock Jazz Ensemble, rehearsing Maceo’s Daydream by Nina Mei Zepnick 🎶  Catch it live during The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s three days of jazz concerts. Performances of everything from swing to contemporary. Featuring Hitomi Obi’s Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, Hitomi Obi’s Charles Mingus Ensemble, Charley Harrison’s Jazz Orchestra, combos led by Duane Benjamin, Clayton Cameron, Roberto Miranda, Duane Benjamin’s Commercial Music Ensemble, and the Herbie Hancock Jazz Ensemble.  🗓️ Sun, Nov 23 · 4 PM
🗓️ Mon, Nov 24 · 7 PM
🗓️ Tue, Nov 25 · 7 PM
📍 Schoenberg Hall  For more information and to RSVP, visit our link in bio.  #Jazz #ucla #thisisuclamusic

BACKSTAGE WITH: The Ginger Smock Jazz Ensemble, rehearsing Maceo’s Daydream by Nina Mei Zepnick 🎶

Catch it live during The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s three days of jazz concerts. Performances of everything from swing to contemporary. Featuring Hitomi Obi’s Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, Hitomi Obi’s Charles Mingus Ensemble, Charley Harrison’s Jazz Orchestra, combos led by Duane Benjamin, Clayton Cameron, Roberto Miranda, Duane Benjamin’s Commercial Music Ensemble, and the Herbie Hancock Jazz Ensemble.

🗓️ Sun, Nov 23 · 4 PM
🗓️ Mon, Nov 24 · 7 PM
🗓️ Tue, Nov 25 · 7 PM
📍 Schoenberg Hall

For more information and to RSVP, visit our link in bio.

#Jazz #ucla #thisisuclamusic
...

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Come along with musicology major Angie Lee as she crosses campus for class, studies the original Henry Mancini Pink Panther score, and fuels up with her favorite matcha at the café.  A Day in the Life of a Student at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.  #ThisisUCLAMusic #DayintheLife #studentperspectives

Come along with musicology major Angie Lee as she crosses campus for class, studies the original Henry Mancini Pink Panther score, and fuels up with her favorite matcha at the café.

A Day in the Life of a Student at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

#ThisisUCLAMusic #DayintheLife #studentperspectives
...

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