Boris Allakhverdyan
Lecturer - Clarinet Performance, Principal Clarinet LA Philharmonic

Boris Allakhverdyan was appointed Principal Clarinet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2016. He previously served as Principal Clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Associate Principal Clarinet of the Kansas City Symphony. Allakhverdyan is a founding member of the Prima Trio, the Grand Prize and the Gold Medal winner of the prestigious 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

The New York Times called his performance “inspired” and “superlative,” and the Los Angeles Times praised his “energetic, vibrant solos.”

Allakhverdyan has appeared as a soloist with the Seattle, Tucson, Bakersfield and Springfield Symphony Orchestras as well as orchestras in Russia, Armenia and Kazakhstan. He has participated in the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommen Festival in Germany and the Emilia Romagna Music Festival in Italy. Allakhverdyan is a winner of Rimsky-Korsakov International Woodwind Competition, Rozanov International Clarinet Competition, Hellam Concerto Competition, the Tuesday Musical and the Oberlin Concerto competitions.

Allakhverdyan serves on the clarinet faculty at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as well as at California State University at Fullerton. He previously taught at Peabody Institute of Music, Pacific Music Festival in Japan and Interlochen Clarinet Institute in Michigan. He has given master classes at most prestigious schools in North and South Americas, Europe and Asia. As a chamber musician, Allakhverdyan has performed throughout the United States and Europe on such series as Chicago Chamber Music Society, La Jolla Athenaeum, Dumbarton Oaks, the Dayton Art Institute, CityMusic Columbus, Da Camera Society, Fontana Chamber Arts and Cleveland Chamber Music Society.

As a Buffet Group Artist and Vandoren Performing Artist, Allakhverdyan performs exclusively on Buffet Crampon clarinets and Vandoren reeds.

GRAMMY Award Nominations in 2024
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is proud to share that faculty and alumni were well represented at this year’s GRAMMY Awards. In all, twelve faculty and four alums
Department of Music Welcomes Four Exceptional Studio Faculty
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is pleased to announce that four exemplary artists have accepted their offer of an appointment in the Department of Music, including award-winning violist
Gloria Cheng
Adjunct Professor - Contemporary Music, Performance Studies
Ben Hong
Lecturer - Cello Performance
Chris Hanulik
Adjunct Professor - String Bass Performance; Principal Bass LA Phil
Peter Golub
Lecturer - Composition, Music and Film
Iris Malkin
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
David Kaplan
Inaugural Shapiro Family Chair in Piano Performance
Theresa Dimond
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Shahab Paranj
Gramian-Emrani Postdoctoral Fellow in Music and Lecturer - Composition, contemporary concert music
Christoph Bull
Adjunct Professor - Organ Performance
Gregory Goodall
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Lily Chen-Hafteck
Professor - Music Education, Special Assistant to the Inaugural Dean for Curricular Reform
James Bass
Professor and Chair of the Department of Music, Director of Choral Studies
Joshua Ranz
Lecturer - Clarinet Performance
David Lefkowitz
Professor - Composition, Vice Chair of the Department of Music
Jens Lindemann
Distinguished Professor - Trumpet Performance
Neal Stulberg
Professor - Conducting, Director of Orchestral Studies
James Miller
Lecturer - Trombone Performance, Associate Principal Trombone LA Phil
Andrew Ordonez
Events Manager - Department of Music Performance, Education and Composition
James Darrah
Professor - Director of Opera UCLA
Mildred Yi
Lecturer - Music Education
Ryan Brown
Lecturer - Choral Studies and Music Education
Cheryl Lin Fielding
Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Benjamin Smolen
Lecturer - Flute Performance
Arturo O’Farrill
Director, UCLA Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra; Professor
Dwayne Milburn
Lecturer - Conducting and Composition
James Lent
Lecturer - Collaborative Piano
Ji Young An
Lecturer - Violin Performance
Sarah Koo Freeman
Visiting Professor - Cello Performance
Lou Anne Neill
Lecturer - Harp Performance, Harp LA Philharmonic
Aubrey Foard
Lecturer - Tuba Performance
Wendy Richman
Lecturer - Performance Studies
Camilo Cedeno
Assistant to the Chair - Department of Music Performance, Education and Composition
Inna Faliks
Professor - Head of Piano
Che-Yen Chen
Professor - Viola Performance
Lucy Yates
Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Richard Danielpour
Distinguished Professor; Director of Gramian-Emrani Center for Iranian Music
Michael Dean
Professor - Voice Performance
Noel Cano Hearn
Lecturer - Alexander Technique and Music Education
Brendan McBrien
Lecturer - Music Education
Melissa Bilal
The Promise Chair in Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture, Director of Armenian Music Program
Vladimir Chernov
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Juliana Gondek
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Dante De Silva
Lecturer - Composition and Music Theory
Noah Meites
Lecturer - Music Theory
Alison Deane
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Ian Krouse
Distinguished Professor - Co-Area Head, Composition
Travis J. Cross
Professor - Conducting, Director of Bands
Movses Pogossian
Distinguished Professor of Violin; Founder and Advisor, Armenian Music Program - Music Performance
Kay Rhie
Assistant Professor - Composition
Victoria Kirsch
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Jonathan Davis
Lecturer - Oboe Performance
Varty Manouelian
Lecturer - Violin Performance, Violin LA Philharmonic
Wendy Caldwell
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
William Kinderman
Distinguished Professor and Elaine Krown Klein Chair in Performance Studies
Nick DePinna
Adjunct Assistant Professor - Musicianship
Hitomi Oba
Lecturer and Director of Contemporary Jazz Ensemble
John Steinmetz
Lecturer - Bassoon Performance
Lindsey Beardsley
Manager - Department of Music Performance, Education and Composition
Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen
Assistant Professor - Music Education
Rakefet Hak
Continuing Lecturer - Opera UCLA
Amy Sanchez
Lecturer - Horn Performance
Jan Berry Baker
Professor - Saxophone, Head of Woodwinds, Vice Chair of the Department of Music, Special Assistant to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring

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