Inna Faliks - The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music
Inna Faliks
Professor - Head of Piano Performance
Described by The New Yorker as “adventurous and passionate,” Ukrainian-born pianist Inna Faliks is recognized as one of the most poetic and versatile artists of her generation. Known for commanding performances of the standard repertoire, as well as innovative interdisciplinary projects, she has built a music life defined by passion, sincerity, intellectual depth and creative curiosity.
Faliks has performed thousands of recitals throughout the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. She has appeared at many of the world’s leading venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, National Gallery of Art, Salle Cortot in Paris, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, Beijing Center for the Performing Arts  and other major halls across China, Oji Hall in Japan and major festivals such as Ravinia, Verbier, Gilmore, Newport Classical.
Since her acclaimed debut with the Chicago Symphony, Faliks has remained a sought-after concerto soloist with leading orchestras in the US and abroad in a variety of of works spanning from Beethoven’s complete piano concerti to Clara Schumann, Florence Price, Paul Schoenfield, and Rachmaninoff.
Her interdisciplinary performances include her one-woman show, the monologue-recital “Polonaise-Fantasie, the Story of a Pianist” and her long-running poetry and music project, Music/Words, which features living poets. She is a committed chamber musician, collaborating with major artists such as Rachel Barton Pine, Gilles Apap, Wendy Warner, Hila Plitmann and many others.
A defining element in her artistry is her commitment to contemporary music. Numerous composers have written works specifically for her, and she has given many world premieres.  In 2024, she premiered Clarice Assad’s “Lilith” Concerto, which Assad wrote for her. In the 2025-26 season, she gave the world premiere of Gabriel Prokofiev’s Concerto for Minimoog Synthesizer and Orchestra with Orquestra Sinfonica do Porto Casa da Musica – the first and only concert pianist in the world to appear on stage as a virtuoso of the Minimoog Synthesizer in a concerto format.
She is a prolific recording artist, with albums ranging from Schumann, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff to innovative projects such as Reimagine Beethoven and Ravel, 9 premieres and the most recent Manuscripts Don’t Burn, featured on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Faliks is an acclaimed author, with a recently published memoir “Weight in the Fingertips: A Musical Odyssey from Soviet Ukraine to the World Stage” (Bloomsbury, 2023) and articles in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.
She serves as professor of piano and head of piano at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, mentoring the next generation of artists. A Yamaha Artist and internationally respected performer, Inna Faliks continues to shape today’s piano landscape with vision, depth and expressive power.
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
Pianist Magazine Reviews Faliks
“Weight in the Fingertips shows that Inna Faliks is not only a great pianist, but also a talented author who manages to portray a character accurately in just a few sentences, convey the
Inna Faliks Discusses Her New Album on NPR's Morning Edition
Manuscripts Don’t Burn, the latest album by piano professor Inna Faliks, was inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, which she took with her when her family fled Ukraine,
Neal Stulberg
Distinguished Professor - Conducting, Director of Orchestral Studies, Artistic Director Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience
Shahab Paranj
Gramian-Emrani Postdoctoral Fellow in Music and Lecturer - Composition, Contemporary Concert Music
Nick DePinna
Adjunct Assistant Professor - Musicianship
Justin McManus
Assistant Professor - Director of Athletic Bands and Associate Director of Bands
Andrew Ordonez
Events Manager - Department of Music Performance, Education & Composition
Noel Cano Hearn
Lecturer - Alexander Technique and Music Education
Gregory Goodall
Continuing Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Movses Pogossian
Distinguished Professor of Violin; Founder and Advisor, Armenian Music Program - Music Performance
Dwayne Milburn
Continuing Lecturer - Conducting and Composition
Vladimir Chernov
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Richard Danielpour
Distinguished Professor; Director of Gramian-Emrani Center for Iranian Music
Wendy Caldwell
Continuing Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Benjamin Smolen
Lecturer - Flute Performance
Michael Dean
Professor - Voice Performance
Aubrey Foard
Continuing Lecturer - Tuba Performance
Ben Hong
Lecturer - Cello Performance
John Steinmetz
Continuing Lecturer - Bassoon Performance
Boris Allakhverdyan
Continuing Lecturer - Clarinet Performance, Principal Clarinet LA Philharmonic
Travis J. Cross
Professor - Conducting, Director of Bands
Mike Lee
Assistant Professor - Performance Studies
Jens Lindemann
Distinguished Professor - Trumpet Performance
James Darrah
Professor - Director of Opera UCLA
Kaii Lee
Lecturer - Music Education
Lucy Yates
Continuing Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Camilo Cedeno
Assistant to the Chair - Department of Music Performance, Education & Composition
Wendy Richman
Lecturer - Performance Studies
Jan Berry Baker
Associate Dean of Faculty Mentoring and Community Relations, Professor - Saxophone, Head of Woodwinds, Vice Chair of the Department of Music Performance, Education & Composition
Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen
Assistant Professor - Music Education
Hitomi Oba
Continuing Lecturer and Director of Contemporary Jazz Ensemble
Iris Malkin
Continuing Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Lily Chen-Hafteck
Professor - Music Education, Special Assistant to the Inaugural Dean for Curricular Reform
Dante De Silva
Continuing Lecturer - Composition and Music Theory
Brendan McBrien
Lecturer - Music Education
Kay Rhie
Assistant Professor - Composition
Varty Manouelian
Continuing Lecturer - Violin Performance, Violin LA Philharmonic
Regina Carter-Garnett
Professor - Music Performance and Global Jazz Studies
Che-Yen Chen
Professor - Viola Performance
James Lent
Continuing Lecturer - Collaborative Piano
Melissa Bilal
Promise Professor in Armenian Music, Arts, and Culture and Director of Armenian Music Program
Victoria Kirsch
Continuing Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Juliana Gondek
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Theresa Dimond
Continuing Lecturer - Percussion Performance
David Lefkowitz
Professor - Composition, Vice Chair of the Department of Music Performance, Education & Composition
Christoph Bull
Adjunct Professor - Organ Performance
Catherine Gregory
Lecturer - Flute Performance, Woodwind Chamber Music, Director of the Gluck Fellowship Program
Cheryl Lin Fielding
Continuing Lecturer - Vocal Diction and Vocal Coaching
Jonathan Beard
Continuing Lecturer - Music Industry (Electronic Music) and Composition
Lou Anne Neill
Continuing Lecturer - Harp Performance, Harp LA Philharmonic
Lindsey Beardsley
Manager - Department of Music Performance, Education & Composition
Jonathan Davis
Senior Continuing Lecturer - Oboe Performance
Rakefet Hak
Senior Continuing Lecturer - Opera UCLA
James Miller
Continuing Lecturer - Trombone Performance, Associate Principal Trombone LA Phil
Joshua Ranz
Continuing Lecturer - Clarinet Performance
Noah Meites
Continuing Lecturer - Music Theory
Peter Golub
Continuing Lecturer - Composition, Music and Film
William Kinderman
Distinguished Professor and Elaine Krown Klein Professor in Performance Studies
James Bass
Professor and Chair of the Department of Music Performance, Education & Composition, Director of Choral Studies
Ji Young An
Continuing Lecturer - Violin Performance
Amy Sanchez
Continuing Lecturer - Horn Performance
Chris Hanulik
Adjunct Professor - String Bass Performance; Principal Bass LA Phil
David Kaplan
Inaugural Shapiro Family Professor in Piano Performance, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Music Performance, Education & Composition
Ian Krouse
Distinguished Professor - Co-Area Head, Composition
Gloria Cheng
Distinguished Adjunct Professor - Contemporary Music, Performance Studies

Explore Other Degrees

Conducting
Graduate study and training in choral, orchestral, or wind conducting
Ethnomusicology
The study of global musical traditions through performance training, research, and field work
Global Jazz Studies
Jazz performance and musicianship courses are paired with African American Studies
Music Composition
Mentorship in the creation and realization of music for concerts, opera, and visual media
Music Education
Preparation for music educators leading to a BA and teaching credential in just four years
Music Industry
A leadership-focused professional degree which prepares students to transform the creative, entrepreneurial, and executive structures of the music industry
Musicology
The scholarly study of the histories, cultures, and critical interpretations of music and music-making
Music Performance
Study and training towards professional performance careers in Western classical music