Joshua Ranz
Lecturer - Clarinet Performance, Music Performance

Hailed in the Los Angeles Times as offering a “stunning rendition” of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, and an “exciting” version of the Copland Clarinet Concerto, Joshua Ranz is principal clarinet of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) and principal clarinet of the New West Symphony. He has also been a member of the Pacific Symphony since 1997, serving as acting principal clarinet for two seasons from 2014-2016.

As a soloist, Ranz has performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto on basset clarinet as well as the Copland Clarinet Concerto, both with LACO. On LACO’s 2008 European tour, Ranz was featured prominently with mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova in performances of Mozart’s aria from the opera La Clemenza di Tito, “Parto, ma tu ben mio,” in LACO’s concerts in the Italian city of Treviso, Hanover, Hamburg and Berlin in Germany; and in Paris, France. He also served as acting principal on the Pacific Symphony’s European Tour in 2006.

Ranz was a member of the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, California for over 10 seasons, serving as principal clarinet in the summer of 2011. He also performed as principal at the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, Oregon, for the Bay Chamber Concerts in Maine on a series with a roster of all principal wind players from top orchestras around the country and most recently at the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Festival last summer. He performed with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in western New York for eight summers.

As a chamber musician, Ranz has performed with Chamber Music Palisades, Capitol Ensemble, South Bay Chamber Music Society, Jacaranda and numerous other chamber music programs throughout Southern California. This past April, Ranz was featured performing the Mozart and Brahms Quintets as part of the “In Focus” series with LACO in Pasadena and Santa Monica. In addition to his performances, Ranz has recorded with LACO and the Pacific Symphony and is active in the television and motion picture industry. Ranz has also played on over 150 soundtracks for such composers as John Williams, Michael Giacchino, James Horner, Randy Newman, Alan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith, Alexander Desplat and many others. Some of the recent films he has played on include Coco, Lady Bird, Downsizing, A Wrinkle in Time, Star Wars VII and Rogue One, The Incredibles 2 and Ready Player One. He also performs regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Before moving to Los Angeles in 1999, Ranz was a member of the Honolulu and San Jose symphonies. He was a fellow and a faculty member of the Aspen Music School and Festival and a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival.

Ranz is very excited to join the UCLA School of Music this fall as Lecturer in Clarinet. Ranz has been the studio artist instructor for clarinet at the Biola Conservatory of Music for over a decade. He also previously taught at Pomona College and Long Beach City College. Originally from New York, Ranz attended Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He went on to receive his Bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, majoring in music composition and analysis. He then received his Master of Music at the Yale School of Music, where he studied with David Shifrin.

Ranz and his wife, oboist Leslie Resnick, have two sons, Jonah, born in October 2006, and Nathan, born in November 2009.

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
Jens Lindemann
Distinguished Professor of Trumpet
Christoph Bull
Adjunct Professor - Organ Performance
Boris Allakhverdyan
Lecturer - Clarinet Performance; Principal Clarinet LA Philharmonic
Jan Berry Baker
Professor of Saxophone, Vice Chair of the Department of Music, and Special Assistant to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring
Varty Manouelian
Lecturer - Violin Performance; Violin LA Phil
Gregory Goodall
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Lily Chen-Hafteck
Professor and Special Assistant to the Inaugural Dean for Curricular Reform
Herbie Hancock
Adjunct Professor; LA Phil Guest Artist
Lucy Yates
Lecturer - Vocal Diction, Vocal Coaching
Denis Bouriakov
Lecturer - Flute Performance; Principal Flute LA Philharmonic
John Steinmetz
Lecturer - Bassoon Performance
Ian Krouse
Distinguished Professor
Vladimir Chernov
Distinguished Professor - Voice Performance
Peter Kazaras
Distinguished Professor - Director of Opera UCLA
Alison Deane
Associate Adjunct Professor
William Kinderman
Elaine Krown Klein Chair in Performance Studies, Professor
Kay Rhie
Assistant Professor
Antonio Lysy
Professor - Cello Performance and Strings Area Head
Amy Sanchez
Lecturer - Horn Performance
Gloria Cheng
Adjunct Professor - Contemporary Music, Performance Studies
Chris Hanulik
Adjunct Professor - String Bass Performance; Principal Bass LA Phil
Adam Gilberti
Lecturer - Music Education/Woodwinds
Cheryl Lin Fielding
Lecturer - Vocal Diction, Vocal Coaching
Theresa Dimond
Lecturer - Percussion Performance
Hitomi Oba
Director of Contemporary Jazz Ensemble, Lecturer
Erin Bouriakov
Lecturer - Flute Performance
Rakefet Hak
Lecturer - Music Director of the UCLA Opera Workshop
David Lefkowitz
Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Music
Arturo O’Farrill
Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Professor
Nick DePinna
Lecturer--Introduction to Musicianship
Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen
Assistant Professor--Music Education
Wendy Caldwell
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
Inna Faliks
Professor - Head of Piano
Jonathan Davis
Lecturer - Oboe Performance
James Bass
Professor and Chair of the Department of Music, Director of Choral Studies
Lou Anne Neill
Lecturer - Harp Performance; Harp LA Phil
Che-Yen Chen
Professor - Viola Performance
James Miller
Lecturer - Trombone Performance; Associate Principal Trombone LA Phil
Movses Pogossian
Distinguished Professor of Violin; Founder and Advisor, Armenian Music Program - Music Performance
Brendan McBrien
Lecturer--Music Education
Ji Young An
Lecturer - Violin Performance
Aubrey Foard
Lecturer - Tuba Performance
Michael Dean
Professor, Voice Performance
Juliana Gondek
Distinguished Professor, Voice Performance
Victoria Kirsch
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching
David Kaplan
Assistant Professor - Piano Performance
Iris Malkin
Lecturer - Vocal Coaching

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 B.A. and teaching credential in just four years
Music History & Industry
Combining Musicology and the Music Industry minor for practical hands-on training with the study of music within the context of different societies, cultures, and theories
Music Industry
Industry professionals and UCLA faculty prepare students for music-related careers
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