Lowell Milken Center
for Music of American
Jewish Experience
Learn more about Music and Justice
Jewish Music Program Recordings on Demand
Explore our many and varied recordings of Jewish music programs at your leisure.
Find our YouTube channel here
Bringing the Past to Life:
Oral History Project of American Jewish Music
Oral History Project of American Jewish Music
The field of Jewish Music has gained a new valuable resource which will expand knowledge about the evolving nature of music of the American Jewish experience.
The Oral History Project of American Jewish Music, created by the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience in partnership with the Milken Archive of Jewish Music: the American Experience, is an audiovisual platform that provides a portal for scholars, researchers, musicians, listeners, and fans of Jewish Music to explore interviews of leading musicians, composers, cantors, and performers. A number of the oral histories feature historically significant individuals who are no longer living, such as Dave Brubeck and Freydele Oysher.
Explore oral histories here
Stories of Music:
Turnkey Adult Ed Curriculum
Turnkey Adult Ed Curriculum
Stories of Music is a turnkey adult education project of the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Our goal is to provide easy to deliver, fully prepared lesson on a broad range of musically related topics. Each lesson is designed to engage participants in adult education programs to think about the American Jewish experience through stories of the evolving nature of Jewish music.
Learn more and see Stories of Music lessons here.
An Introduction to "Conversations: Words and Music from the American Jewish Experience"
Conversations aims to open a dialogue about the persistence of memory and change in Jewish music and the use of the sounds of the past to address keenly felt needs in the present.
Conversations: The Kwartin Project
In the narration of his life story, Kwartin presents a serious childhood illness as an emotional pedagogy that trained him to communicate the traumas of the Jewish community.
Conversations: Dispatches from Brooklyn
Working with elder Chassidic women, musician and activist Ira Temple encountered transcendent possibilities and complicating limitations in attempting to construct a community centered on female musical desires and homosocial flourishing.
An Academic Home for Music of the American Jewish Experience
1402 Schoenberg Music Building
(310) 825-3650
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We do not accept unsolicited proposals for performance or research projects. However, as it is aligned with our mission, we are eager to learn about new music in all genres, forms and styles, in addition to new scholarship in the field of Jewish music, in order to have the opportunity to share it with others. Please send information to: infomilkencenter@schoolofmusic.ucla.edu.
Furthering knowledge and understanding of Jewish music
Music of American Jewish experience has its first permanent dedicated academic home with the establishment of the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience. It unites the academic and the artistic, showcasing artists, scholars and educators to share their sounds and stories. The founding gift from philanthropist Lowell Milken advances understanding of and knowledge about the musical heritage of Jews in America. It also accelerates growth and commitment to the field by contributing to research, scholarship and performance programs at the undergraduate, graduate and faculty levels. The Lowell Milken Center builds upon the activities of the Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music, established at UCLA in 2017, to expand the reach of the Milken Archive and its vast holdings of recordings, scores and historical materials to students, scholars and the public.
Creating new audiences with music as the mirror
The Lowell Milken Center is committed to introducing new people beyond UCLA’s campus to the musical journeys of America’s Jews and engaging them with this wonderfully rich musical heritage. The Center fosters new artistic expression, presents performances and offers educational programming in communities, such as the adult education curriculum, called Stories of Music. Much of this engagement happens through partnerships with local, national and international organizations, and features artists from UCLA, Los Angeles and beyond.
Engaging Students in Music of American Jewish Experience
As a university-based Center, we are committed to providing opportunities for students to explore and participate in Jewish music in a multiplicity of ways. View this video to learn more.
Celebrating Klezmer &
Yiddish Music
Yiddish Music
The 2020-21 program year provided a celebration of Yiddish song and music. Participants met and listened to the music of master fiddlers, a clarinetist and trumpeter. They learned how to play and sing Yiddish songs and participated in a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the creations of the Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof, and more.
Watch videos from past events
Showcasing Women Who
Create, Appreciate and
Elucidate Music
Create, Appreciate and
Elucidate Music
With the launch of Women’s History Month 2021, we began highlighting contributions of women to the world of music. Programming gave participants the opportunity to meet with women in the forefront of their respective musical genres – from classical to klezmer.
WATCH VIDEOS FROM PAST EVENTS
2020-2021 Virtual Public Programs
During the 2020-21 academic year, the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music was pleased to present five distinct series of virtual Jewish music programs. Many videos of past programs may be found on our YouTube channel. Enjoy!
Be sure to join our email list so that you may receive notifications about all of our upcoming programs.
Learn more
Videos and Information About Previous Programs
UCLA American Jewish Music Festival: Music Crossing Boundaries | March 2020 Click Here to Watch a Video
The first of its kind at UCLA, this festival featured a diverse lineup of artists exploring the breadth of musical styles reflective of the American Jewish experience. The festival culminated in a Royce Hall concert “Titans of Jewish Music” featuring performances by the UCLA Chamber Singers, UCLA Chorale and UCLA Philharmonia.
Click Here to Watch a Video
David’s Quilt | November 2017 Click Here to Watch a Video
Developed by the Max Helfman Institute for New Jewish Music, under the leadership of Cantor Phil Baron (and assisted by Dennis Gura), this original work explored the life of King David through the lens of 15 composers including UCLA students and faculty, cantors, synagogue composers and musicians, as well as film and TV composers. Each responded to a scene based on verses from the Books of Samuel or Psalms, portraying David’s life through a musical quilt, reminiscent of the blankets that warmed him at the end of his life in the first Book of Kings.
Click Here to Watch a Video
Conference on American Culture and the Jewish Experience in Music | November 2017 See Upcoming Events
This inaugural conference covered some major intersections between Jewish creativity and American opportunity. Panels of academic experts explored key facets of the Jewish-American musical experience offering discussions on sacred music, Yiddish folk, popular, theater song, Hollywood film, musical theater and wedding music of the klezmer. Live music was performed at the opening and closing of the event by UCLA students, including UCLA Chamber singers.
See Upcoming Events
Benny Goodman: Ahead of His Time | May 2018 See Upcoming Events
Hosted at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, this tribute concert featuring the UCLA Jazz Orchestra celebrated the 80th anniversary of Benny Goodman’s album, “The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert.” The performances were preceded by a pre-concert discussion featuring professors Eddie Meadows and James Newton.
See Upcoming Events
Message from the Director
Our Musical Journey
New Jewish music is created every day; LA is the epicenter. With its incredibly diverse Jewish community, this is the best place to investigate how music reflects the American Jewish experience. We are deeply grateful to the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience for supporting this exploration, engaging all UCLA and the community beyond.
Meet Our Team
MEDIA COVERAGE
Related News
More News
Can Dave Brubeck's Cantata Bring Black and Jewish Communities Together
By Larry Blumenfeld. In late February at Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, Remy Ohara, a UCLA music student, sounded a shofar, the ram’s horn usually used for High Holiday services at Jewish temples—first in short blasts, then longer sustained tones. Surrounded by a brass and percussion orchestra and flanked by two sections of
A Week of Music and Justice
Thousands witnessed three days of "Music and Justice" hosted by the Lowell Milken Center for Music of the American Jewish Experience. Many came to see Darius, Chris and Dan Brubeck on stage, to hear two world premieres, or to catch glimpse of real life freedom riders. But the week was much more than that. The Brubecks visited classes, jammed with students, and reflected on their father's legacy at a conference.
A Dave Brubeck Cantata Boasts Star Soloists: His Sons
“Want to give us a blast?” the bassist Chris Brubeck asked the young woman in a music studio at the University of California, Los Angeles, on Wednesday morning. Remy Ohara lifted a long, corkscrewing shofar to her lips and blew a resonant call. Brubeck had brought a few other shofars with him as options, but it was clear from the moment Ohara, a sophomore trumpet student, started playing that this one had what he was looking for.
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