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 at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. It unites the academic and the artistic, showcasing artists, scholars and educators to share their sounds and stories.

A musical adventure of historic scope and proportion, the Milken Archive was founded in 1990 to document, preserve, and disseminate the vast body of music that pertains to the American Jewish experience. Learn how the Milken Archive has helped tell the story of the American Jewish experience through music, and continues that legacy with the endowment of the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience.

Central to our mission is to give a platform to the creators of new Jewish music. This video looks back on our monumental first program when our current Center was still known as the Lowell Milken Fund for American Jewish Music. The video tells the story of our first creative collaboration, which resulted in a magnificent premiere centered on the life of the biblical King David, called “David’s Quilt.”

We are committed to creating new audiences for Jewish music. In March 2020, the first ever UCLA American Jewish Music Festival showcased a fascinating exploration of diverse musical styles of the American Jewish experience. From classical to klezmer, tango to Middle Eastern, bluegrass to Broadway - audiences heard how Jewish music and culture have interacted with and been influenced by other cultures and music.

As a university-based Center, is committed to provide opportunities for students to explore and participate in Jewish music. Through semester long and intensive classes, research projects, ensembles, artistic residencies and performances, students have hands on experiences for deep engagement in Jewish music.

One of the many things that we do to enhance students’ education is to bring in well-established professional musicians and composers who are active in the field to work with students through artist residencies. These one to two week residencies help students gain a new perspective not only on performing and creating music, but also provide them a greater understanding of the music industry itself. The residencies conclude with a public concert featuring students and the guest artist. This already robust residency program will continue growing and inspiring students in the future.

We create programs and produce recordings that highlight how music is an expression of our identity that draws upon our history while it simultaneously reflects who we are today. We are fortunate to have outstanding faculty who understand this notion and work with us, such as Professor Inna Faliks. Here is part of Falik’s story where she discusses her identity and artistry.

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 be building the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience to lead this exploration, engaging all UCLA and the community beyond.