#Jan Berry Baker

African Americans have a formidable, if underappreciated, presence as composers in the modern classical music world. Atlanta and Los Angeles based Bent Frequency, led by UCLA saxophonist Jan Berry Baker, has worked to shine a light on their work. John Ross catalogued these efforts in The Bitter Southerner.

Renowned cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason opened the LA Philharmonic’s season. The orchestra also delivered a stirring rendition of Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Uirupurú, which featured extensive solos by UCLA faculty Jan Berry Baker and Denis Bouriakov. The performance “seethed with color and ambience from the start,” wrote Laurence Vittes at Bachtrack.

On Tuesday, May 16, Jens Lindemann and the Matt Catingub JazzPops Orchestra took to the stage of the Catalina Bar & Grill, a storied Hollywood club that has played host to jazz legends for more than a quarter of a century. The orchestra had more than a few UCLA ringers in it, like DMA student

An important step in decolonizing classical music, as George Lewis recently opined, is encouraging ensembles to commission new music from a diverse array of composers. In its 2022-23 season, the Bent Frequency Duo (Jan Berry Baker, saxophone and Stuart Gerber, percussion) have featured new commissions by Lewis, African American composer Alvin Singleton, and Singaporean+ composer emily koh.

Funds to support commissions, performances, recordings, residencies and research for contemporary music

This fall, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will welcome Jan Berry Baker, David Kaplan and Catherine Provenzano to its stellar roster of faculty.