#student perspectives
Students React to UCLA's #1 Ranking
The Daily Bruin surveyed students across campus, including global jazz studies major Nathan Puopolo and music industry student Joshya Gupta. “I get to learn from industry top professionals,” said Gupta. Puopolo, a first-year student, credited the academic rigor of the faculty and opportunities they provided for providing a positive experience.
The Shofar and the Student
Trumpet Student Remy Ohara’s sounding of the shofar resonated across the globe. Read the full story by PJ Grisar in The Forward.
Student Spotlight, Summer 2023
Bruins at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music have had a busy summer. Check out what they've been up to!
Ethnomusicology Student Lauded by Kennedy Center
Isabel Folkers was only four when she unwittingly chanced upon her career trajectory. The occasion was a house party at the home of an Irish family. The band had finished for the night and they were breaking down their equipment. The young Isabel Folkers jumped up on the makeshift stage and took hold of the
UCLA Opera Student Mattia Venni Reviewed in the New York Times
The Rose Theater at Lincoln Center staged concerts of Donizetti’s “Poliuto” and Luigi Ricci’s “Crispino e la Comare” in July. Starring in the role of Crispino was UCLA undergraduate Mattia Venni. Oussama Zahr wrote for the New York Times, “Mattia Venni was a sensational Crispino — his handsome baritone and capacity for self-parody allowed him
Transfer Student Blazes Trails for Others
Antonio Estrada dreamed of going to a big university, big in every way. Raised in Sacramento, Estrada was encouraged by his parents to be the first in his family to graduate from college. After trying out several different pathways in community college, he decided on a career in music and applied to transfer to UCLA.
For 2023 Undergraduate Student Commencement Speaker, Community is Key
When Yeremiya Wright arrived at UCLA in the Fall of 2019 as a first-year student, he was unaware that a global pandemic was literally right around the corner. Nor was anyone aware of what was in store. “I went home to New Jersey in the Spring quarter of 2020 thinking I would be coming back
Doctoral Student Breana McCullough Connects Baroque Music and Native American Voices
McCullough has been an apprentice with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado in 2022-23. She collaborated with the orchestra on their winter concert, re-envisioning a French carol to elevate indigenous perspectives.
Master's student Damon Zavala wins Sphinx Orchestral Futurist Fellowship
The National Orchestral Institute + Festival in partnership with the National Philharmonic and the Sphinx Organization has just awarded their 2023 Futurist Fellowships, and first-year viola performance master’s student Damon Zavala is among them. The fellowship provides leadership mentoring and aims to develop the next generation of visionaries and leaders in arts administration. Zavala identified