UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

06/03/2026

RACQUEL BERNARD, 2026 COMMENCEMENT GRADUATE SPEAKER

What does resistance sound like? Beyond the venerable tradition of protest songs, it can live in something more subtle: a voice, a rhythm, a timbre, a way of claiming space through music itself.

Racquel Bernard has spent years thinking about those questions in reggae music. In a genre whose history has often centered male voices, women artists have long challenged sexism, shaped the music’s evolution and expanded its expressive power—often without receiving equal recognition in the record books. Bernard’s work explores how resistance is embedded not only in lyrics, but in sound itself.

https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/racquel-bernard-2026-graduate-student-speaker/

06/03/2026

MEET ADITI SREENIVAS, THE 2026 COMMENCEMENT UNDERGRADUATE SPEAKER

Aditi Sreenivas’s experiences span continents, from Bangalore to New Jersey to California. When she arrived at UCLA, she loved music but lacked a clear idea of how music might become her career. Through the music industry program, she discovered a world far larger than performance alone—one filled with paths in business, law and technology.

As she launches her own career in the music industry, Sreenivas is thinking critically about the future of the industry, the challenges of AI, and the benefits of belonging to a music community.

https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/aditi-sreenivas-undergrad-speaker/

05/24/2026

Celebrate Movses Pogossian in his final recital as Professor of Violin at UCLA, featuring Armenian classics, three world premieres, Beethoven, Wagner and more. Free & open to the public with RSVP.

📍 Schoenberg Hall
🗓️ Wednesday, May 27 • 8PM

05/22/2026

Members of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music traveled to Japan for a concert titled “UCLA Latin World Music Concert: Connecting Through the Latin World of Music” at Academy Hall on Meiji University’s Surugadai Campus.
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Meiji University is one of the best universities in Japan and has the history for 140 years. It has four campuses located in Tokyo, the central of Japan. On the basis of its fundamental principle “Rights and Liberty” “Independence and Self-government”, we accept individuals from around the w...

05/21/2026

Smiles all around at rehearsal for the 6th Annual Day of Armenian Music. Join our star faculty for a celebration of music and selections from the newly released album “Stanzas in August: Armenian Music, New & Rediscovered”.

📅 Friday, May 22
🕒 3:00 p.m.
📍 Lani Hall

05/20/2026

Professor Helen Rees from the Department of Ethnomusicology was selected as one of the eight finalists for the UCLA Division of Graduate Education (DGE) Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring. Out of the finalists, Professor Rees is the only recipient that represents an Arts and Humanities major.
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Professor Helen Rees from the Department of Ethnomusicology was just selected as one of the eight finalists for the UCLA Division of Graduate Education (DGE) Faculty Award for Excellence in

05/19/2026

Looking back to our annual music industry capstone day! Aptly named “Hi-Fi”, our seniors showed us what they’ve worked on throughout their final year - from album releases, marketing proposals, to research projects, we are thrilled to see what their future holds!

05/16/2026

Movses Pogossian, professor of violin and founder of Armenian music program, and his colleagues in the Armenian Music Project continue their tireless advocacy for the music of Armenia with this ambitious 4 CD collection, Stanzas in August. We will also be celebrating the launch of the album on the 6th annual day of Armenian Music on Friday, May 22.
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Listen Here:

Movses Pogossian and his colleagues in the Armenian Music Project continue their tireless advocacy for the music of Armenia with this ambitious 4 CD collection, Stanzas in August. At the heart of the release are two sub-collections devoted entirely to the music of Ashot Zohrabyan and Koharik Gazar...

05/15/2026

Opera UCLA’s production of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride on Thursday night was a triumph—sung with aching beauty over Gluck’s sumptuous score. Visionary staging, dance, and modernist costuming brought new life to this ancient tragedy. Congratulations to the entire cast and creative team.
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NEXT PERFORMANCE
Saturday, May 16, 8:00 PM
Schoenberg Hall
Link in bio
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Congratulations to the Thursday cast!
Hannah Verduzco - Iphigénie
Leland Smith - Oreste
Sam Song - Pylade
Adam Zeidler - Singing Thoas
Kyle Xu - Thoas
Lilliana Mindel - First Priestess
Sadie Habas - Second Priestess
Kazu Nakamura - The Scythian
Jacob Salzmann - The Priest of the Temple
Trinity Dela Cruz - Greek Woman
Leela Subramaniam – Diana

Priestess Chorus:
Milla Moretti, Amelia Birmingham, Thea Hsu, Shreya Goshal, Valerie Morris, Vibu Singh, Trinity Dela Cruz, Lilliana Mindel, Sophie Spier, Sadie Habas

Male Chorus:
Dustin Peng, Jacob Salzmann, Kazu Nakamura, Asher Bartfeld

Recorded Scythian Chorus:
Abdiel Gonzalez, Kevin Corrigan, Chris Hunter, James Callon, Elias Berezin, Jacob Salzmann, Kazu Nakamura
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Saturday, May 16 Cast:
Margaret Daly - Iphigénie
Leland Smith - Oreste
Andres Delgado - Pylade
Kyle Xu - Singing Thoas
Adam Zeidler - Thoas
Lilliana Mindel - First Priestess
Sophie Spier - Second Priestess
Asher Bartfeld - The Scythian
Dustin Peng - The Priest of the Temple
Trinity Dela Cruz - Greek Woman
Leela Subramaniam - Diana

05/14/2026

Meet your 2026 commencement speaker: Kiran Gandhi

Better known as Madame Gandhi, she has produced eight albums of her own music, toured with M.I.A., and traveled to Antarctica to record the sound of melting glaciers. A musician and an activist, she is revered for her intellectual curiosity and creative fearlessness, redefining what it means to be an artist in the 21st century.

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It is somewhat cliché to speak of the unconventional path of an indie artist. But in the case of Madame Gandhi, there is just no other way to describe her.

05/13/2026

Fresh off the world premiere of Matthias Pintscher’s new opera in Berlin and the French premiere in Paris, James Darrah Black – professor and director of Opera UCLA – is bringing a fully staged production back to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.
The Opera will be performed on May 14 and 16, at 8:00 pm in Schoenberg Hall.
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James Darrah Black —professor and director of Opera UCLA—is bringing a fully staged production back to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

05/09/2026

Noah Meites, composer and continuing lecturer in music theory, has just released his new album “Counting” with New Focus Records. A number of school of music faculty were also involved in the album’s production: Hitomi Oba, Jan Berry Baker, Dan Rosenboom, and Nick DePinna.
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"Counting" by Noah Meites is a collection of chamber music that chronicles his role in LA's fertile contemporary music community.

05/06/2026

James Darrah Black, music professor and director of Opera UCLA, makes his opera debut in Paris, staging composer/conductor Matthias Pintscher’s new opera NUIT SANS AUBE at the Opéra-Comique. Le Monde—France’s most widely read newspaper—praised Darrah Black for his deft and inventive staging, noting that it did not merely support the music, it propelled it.
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James Darrah Black, music professor and director of Opera UCLA, drew major critical attention in Paris for his French directorial debut in France, staging composer/conductor Matthias Pintscher’s new opera Nuit sans aube at the

05/05/2026

A few snapshots from the Hear Now Music Festival! The UCLA Philharmonia premiered 4 pieces (including a double concerto by Professor Ian Krouse) and had Professor Movses Pogossian join us on stage. Bravi tutti!

05/01/2026

On May 8, beginning at 2 PM, join us at UCLA for an afternoon of interactive exhibits and music created by artists impacted by the Los Angeles Fires of 2025. The gallery will feature a custom Fender Stratocaster crafted for San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity from trees that were damaged around the Eaton Fire alongside listening and viewing stations for works from local artists, including the LA Field Recording Club.
Our roundtable guests include Chris Douridas (KCRW), Jessica Schwartz (UCLA Musicology), Liz Koslov (UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability), and Kim Yu (Altadena Town Council, Caltech).
The closing concert will feature works made in response to the 2025 fires from UCLA students and faculty as well as community members, including the Herbie Hancock Institute Band, field recordist Ian Wellman, visual artist Kate Lain, and Caltech student Maya Yie. The evening will culminate with the Los Angeles premiere of Will Rand’s “Firebirth” with violinist Grace Alexander.

FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2:00 PM
LANI HALL
https://www.eventbrite.com/events/1986038695200/dashboard/?eid=1986038695200

05/01/2026

Morgan Bates, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Musicology, talks about their dissertation and plans for the future upon receiving the Margery Morgan Lowens Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Society for American Music.
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Morgan Bates is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Musicology. A trumpet player with a wide-ranging undergraduate background—Bates began as a political science major—they earned a master’s in performance

04/30/2026

CONGRATULATIONS, TRANSFER CLASS OF 2028!
Welcome to your new academic and music home. We are thrilled to have you, and we hope you join us! Remember to submit your statement of intent to register by June 1.
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Curious about our program or have more questions? We will be hosting an online Open House via Zoom on Friday, May 15th, from 1-2:30 pm. Registration via MyUCLA Application portal is required.

04/29/2026

Congratulations to associate professor of composition Kaye Kyurim Rhie for receiving a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship. With up to 5000 applicants and only 55 recipients nationally, the Guggenheim fellowship recognizes scholars in disciplines across the creative arts, social sciences, natural sciences and humanities who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in their fields and show great promise for the future.
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The UCLA scholars are engaged in transformative work in areas ranging from law and chemistry to theater, musical composition and medieval studies.

04/24/2026

From the first tip through the final trophy hoist, members of the UCLA Marching Band have been with the UCLA women’s basketball team since the beginning. It has been a golden season with the Solid Gold Sound.
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The women's basketball team brought home the national championship. From the first tip to the trophy hoist, the UCLA Marching Band was there.

04/22/2026

BACKSTAGE PASS with Thomas Hodgson, professor of musicology at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, who takes us backstage at the Royal Albert Hall in London with (Professor Hodgson on trumpet). Swipe to see a video of his POV on stage!

04/22/2026

Jazz pianist professor Tamir Hendelman and vocalist Lauren Sutton celebrate the release of their newest album, SPRING. After decades of collaboration, Tierney Sutton and Tamir Hendelman share an intuitive, nearly telepathic connection. With SPRING, they distill that chemistry to its purest form —two artists, one piano, and an intimate conversation that reminds us that music can feel like renewal itself.
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SPRING now available:

04/22/2026

What does scholarship support look like at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music?

04/18/2026

It was great seeing so many new faces at our First Year Open House! We hope you got to connect with our awesome faculty, staff, and students.
More questions? Feel free to reach out to your professors or visit our website at schoolofmusic.ucla.edu.
Ready to take the next step? Remember to submit your statement of intent to register by May 1. Go Bruins!

04/15/2026

Need a break from practicing? Engage in retail therapy!
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music hoodies now available in-store and online. Grab one at the LuValle Commons store (north campus, close to the law school) or online: https://www.uclastore.com/UCLA-Herb-Alpert-School-of-Music-Hooded-Sweatshirt

04/14/2026

Bruin Giving Day Returns on April 28-29, 2026!

Mark your calendars and get ready to Seize theDay. This is the perfect moment to make your voice heard.

Whether you support student scholarships, diverse ensembles, or incredible research, your voice will help others sing. Bruin Giving Day is your moment to make a difference.

Go Bruins!