UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

09/02/2026

Thanks to the generosity of my press, you can read the book for free: https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0510

SUMMER FACULTY DISPATCH | Michael Beckerman (Dean, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music) writes: Have you ever had someone tell you that you just don't understand what a piece of music is about, or that your favorite song is "second-rate"?

Yeah, me too.

My new book, "The Doctrine of One" argues that the way we make meaning out of music depends more on the individual listener than we may think. There may be established interpretations and insightful experts, but ultimately, musical interpretation is deeply personal.

Through a philosophical lens, I explore extraordinary encounters with music and art, from Bach reimagined in the Congo to music composed in the Jewish Ghetto of Terezín, and even how the discovery of a beloved artist's N**i past changes how we think about music.

08/25/2026

We mourn the passing of Professor Emeritus Mitchell Morris. He was a longtime pillar of the Department of Musicology and a luminary scholar whose work was instrumental in changing the path of the discipline.

Professor Robert Fink has written a moving obituary celebrating Mitchell’s life, scholarship and lasting impact on the field. We invite you to read it and remember a remarkable colleague and scholar.

By Robert Fink. UCLA Professor Emeritus Mitchell Morris (64), of Cathedral City, California, passed away peacefully on August 17, 2026 after a long illness.

08/25/2026

Inna Faliks, professor of piano performance, had just released her new CD “Stranger Things: Piano Works From a Young Refugee’s Backpack” with Navona Records.

A highly personal collage of musical works, STRANGER THINGS begins with two hand-written manuscripts in a backpack, two short pieces composed by a 10-year-old composer-pianist crossing the border from Ukraine to Slovakia, en route to Austria. In addition to the two original works, "Wandering Stranger" and "Old Belltower", the album also features works of Wagner, Schoenberg, and Brahms — tracing a path from Romantic tradition to the expressive freedoms of early modernism.

Listen Now:

On STRANGER THINGS, pianist and composer Inna Faliks reflects on the musical forces that have shaped her artistic voice. Childhood compositions written just before emigrating from Odesa appear alongside works by Arnold Schoenberg and Johannes Brahms, tracing a path from Romantic tradition to the exp...

08/21/2026

OUT NOW: Dean Michael Beckerman’s new book, "The Doctrine of One: Personal Encounters with Film, Art and Music," explores one of the most intriguing questions in the humanities: Can meaning in art ever be shared, or does it ultimately belong to the individual observer?

Drawing on philosophy and a fascinating array of case studies, Beckerman moves across artistic mediums—from filmmaker Hugo Haas’s coded tributes to his murdered brother to the ghastly ex libris designs of Josef Váchal. Along the way, he examines how we make meaning from the art we encounter—and what that meaning tells us about ourselves.

Written in an engaging, accessible style, The Doctrine of One rejects academic rigidity without abandoning intellectual rigor. It is a lively, deeply humanistic book for musicologists, philosophers, and anyone curious about how we experience art.
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Read the book for free: doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0510

08/19/2026

SUMMER FACULTY DISPATCH | Greg Goodall (Percussion Performance) writes: On stage at the iconic Hollywood Bowl for a performance of the score to How to Train Your Dragon, which was written by two-time Oscar-nominated composer John Powell. The score was played along with the film, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra was conducted by David Newman, also an Oscar-nominated composer.

08/17/2026

SUMMER FACULTY DISPATCH | Inna Faliks (Piano Performance) writes: I just landed in NYC where I am about to perform at Piano Rites Festival and Bargemusic. Prior to this, I spent two months performing, recording and teaching in Europe: most recently in Altdorf, Switzerland at Borromeo Chamber Music Festival. Prior to that, I was making a recording at the historic Domovina studios in Prague, Czech. We recorded music, including a world premiere by Janacek and Martinu, with the renowned Czech violinist Pavel Sporcl, for the Pentatone label. We then performed the program in the Znojmo International Festival, where I also played solo - my Czech debut! Prague has my heart forever.
Before that, I was at the Chigiana festival, with a few of our students. Concerts, both solo and chamber, beautiful student concerts, amazing art, masterclasses and a group of musicians from all over the world in Tuscany - what can be better. I was really proud of our two UCLA students - incoming MM Andrew Altrock and our own rising senior undergrad Isabelle Ragsac, who very much held their own in a world class pianist collective.
Before NYC, I had a chance to get a little sun and sea with my family in Greece.
A few weeks ago, my new CD Stranger Things, Piano Music from a Refugees Backpack, came out on Parma, with my own music, as well as Schoenberg's opus 11, Brahms f minor Sonata and Wagner Elegy. It is a very personal disc. Great reviews are starting to come in!
My CD of Richard Danielpour's Music for Supertrain Records has also been out since a few weeks ago.
Photos are with our Alisa Gukasian at Borromeo, hiking with other artists in Borromeo, St Stefan in Vienna, with Pavel at Smetana hall in Prague, with the recording team in Prague, in the Estate Theater where Mozart conducted Don Giovanni in Prague, in Siena after student concerts and after my concert.

08/14/2026

SUMMER FACULTY DISPATCH | Greg Goodall (Percussion Performance) writes: At the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park before a screening of the film La La Land with a live orchestra performing the score. The orchestra was conducted by the composer, Academy Award-winner Justin Hurwitz, and the evening was a celebration of the film’s 10th anniversary. I had the privilege of playing not only on this performance, but also on the original soundtrack in 2016.

08/12/2026

SUMMER FACULTY DISPATCH | Theresa Dimond (Percussion Performance) writes: This is the performer's view from the stage at the Arboretum in Arcadia where I have been performing for the Pasadena Pops all summer. It is, arguably, the best summer venue for both performers and audience. The orchestra plays 5 concerts each summer in this beautiful garden setting.

08/12/2026

FROM DAILY BRUIN — Candace Hansen, alumnus of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, will soon make their final stop on a two-decades-long tour of making the case for punk music and amplifying q***r artists.
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This post was updated August 9 at 10:17 a.m. A UCLA alumnus will soon make their final stop on a two-decades-long tour of making the case for punk music and amplifying q***r artists.

08/10/2026

SUMMER FACULTY DISPATCH | Theresa Dimond & Greg Goodall (Percussion Performance) writes: The picture shows from left to right, Theresa Dimond, percussion faculty, Peter Boyer, film composer, and Greg Goodall, percussion faculty. This picture was taken on the Sony Sound Stage last week where Greg and Theresa recorded the score for Peter Boyer's current project, American Mosaic, a bold new film that celebrates the people, places, and spirit of the United States on the occasion of its 250th birthday. Created by composer Peter Boyer and photographer Joe Sohm, the project blends sweeping orchestral music, a narration by Martin Sheen, and vivid 4K video drawn from all 50 states. The film will be released to the public soon!

08/06/2026

From the Armenian Mirror-Spectator — The UCLA VEM String Quartet, during a spring tour sponsored and planned by the Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) and the UCLA Armenian Music Program, gave six concerts. Tour stops included Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Québec, Michigan and California.
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WATERTOWN — The UCLA Vem String Quartet, during a spring tour sponsored and planned by the Tekeyan Cultural Association (TCA) and the UCLA Armenian Music Program, gave six concerts. The […]