School of Music

Huib Schippers argues that the history of ethnomusicology shows an organic development towards public-facing work, and discusses the skill sets needed in the field to improve lives through music. Abstract: An interesting thing happened to ethnomusicology on its way to the 21st century. While beginnings in the 1800s kept it carefully away from direct interaction with the people who make music, culture and context became increasingly important in the second half of the 20th century. Towards 2000, an awareness had dawned that the musicians we work with and their communities perhaps should be at the center of our efforts. This first manifested as “giving back” research outputs (such as recordings) to the community, and later expanded into working with communities on an equal footing to serve their agendas in and through music. In this talk, I will argue that this very short history constitutes an organic development towards public-facing work, and discuss how applied ethnomusicologists require new skill sets to engage successfully with an exciting range of contemporary applied work in the realms of social justice, health, institutions, media, cultural sustainability and crisis recovery. Bio: Huib Schippers is one of the world’s leading scholars on the crossroads of music education, community music, music industry, cultural diversity, and sustainability. In over three decades of leadership roles in arts and academia, he founded the World Music School in Amsterdam (1990-1996), the World Music & Dance Centre in Rotterdam (2001-2006), and Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre in Australia (2003-2015). Next, he directed Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (2016-2020), served as UC Regents’ Professor at UCLA (2022) and as Visiting Professor at CCOM in Beijing (2023). In 2025, he was proclaimed Distinguished Changjiang Professor and became Founding Director of the International Centre for Cultural Sustainability at Zhaoqing University in China. Schippers has initiated applied projects on five continents and published over 200 publications for scholarly and general audiences, mostly on cultural diversity, artistic research, systems of learning, and cultural sustainability, including Facing the Music: Shaping Music Education from a Global Perspective (Oxford University Press (OUP), 2010); Sustainable Futures for Music Cultures (OUP, 2016) and Music, Communities, Sustainability (OUP, 2022). https://huibschippers.org/

Join The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for the second annual UCLA Bassoon Day. Spearheaded by John Steinmetz, director of the bassoon studio, this event will feature a full day of bassoon classes, performance, reedmaking, bassoon band, with bassoon related vendors showing instruments, reeds, and accessories. This event will take place in the Band Room (1345) and is open to students of all levels.

In 2026, we commemorate a decade since the passing of King Rama IX, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and one year since the passing of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the beloved Queen Mother. Hosted by the UCLA Music of Thailand Ensemble and the Royal Thai Consulate, Los Angeles, this evening is a heartfelt tribute to the profound cultural legacy of the late King and Queen. It aims to inspire attendees and invite them to join a celebration that beautifully intertwines with tradition and innovation. This connection deepens our appreciation for their visionary artistry and fosters a powerful sense of shared cultural pride. The selected pieces, including Saeng tien (Candlelight blues), Yarm yen (Love at sundown), Sai fon (Falling rain), Klai roong (Near dawn), Chta cheewit (H.M. blues), and Artit up saeng (Blue day), will be performed by community members and master musicians, ensuring each voice is heard both in Thai and English. In 2026, we mark a poignant milestone: a decade since the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX, whose legacy continues to inspire, and one year since the departure of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the cherished Queen Mother, whose grace and compassion touched countless lives. Their enduring influence resonates deeply within our hearts, uniting us in remembrance and gratitude. This heartfelt tribute evokes deep respect and collective remembrance, strengthening the emotional bond between the audience and their cultural heritage. The concert will take place at the elegant Lani Hall, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, welcoming 101 distinguished guests to celebrate the extraordinary musical legacy of King Rama IX and honor his beloved queen, to whom many relics are dedicated. Local musicians and students will enrich the celebration with their performances, creating a diverse and inclusive program that highlights the community’s vital role in honoring the King and Queen. Their participation reflects a shared commitment to preserving their legacy and ensures that supporters feel valued in this meaningful endeavor. On the evening of October 17, 2026, the program will also commence with a short documentary and films dedicated to the late King, showcasing his remarkable contributions to music and music education in Thailand. After a brief intermission, the Jazz ensemble will perform selected pieces, bringing the King’s compositions to a vibrant, memorable life. Attire: Guests and performers are kindly requested to wear concert black attire for this significant evening.

Many old songs brim with ecological awareness. Old songs from the territory of modern Ukraine tell stories about plants like the birch tree–bereza in Ukrainian, beryoze in Yiddish–that bend, break, and heal, becoming metaphors for human fragility and tenacity. Birds mark the turning of seasons and shifts in our internal weather as well. Since 2011, Zozulka–a trio named after the Ukrainian word for cuckoo bird–has interpreted songs from a wide range of Ukrainian village traditions. With BEREZA / BERYOZE, the trio branches into a new cycle of songs that speak directly to ecological themes. In this project, Zozulka reaches into Yiddish song repertoires from Ukraine, matching and contrasting the Jewish and Ukrainian song traditions that coexisted and drew upon grounded ecological knowledge. This song cycle reimagines old songs by rooting them in new sonic and cultural landscapes. Through expansive and bold arrangements, the works in BEREZA / BERYOZE illuminate how folk wisdom can deepen our awareness of the interdependence between human and more-than-human worlds. In an era marked by global climate change and devastating acts of ecocide in wartorn Ukraine and beyond, BEREZA / BERYOZE celebrates variegated and interlinked song traditions and the cathartic, regenerative power of singing old songs in the present. A portion of our proceeds will go to the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group https://uncg.org.ua/en/. BIO: Zozulka Trio is Eva Salina, Willa Roberts, and Maria Sonevytsky. We have been singing together since 2011, when we formed as an offshoot of The Chornobyl Songs Project, led by one of our mentors, the Kyiv-based ethnomusicologist Yevhen Yefremov. zozulka.bandcamp.com.

A Musical Odyssey from Armenia to Appalachia. A 90-minute concert experience featuring original compositions from Raffi Joe Wartanian’s forthcoming album MAKAM DELTA, performed by the Sér Ensemble (oud, violin, guitar, bass, and percussion). The program merges Armenian folk traditions, modal jazz, flamenco, rebetiko, Appalachian bluegrass, and improvisation, tracing innovative connections between music of the Mediterranean and the Americas. The concert also incorporates brief reflections on the oud, cultural influences, thematic considerations (composition, diaspora, intercultural dialogue), and occasional poetic interventions, cultivating an engaging and inclusive experience. Raffi Joe Wartanian & the Sér Ensemble unite oud, violin, guitar, bass, and percussion to paint a sonic soundscape where the Appalachian Mountains slope into the Mediterranean Sea. Led by composer, writer, and educator Raffi Joe Wartanian, the ensemble—featuring percussionist TJ Troy, guitarist Alexy Yeghikian, violinist Shant Tanielian, and bassist Felix Kochendorfer—draws from Armenian folk, modal jazz, flamenco, rebetiko, and poetry. Backed by producer Gaby Moreno, Levantine Music, and the UCLA Armenian Music Program among others, the artists showcase virtuosic improvisations, innovative compositions, and video projections of nature to evoke the sense of reflection, wonder, and discovery that inspired this project. Listen here for a sneak peak of the album! “Through his fresh approach to the ancient oud, Raffi Joe Wartanian exudes dexterity, nuance, and compositional finesse. His music organically traverses genres with a subtle ease and fluency, often intertwining multiple traditions and influences in a way that feels cohesive, authentic, and innovative. In doing so, he not only honors the oud’s rich history, but also expands its possibilities. With MAKAM DELTA, his new album of oud compositions, he has moved the music and instrument forward to new frontiers.” -Ara Dinkjian, oud master

Join us for a two-day celebration of the 65th anniversary of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. The event will feature a symposium, workshops, and concerts. International, national, and local archivists, alumni, faculty, and community members will come together to explore the history and evolving role of ethnomusicological archives in preserving and sustaining musical traditions. The event is also in celebration of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Saturday’s featured guest artists will be LA’s 33 Strings, who will lead a Japanese music workshop, and Kinnara Gagaku, who will present a gagaku concert. Kinnara Gagaku was taught for more than 35 years by Suenobu Togi, a former musician of the Japanese Imperial Court who directed UCLA Ethnomusicology’s Music of Japan Ensemble from 1961 to 1993. Professor Robert Garfias, who founded the Music of Japan Ensemble at UCLA in 1958, will introduce the concert. Sunday’s featured guest artists will be Masanga Marimba, led by UCLA Ethnomusicology alumnus Dr. Ric Alviso. Masanga Marimba will lead both a workshop and the Sunday evening concert. Established in 1961, the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive is a world-renowned research archive dedicated to the study of musical traditions from around the globe. The Archive’s collection of more than 160,000 audio, video, print, and photographic items documents musical expressions throughout the world and includes unique field recordings as well as rare commercial recordings. As part of UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology, the Archive preserves and makes accessible over 60 years’ worth of audio and video recordings of the department’s famed concerts and also of lectures by legendary scholars and performers, ranging from Mantle Hood to Ravi Shankar to Dizzy Gillespie. In addition to preservation and access, the Archive offers a wide range of research, outreach, and educational services. From international scholars to local community members and UCLA students and faculty, the Archive is recognized locally and internationally as an important center of ethnomusicological research and discovery. Sponsored by The UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and the Dean’s Office, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

LA’s 33 Strings (三十三絃の会), a distinguished Japanese music ensemble based in Southern California and dedicated to the preservation and evolution of Japan’s musical heritage, hosts a workshop on Japanese music. Featuring instruments such as the koto, bass koto, and shamisen, the group performs a wide variety of music, ranging from classical pieces and folk songs to contemporary works, including anime and film scores, bringing together members and audiences through a shared appreciation of Japanese music. LA’s 33 Strings has appeared at a range of notable events, including a collaboration with the globally renowned video game Silent Hill f, the Newport Beach Film Festival, Anime Expo, and the Dream Asia Food Festival in Las Vegas, as well as numerous community events throughout Southern California. The ensemble has also performed at venues such as Bowers Museum, Descanso Gardens, and other Japanese gardens, libraries, art galleries, and cultural festivals. In addition, LA’s 33 Strings has produced hands-on workshops throughout the LA community with the endorsement of the Consulate General of Japan. These educational programs help deepen appreciation and understanding of Japanese musical traditions while creating opportunities for participants to experience the instruments and music firsthand. As its presence continues to grow, the ensemble looks ahead to future engagements, including its annual fall concert on November 21st. This special evening will reflect not only the cultural richness and musical refinement of Japanese music, but also the spirit of community at the heart of LA’s 33 Strings. LA’s 33 Strings is generously supported by grants from the California Arts Council, LA County Arts and Culture, Japan Foundation, and the Eastside Arts Initiative. https://www.33strings.org/ This workshop is presented in conjunction with the symposium “Music Alive in the Archive: Legacy and Promise–65 Years of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive,” a two-day event in celebration of the 65th anniversary of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. Sponsored by the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and the Dean’s Office, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Robert Garfias arrived at UCLA in the summer of 1956. In the fall of 1956, he was given a graduate assistantship to manage the Ethnomusicology Archive. He worked on adding recordings from China (PRC), Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan to the Archive’s holdings. When he returned from Japan in 1961, he again worked in the Archive, accessioning Mantle Hood’s fieldwork recordings from Java. He also dubbed and accessed the Colin McPhee 78 rpm discs. Garfias continued his work in the Archive until he left for Seattle, Washington, in the fall of 1962. During his time at UCLA, Garfias researched Gagaku for both his master’s thesis and his doctoral dissertation. The focus of his research was a study of the living contemporary practice of Gagaku in the Japanese Imperial Palace and to trace, from historical documents, the patterns of change that occurred during the 900 years of its practice in Japan. Garfias’ master’s thesis was titled “The Basic Melody of the Tōgaku Pieces of the Gagaku Repertoire.” Garfias was UCLA Ethnomusicology’s very first MA graduate in 1958. Garfias’ dissertation in 1965 was titled “The Tōgaku Style of Japanese Court Music: An Analysis of Theory in Practice.” A version of his dissertation titled Music of a Thousand Autumns: The Tōgaku Style of Japanese Court Music was released as a book by the University of California Press in 1975. In 1959 the Japanese imperial court musicians toured the United States. Garfias toured with them as an interpreter.  They performed three nights at UCLA, where Garfias gave the introductory lecture each night. Garfias wrote the program booklet for the tour, Gagaku: The Music and Dance of the Japanese Imperial Household (New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1959). The UCLA Music of Japan Ensemble began in 1956 as a Gagaku group led by then-graduate student Robert Garfias. In May 1960, the Music of Japan Ensemble performed in the Festival of Oriental Music and the Related Arts. Produced by Mantle Hood, this event, now called the Spring Festival of World Music, has taken place annually ever since. The Music of Japan Ensemble remained an extra-curricular “study group” until 1964–1965, when Music 45G/145G: Music of Japan was offered for the first time. Instructors of the Music of Japan Ensemble included: Robert Garfias (1956–1961), Suenobu Togi (1961–1993), Mitsuru Yuge (1962–1989), Ikuko Yuge (1962–2001), Naoko Terauchi (1995-1996), and Bill Shozan Schultz (1995–2001). During his academic career Robert Garfias founded the ethnomusicology program at the University of Washington, served as Dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of California, Irvine, and conducted significant periods of fieldwork and language study around the world, including in Japan, Korea, Burma, Okinawa, the Philippines, Mexico, Central America, Zimbabwe, Romania, Turkey, and Spain. Garfias was appointed to the National Council on the Arts of the National Endowment for the Arts and also the Smithsonian Council. He served as a senior research fellow for the Japanese National Museum of Ethnology in Senri (Osaka), Japan. In 2005 the Government of Japan awarded Robert Garfias the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, for his service to humanity.

Kinnara was formed in 1969 by Rev. Masao Kodani and several members of Senshin Buddhist Temple and includes a Gagaku group of 15-20 musicians and dancers and a Taiko group. It sponsors study groups and conducts seminars on Buddhist culture and performing arts. Gagaku is the oldest existing tradition of orchestral music and dance in the world, representing the court music and dance of ancient Asia (central Asia, southeast Asia, India, China, Manchuria, Korea, and Japan). It is the collective music of these areas up to the 10th century and as early as the beginning of the common era. This music is preserved and performed to this day in Japan and, to a lesser degree, in Korea. In Japan, it became part of the liturgical music and dance of our Jodoshinshu sect in the 17th century and has been performed in our temples in America since the early 1900s. Kinnara had the rare opportunity to study gagaku under the guidance of Professor Suenobu Togi, emeritus professor of the Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA and musician in the Imperial Household Department of Court Music in Japan. He taught the group from 1969-2010. Kinnara Gagaku continues to perform at various temples for special services, as well as at cultural centers and universities. In October 2023, Kinnara Gagaku performed at Walt Disney Hall in downtown Los Angeles for the celebration of their 20th anniversary. https://senshintemple.org/groups/kinnara/ This concert is presented in conjunction with the symposium “Music Alive in the Archive: Legacy and Promise–65 Years of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive,” a two-day event in celebration of the 65th anniversary of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. Co-sponsored by the Hiroshi Wagatsuma Memorial Faculty Grant from the UCLA Asia Pacific Center, the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and the Dean’s Office, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Join us for a two-day celebration of the 65th anniversary of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. The event will feature a symposium, workshops, and concerts. International, national, and local archivists, alumni, faculty, and community members will come together to explore the history and evolving role of ethnomusicological archives in preserving and sustaining musical traditions.   The event is also in celebration of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.   Saturday’s featured guest artists will be LA’s 33 Strings, who will lead a Japanese music workshop, and Kinnara Gagaku, who will present a gagaku concert. Kinnara Gagaku was taught for more than 35 years by Suenobu Togi, a former musician of the Japanese Imperial Court who directed UCLA Ethnomusicology’s Music of Japan Ensemble from 1961 to 1993. Professor Robert Garfias, who founded the Music of Japan Ensemble at UCLA in 1958, will introduce the concert.   Sunday’s featured guest artists will be Masanga Marimba, led by UCLA Ethnomusicology alumnus Dr. Ric Alviso. Masanga Marimba will lead both a workshop and the Sunday evening concert.   Established in 1961, the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive is a world-renowned research archive dedicated to the study of musical traditions from around the globe. The Archive’s collection of more than 160,000 audio, video, print, and photographic items documents musical expressions throughout the world and includes unique field recordings as well as rare commercial recordings. As part of UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology, the Archive preserves and makes accessible over 60 years’ worth of audio and video recordings of the department’s famed concerts and also of lectures by legendary scholars and performers, ranging from Mantle Hood to Ravi Shankar to Dizzy Gillespie. In addition to preservation and access, the Archive offers a wide range of research, outreach, and educational services. From international scholars to local community members and UCLA students and faculty, the Archive is recognized locally and internationally as an important center of ethnomusicological research and discovery.   Sponsored by The UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and the Dean’s Office, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Join us for a WORKSHOP by Masanga Marimba! In this workshop you will learn parts for 2-3 musical selections on Zimbabwean-style marimba. This ensemble consists of multiple soprano, tenor, baritone, and bass marimbas, along with percussion. You will learn several marimba parts, singing, historical background on the development of the Zimbabwean marimba ensemble, and cultural background of the music selected. Masanga Marimba performs traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America. The instruments used in this ensemble consist of 7 Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, and percussion. The word “Masanga” comes from a Shona word that means the coming together of rivers or roads representing the meeting of African and Latin musical traditions in this group. Masanga Marimba formed in the year 2000 and has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles County Music Center, Grand Performances, Getty Center, Skirball Cultural Center, Ford Amphitheatre, California Worldfest, Millpond Music Festival, Strawberry Festival, and many other high profile music venues. The ensemble has opened for Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Beck, Lana Del Rey, John Mayer, Nora Jones, Father John Misty, Los Lobos, Ziggy Marley, Pink Martini, and many others. The group is led by Dr. Ric Alviso (UCLA Ethnomusicology PhD 2002), Professor of World Music at California State University Northridge. Professor Alviso studied traditional African music in Senegal, Zimbabwe, and Ghana. The members of Masanga have degrees in percussion performance, music composition, jazz performance, and music therapy. Masanga is one of the only marimba ensembles in the U.S. that combines Latin and African traditions. For more information go to: www.masanga.com This workshop is presented in conjunction with the symposium “Music Alive in the Archive: Legacy and Promise–65 Years of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive,” a two-day event in celebration of the 65th anniversary of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. The event is FREE and open to the public. Sponsored by the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and the Dean’s Office, Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA.

Masanga Marimba will perform a selection of pieces from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Cameroon, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico on Zimbabwean-style marimbas, mbira, drums, and percussion. Participation is appreciated! Masanga Marimba performs traditional and popular music from Africa and Latin America. The instruments used in this ensemble consist of seven Zimbabwean marimbas of various sizes along with vocals, drums, and percussion. The word “Masanga” comes from a Shona word that means the coming together of rivers or roads representing the meeting of African and Latin musical traditions in this group. Masanga Marimba formed in the year 2000 and has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles County Music Center, Grand Performances, Getty Center, Skirball Cultural Center, Ford Amphitheatre, California Worldfest, Millpond Music Festival, Strawberry Festival, and many other high profile music venues. The ensemble has opened for Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Beck, Lana Del Rey, John Mayer, Nora Jones, Father John Misty, Los Lobos, Ziggy Marley, Pink Martini, and many others. The group is led by Dr. Ric Alviso (UCLA Ethnomusicology PhD 2002), Professor of World Music at California State University Northridge. Professor Alviso studied traditional African music in Senegal, Zimbabwe, and Ghana. The members of Masanga have degrees in percussion performance, music composition, jazz performance, and music therapy. Masanga is one of the only marimba ensembles in the U.S. that combines Latin and African traditions. For more information go to: www.masanga.com This concert is presented in conjunction with the symposium “Music Alive in the Archive: Legacy and Promise–65 Years of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive,” a two-day event in celebration of the 65th anniversary of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. Sponsored by the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology, and the Dean’s Office, UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

UCLA Nazir Ali Jairazhboy Colloquium Dawn Norfleet: Beyond Being Alice Coltrane and Betty Davis As the centennial celebrations of John Coltrane and Miles Davis reach sunset, we will shine light on the unique artistry of two exceptional musicians, Alice McLeod Coltrane and Betty Gray Mabry Davis.  These women played significant roles in the lives and music of jazz luminaries John and Miles during their brief marriages; even more importantly, they were impactful music and culture creators whose full recognition may have been overshadowed by their iconic husbands until recent years.  Beyond being John’s collaborator, Alice Coltrane was a music visionary fusing improvisation, jazz, gospel, and Indian traditions in her compositions and recordings. Her Hindu devotees honored her as and Hindu spiritual leader, Swamini A.C. Turiyasangitananda.  Beyond being “Miles’ muse”, Betty Gray Mabry was a trailblazing Black female rocker, songwriter, and bandleader at the height of the Soul Era. Her raspy voice and raunchy lyrics expressed an overt sexuality and aggressive performativity that was presumed the domain of white male rock artists, while also being considered too provocative for many Black listeners influenced by aesthetics of gospel and Motown.  We will not only discuss the strong impact Alice and Betty had on the musical direction of John and Miles, but also, how these women were cultural catalysts on the merits of their own artistry.

Bold new music from the UCLA theory faculty kicks off our Faculty Artist Series this year. From soulful violin to electronic samples, from classical quintet to improvised duos, this concert features an eclectic mix of compositions and styles that embody our dynamic school.

Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music as we welcome pianist Elizabeth Schumann for the Fall installment of our 2026/27 David L. Abell Piano Master Series, a concert series which features renowned artists visiting UCLA to perform and work with our piano students.   About Elizabeth Schumann: Dr. Elizabeth Schumann is a concert pianist, educator, and interdisciplinary artist whose work spans leading concert halls, public art initiatives, and research at the intersection of the arts, technology, and human performance. Described by The Washington Post as “deft, relentless, and devastatingly good—the sort of performance you experience not so much with your ears as your solar plexus,” she approaches the concert stage as a place where artistry and inquiry meet, offering audiences experiences that link music with the broader human story. ​ As a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist, she has performed at the Kennedy Center, Vienna’s Bösendorfer Saal, Weill at Carnegie Hall, Montreal’s Place des Arts, San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall, Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Musical Instruments Museum in Phoenix, Ravinia’s Rising Stars Series, Australia’s Huntington Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival. Her performances have been featured on NPR’s Performance Today, PBS, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Honors include the Gilmore Young Artist Award, first prizes at the Bösendorfer and Pacific International Piano Competitions, and awards at the Cleveland, Hilton Head, Montreal, and World International Piano Competitions. ​ Her portfolio extends beyond traditional concert work to collaborative projects that place music in fresh contexts. She has developed touring productions that integrate performance with narrative and visual design, large-scale public installations that transform city spaces into concert venues, and educational programs for children and underserved communities that pair music with literature and live storytelling. These include Piano Carnival, which grew from a 15-city tour into a book, CD, and interactive applications reaching more than 20,000 students and teachers; Son et Lumière, premiered at Boston’s Illuminus Festival and later commissioned for the Pike & Rose Audio Visual Arts Festival, attracting audiences of over 8,000; and Pianimal, a concert and video series presented across the United States and distributed to children’s hospitals through partnerships with leading arts organizations. Across these projects, her aim is to allow audiences to meet music on their own terms and to experience its power without barriers of price or pretense. Her work has also reached international audiences through U.S. Embassy cultural diplomacy programs, building connections and mutual understanding through performance. ​ Carrying on the pedagogical tradition of her teacher, Sergei Babayan, Dr. Schumann has taught at Winter and Summer Performing Arts at The Juilliard School, Itzhak Perlman’s Perlman Music Program, the Crowden Chamber Music Workshop, and the Vancouver Piano Sessions. She is the Billie Bennett Director of Keyboard Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at Stanford University, where she combines conservatory-level training with insights from neuroscience, psychology, and biomechanics to help pianists achieve expressive freedom while minimizing injury risk. At Stanford, her research examines how physiology, pedagogy, and instrument design shape performance, with applications that extend beyond the arts to fields such as medicine, rehabilitation, and human performance science. ​ Through collaborations that unite artists, scientists, and community leaders, Dr. Schumann expands how people encounter and engage with music. Her work demonstrates how these connections can open new possibilities, deepen understanding, and inspire contributions that reach beyond the concert hall.

Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be! – Don Quixote Immerse yourself in the fantastical world of Don Quixote, where comic misadventures, tender moments and heroic dreams come vividly to life in Richard Strauss’s dazzling tone poem. As the Don, UCLA Philharmonia welcomes our new Professor of Cello Ben Hong in his Philharmonic debut, alongside his trusty sidekick Sancho Panza (aka UCLA Professor of Viola Che-Yen Chen). Before intermission, we’ll do a deep dive into the novel and the tone poem with Prof. Hong, UCLA Distinguished Professor Barbara Fuchs (one of the world’s leading Cervantes scholars) and our Philharmonia musicians. All hail the Knight Errant!

Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for the first Wind Ensemble concert of the 2026-2027 season.

Join us before the Steve Reich @ 90 performance for an enlightening discussion. Many factors (language, speech, text) make up the programmatic content of a series of Steve Reich’s works – we are focusing on the Jewish themed works. The symposium seeks to problematize the Jewish aspects of Reich’s work, which has been a significant influence in recent decades.  Andrea Moore, a grad of the UCLA Musicology doctoral program (Smith College), will focus on WTC 9/11 as a 9/11 commemoration piece and Ryan Scott Ebright (Bowling Green State University), will focus on The Cave, and UCLA Professor of Musicology and Director of the Berry Gordy Music Industry Center, Robert Fink, an expert on minimalism, will be in conversation with Mark Kligman.

Please join the Milken Center for a gala 90th birthday celebration featuring the music of Steve Reich, one of the leading composers of our time, and a paradigmatic musician of American Jewish experience. Works to include Eight Lines, Know what is above you, WTC 9/11 and Tehillim. A symposium prior to the event will take place with engaging conversations with leading experts in the music of Steve Reich and Minimalism. Register here. Interested in hearing more Steve Reich music? uclaFLUX, the School of Music’s contemporary chamber music collective (Wendy Richman, Director), joins the Milken Center in presenting a second program of the music of Steve Reich on December 5, 2026. The concert features three large ensemble works (Runner, Traveler’s Prayer, and Daniel Variations, in memory of journalist Daniel Pearl) led by Director of Orchestral Studies Neal Stulberg and graduate student conductors; and New York Counterpoint, for SATB saxophone quartet and tape. This program—which serves as uclaFLUX’s Fall Quarter concert, in addition to honoring Reich in his 90th birthday year—will feature over 30 School of Music student performers. More information here.

Out of the Depths: the first collection of Holocaust songs tells the story of a small songbook, produced in Bucharest in 1945. It contains the first collection of songs from survivors of camps and ghettos, those hiding in forests, or those on false papers who managed to conceal their identity throughout the war. Bucharest Romania, 1945: a small team of Polish Jews gather in a house set up by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to support recently liberated survivors of the camps and ghettos. While compiling legal testimonies from those who come for food, provisions, and advice for safe places to resettle, they notate songs of wartime experience, which are collected and printed in a short run, and distributed to various people and organisations. Sydney Australia, 2013: one of these fragile song books is found in the estate of a survivor in Sydney, preserved from deterioration by chance, gently pressed between pages of another music score. It is one of only 5 remaining copies in the world. Thirteen years later, the songbook is reborn as Out of the Depths: the first collection of Holocaust songs. Dr Joseph Toltz and Associate Professor Anna Boucher have spent the last 13 years traveling four continents, investigating archives, tracing the stories of those who contributed to the original project. Critically acclaimed by James Loeffler (Johns Hopkins), Samuel Kassow (YIVO), Hasia Diner (NYU) and many other scholars, this event will launch the book in the USA. Similar to launches in Australia, the melodies of the songbook will be woven around the stories of the songs themselves.  Joseph Toltz will be joined by Professor Michael Beckerman on piano for this special event.

The dissertation and final DMA recital curated by harpist Jillian Risigari-Gai will focus on the life and works of composer Alfredo Rolando Ortiz. It will explore how his compositions have continued the lineage of “Transculturality,” a conceptual framework describing the blending, fluid interaction, and transformation of cultures as they encounter one another. Unlike multiculturalism, which often views distinct cultures as existing side by side, transculturality emphasizes how globalization, migration, and communication break down traditional cultural boundaries, creating new, shared, and continuously evolving cultural identities. Through research, oral history interviews, and performance, the project will closely examine how Paraguayan harp techniques and performance practices inform and expand the possibilities of the double-action pedal harp through Alfredo Rolando Ortiz’s South American Suite for Harp and Orchestra.

The UCLA Guitar Ensemble presents the culmination of its Improvisation Workshop with the Radu Valcu Quintet, featuring chamber and ensemble performances by UCLA guitar students, alumni, and guests. Directed by the Radu Valcu Quintet and conducted by Dr. Mircea Gogoncea, the program explores new and existing classical-jazz fusion works, highlighting improvisation as a vital part of contemporary performance practice.

Join UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music’s Percussion Ensemble for their Fall installment of their quarterly performance series.

Judith A. Peraino and Tom McEnaney, authors of We’re Having Much More Fun: Punk Archives for the Present from CBGB to Gilman an Beyond (2026), join with Tommy Gear and Paul Roessler from legendary LA punk band the Screamers to delve into punk archives of zines, photos, flyers and documents and discuss how punk’s grassroots creative communities and uncompromising artistic visions challenged the dominance of major labels and corporate standards, and created an alternative ecosystem to the mainstream music industry that has lasted over fifty years. The Berry Gordy Music Industry Center at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music hosts a compelling speaker series aiming to inspire and educate the next generation of music industry professionals by providing direct access to those shaping the industry, from creatives to executives each facet of the industry will be touched upon. Each event highlights conversations around the human side of the industry—from personal growth and wellness to social impact and responsible leadership. The series offers students the opportunity to learn directly from change makers across music, media, and business who are reimagining what it means to lead with purpose in a rapidly evolving industry.

Join us for a night of new music composed by UCLA undergraduate composition students.   Among one of the most competitive schools for composition in the country, the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music boasts performances of music written by ferociously talented and exceptionally gifted young composers.   Please come support their endeavors as we kick off the 2025-26 school year of composers concerts!

Winner of the Israeli Academy’s Best Documentary Award, The Komediant focuses on the life and career of Pesach Burstein and his family, famous for Yiddish theaterA discussion with son, actor Mike Burstyn follows the screening, in conversation with Miri Koral, UCLA Lecturer and expert in Yiddish language and culture.

Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for an afternoon of music featuring the students of Dr. Jan Berry Baker.

Join the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for an evening of chamber music highlighting members of the brass family.

Join us for the second of six workshops as part of the Modal Interchange: Conversations on 21st-Century Performance Practices series with Jonathan Hepfer, percussionist and artistic director of Monday Evening Concerts, who will join Wendy Richman (Academic Lecturer and Director of uclaFLUX at UCLA) in a conversation about how to develop as a working artist. Sisyphus as Artist (Whatever prevents you from doing your work has become your work) Whether navigating complex scores or directing a series, the common denominator is simply problem solving: using one’s sense of logic, aesthetics, ethics, and intuition to figure out how to get from A to B. Every project or piece is completely different, requiring constant reinvention and re-equipping of one’s toolbox. More abstractly, but of equal or greater weight, is the importance of nurturing non-musical artistic and creative interests while we hone our problem-solving skills. Whether performer, presenter, painter, or poet, artists flourish when we connect through our shared goal: to make a lasting impression on the souls of those around us. Bio Jonathan Hepfer is a percussionist, conductor, and concert curator. He began playing classical music at age seventeen after discovering the work of John Cage while studying at SUNY Buffalo. Subsequently, Jonathan attended Oberlin Conservatory, UC San Diego and the Musikhochschule Freiburg (on a DAAD fellowship) where he studied with Michael Rosen, Steven Schick and Bernhard Wulff. ​Since 2015, he has been the Artistic Director of Monday Evening Concerts (MEC) in Los Angeles as well as its resident ensemble ECHOI. At MEC, Jonathan has directed performances of major works by Pierre Boulez, John Cage, Julius Eastman, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, Gérard Grisey, Sarah Hennies, Yves Klein, Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich, Salvatore Sciarrino, Caroline Shaw, Tyshawn Sorey, Simeon Ten Holt and Iannis Xenakis. As a curator and producer, he has presented works by Georges Aperghis, Pierluigi Billone, Carolyn Chen, Chaya Czernowin, Julius Eastman, David Hammons, Sarah Hennies, György Kurtág, Klaus Lang, Alvin Lucier, Hans Otte, Éliane Radigue, Michael Pisaro-Liu, Caroline Shaw, Wadada Leo Smith, Steven Takasugi, Davóne Tines and Wu Tsang. Jonathan has directed (or co-directed) projects at venues such as the Getty Museum, Harvard University, Hauser & Wirth, Jeffrey Deitch, LACMA, LAXART, Marciano Art Foundation, the Santa Monica Carousel (Frieze), Thomas Mann House and the Pinault Collection in Paris. ​As a percussion soloist, Jonathan has focused extensively on the works of Georges Aperghis, Pierluigi Billone, Julius Eastman, Brian Ferneyhough, Morton Feldman, Vinko Globokar, Helmut Lachenmann, Giacinto Scelsi, Iannis Xenakis and Walter Zimmermann. In this capacity, he has performed widely across the United States, Europe and Asia. Recent independent projects have included serving as artistic director for a portrait of Julius Eastman at the Pinault Collection in Paris (a collaboration with Anaïs Ngbanzo, Dev Hynes and Adam Tendler) and performing the role of conductor in a revival of Deborah Hay’s ‘Solo 2’ at the Getty Museum. Jonathan has also contributed to projects by friends such as Henrik Purienne (‘Tasjaki’ at Galerie Chenel), Vanessa Beecroft and Gustave Rudman (‘Two Shadows’ at Jeffrey Deitch) and Henri Levy Alexandre (Enfants Riches Déprimés S/S ’25). He has published interviews with Meredith Monk (Autre Magazine), Éliane Radigue (Purple Magazine) and Steve Reich (Kaleidoscope Magazine). Jonathan also documented the oral histories of the pioneering generation of percussion soloists (Jan Williams, Christoph Caskel, Sylvio Gualda, Jean-Pierre Drouet, Gaston Sylvestre, Maurizio Ben Omar). Jonathan has served on the faculty at Art Center Pasadena and Cal Arts. He is interested in the ways that music intersects with visual art, literature, architecture, fashion and film. More about Modal Interchange: Conversations on 21st-Century Performance Practices The personality of Los Angeles’s new music scene mirrors its city’s culture and geography as a whole: equal parts diversity and decentralization, in a battle for recognition and relevance that crisscrosses 650 freeway miles. The Modal Interchange series casts a wide net around LA’s new music community, hosting a diverse group of individuals who might not otherwise share the same artistic and academic spaces, in a series of lecture-workshops geared to an audience of performers. Modal Interchange is a series of six workshops through 2026-27. Each workshop focuses on an element of 21st-century performing, programming, and music-making in the world of contemporary music, with special focus on the topics’ relevance in greater LA: histories of experimental music and the avant-garde, commissioning new works, concert programming, listening as an audience member, listening as a performer, score-reading and part-marking, learning and practicing contemporary works, improvisation practices, and arts activism. This series is conceived and hosted by violist Wendy Richman and produced in partnership with the UCLA Center for Musical Humanities. Dr. Richman is Lecturer in Performance Studies, Director of uclaFLUX, and a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble. For the full schedule, please visit our website: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/modal-interchange-conversations-on-21st-century-performance-practices/