Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce the formation and naming of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and a $30 million endowment gift made possible through the generosity of the renowned performer, producer and philanthropist Herb Alpert and his wife Lani Hall Alpert. This endowment gift from the Herb Alpert Foundation in support of the new school is the largest ever made to the arts in the UC system and the single largest individual gift to music in higher education in the western United States. Professor Timothy Rice, former chair of the Department of Ethnomusicology, has been appointed the School’s inaugural director.
Aligning the Departments of Ethnomusicology, Music and Musicology under an integrative structure, The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will be devoted to the performance and study of music in all of its global diversity, including world music, popular music, jazz and classical music. The departments will report to their respective deans although overarching responsibility for the operations of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will rest with Dean Christopher Waterman of the School of the Arts and Architecture, to whom the director will report.
The aggregation of the study of music within an overarching structure will expand the visibility of UCLA’s excellent music programs, promote the development of new interdisciplinary curricula, projects and programming and, through the director, establish a primary spokesperson for music at UCLA who can communicate with donors, foundations, prospective students and faculty.
We envision that The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music will strengthen the profile of the music programs at UCLA and we look forward to its evolution in the coming years.
Sincerely,
Gene D. Block
Chancellor