Program Description

California Institute of the Arts


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The Herb Alpert School of Music at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) strives to create a learning environment to support the informed, creative music maker. High standards, a focus on new and experimental forms, and a respect for great musical traditions are the school’s hallmark and its formula for success. In addition to cross-stylistic collaborations within The Herb Alpert School of Music, students work with visual artists, filmmakers, animators, dancers, actors, and writers from the five other schools at CalArts.

The Herb Alpert School of Music offers rigorous training in a unique variety of musical styles and cultures, from chamber and orchestral music to computer music, from opera to interdisciplinary performance, from jazz improvisation to the musical traditions of Africa, India, and Indonesia. With approximately 260 students and a 5:1 student-faculty ratio, the school offers one of the most intimate learning environments available. Every student works closely with a mentor, a faculty member who serves as that student’s artistic and academic adviser.

Programs of Study

The school offers undergraduate programs that lead to a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree or a Certificate of Fine Arts. Graduate programs lead to a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree or an Advanced Certificate of Fine Arts. Pending WASC and NASM approval, the school will offer a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in the Performer-Composer Program in 2009.

Prospective students are invited to apply to the following degree programs:

*The Performer-Composer Program (third- and fourth-year B.F.A., M.F.A.), which includes a specialization in African American improvisational music at the M.F.A. level;

*The Composition Program (B.F.A., M.F.A.), with a specialization available in experimental sound practices at the M.F.A. level only;

*The Jazz Studies Program (B.F.A., M.F.A.);

*The Programs in Performance including the African Music and Dance Program (M.F.A. only), the Balinese and Javanese Music and Dane Program (M.F.A. only), the Brass/Harp/Strings/Winds Programs (B.F.A., M.F.A.), the Guitar Program (B.F.A., M.F.A.), the North Indian Music Program (M.F.A. only), the Voice Program (B.F.A., M.F.A.), the Piano/Keyboard Program (B.F.A., M.F.A.) with an M.F.A. specialization in collaborative keyboard, the World Music Program (B.F.A. only), and the World Percussion Program (M.F.A. only);

*The Music Technology Program: Interaction, Intelligence and Design (B.F.A. only); and

*The Musical Arts Program (B.F.A. only).

Every B.F.A. student pursues course work in three areas: the B.F.A. Music Core Curriculum, the Critical Studies Undergraduate Requirements (40 percent of the total curriculum), and his or her specialized program curriculum.

M.F.A. students concentrate primarily on advanced work in their respective programs. They are generally not required to take core curriculum and critical studies courses. M.F.A. students may be required, however, to take core curriculum courses to strengthen their musical skills and/or theoretical knowledge. Qualified graduate applicants may also apply to be considered for a supplemental concentration in Integrated Media (IM), a course of study focused on interdisciplinary work with digital media.

All B.F.A. and M.F.A. programs offered by The Herb Alpert School have their own integral curriculum. The school, however, encourages courses of study that draw on the resources of several programs. Faculty mentors guide students in designing such courses of study.

The school offers more than 200 courses each semester. Music students may also take advantage of numerous elective courses offered throughout CalArts. In order to graduate, students must complete all program and course requirements and pass regular faculty member reviews of their artistic and academic progress.

Program Facilities

Most large-ensemble performances take place in the Roy O. Disney Music Hall, a multipurpose space with adaptable acoustics, lighting, and sound features. This hall is used for both traditional and experimental events. Additional concerts are presented in the Walt Disney Modular Theater and the Main Gallery.

In 2009, the school plans to open the state-of the-art Wild Beast performance space. Named in honor of composer Morton Feldman’s metaphor for the untamable in music, The Wild Beast serves as both a recital venue and an open-air, large-stage performance pavilion.

An important resource for CalArts students is the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT), a performance and exhibition space in downtown Los Angeles. Housed as a separate entity in the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall complex (the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra), REDCAT features CalArts student, alumni, and faculty member work as well as that of visiting artists.

The Herb Alpert School of Music has more than twenty-five practice rooms, many with pianos, including special rooms for piano and percussion majors. All rooms are available around-the-clock when school is in session.

CalArts’ sizable instrument collection features fifty pianos, two harpsichords, an organ, and a celesta; three harps; various strings, woodwinds, brass, and early European instruments; numerous orchestral and nontraditional percussion instruments; Balinese and Javanese gamelans; African drum ensembles; and sarods, sitars, tabla, and other Indian instruments.

The school has extensive state-of-the-art facilities for using computers and interactive media to create, perform, record, and print music. Studios support classes in composition, synthesis, and scoring; digital recording, editing, and processing; multimedia design; telecommunications; and software and hardware development. All studios are open around the clock during academic sessions.

Faculty, Resident Artists, Alumni

CalArts’ faculty features innovators and leaders in each specialty—composers, performers, and producers who have distinguished themselves at the highest levels. All faculty members are practicing professionals and can prepare students for the demands of a global music community.

The school regularly invites celebrated artists in a variety of specialties to share their experience and insights with students and to supplement the expertise of regular faculty members. They may perform, conduct their compositions, give master classes and workshops, and teach courses or lessons.

CalArts alumni have made their mark on every aspect of musicmaking, including professors at distinguished music schools, performing and recording artists, composers, computer musicians, and the like.

Student Performance/Exhibit Opportunities

The Herb Alpert School of Music’s performance schedule features more than 250 concerts every year, running the gamut from informal noon concerts and student-organized jam sessions to formal on-campus evening events and performances at high-profile venues throughout the Los Angeles area. Faculty members play alongside students at many of these concerts.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: January 5. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, 2 letters of recommendation, audition, portfolio for composition, music technology, experimental sound practices applicants, recorded audition for jazz applicants, video recording for world music applicants (excluding transfer students). Recommended: interview. Auditions held 1 time on campus and off campus in New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Interlochen, MI; Valencia, CA; San Francisco, CA; recorded music is permissible as a substitute for live auditions whenever needed and videotaped performances are permissible as a substitute for live auditions whenever sound reading is not available. Portfolio reviews held on campus.

Contact

Ms. Harmony Jiroudek, Admissions Counselor, California Institute of the Arts, 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, California 91355; 661-255-1050, fax: 661-253-7710.