UCLA - University of California - Los Angeles
04/21/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/21/2025 14:49
Michael Beckerman named dean of UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music
Michael Beckerman, a renowned musicologist widely recognized for his seminal scholarship on Czech and Eastern European music, has been appointed the new dean of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.
Beckerman is currently the Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Music and the Collegiate Professor of Music at New York University, where he also chaired the music department for more than a decade. He will begin his new role at UCLA by Oct. 1.
The appointment marks a return to the University of California for Beckerman, who was a member of the music faculty at UC Santa Barbara from 1992 to 2003. He was also a distinguished professor at Lancaster University in the U.K. from 2011 to 2015 and a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis from 1982 to 1992.
"Returning to the University of California after 25 years is really a dream come true," he said. "And coming to the Herb Alpert School of Music - one of the great cultural institutions in the country, with its world-class students, faculty and staff - is an honor I will strive to live up to during my time as dean."
Beckerman, whose work has strong ties to ethnomusicology, composition and performance, is an award-winning scholar who has written and edited numerous books on Czech music and composers and other topics, including "New Worlds of Dvořák" (2003), "Dvořák and His World" (1993), "Janáček and His World" (2004), "Janáček as Theorist" (1994), "Martinů's Mysterious Accident" (2007) and "Classical Music: Contemporary Perspectives and Challenges" (2021).
Beckerman has performed and lectured throughout the world, and his work and research have encompassed a wide variety of issues in music and musicology, from Mozart, Brahms and the music of the Roma to the experiences of exiled composers, music and disability, and music in World War II concentration camps.
Throughout his career, he has also been dedicated to bringing musical knowledge to audiences beyond academia. A frequent contributor to the New York Times and other popular media, he was a regular guest on the "Live From Lincoln Center" series on PBS and is a two-time recipient of the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his writing and commentary on music. In 2016-17, he served as the Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic.
Among Beckerman's other honors and recognitions are the Dvořák Medal, the Janáček Medal and the Gratias Agit Award from the Czech government and the Harrison Medal from Ireland's Society of Musicology. A laureate of the Czech Music Council, he serves on the editorial boards of several scholarly music journals and is vice president of the Dvořák American Heritage Association and a member of the board of directors of the NYU Center for Ballet.
Beckerman earned his bachelor's degree in music from Hofstra University and his M.A. MPhil and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University.
As a professor and academic administrator, Beckerman, who received the Golden Dozen Teaching Award at NYU, has been deeply committed to teaching and collaboration and said he is looking forward to partnering with the Herb Alpert School of Music community to advance the school's mission. "Nothing makes me happier," he said, "than the success of my students and colleagues."
"Professor Beckerman's academic, professional and administrative experience and achievements, coupled with his UC roots, position him well to lead the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music at this pivotal moment," Darnell Hunt, UCLA's executive vice chancellor and provost, wrote today in a message to campus. "Recognizing the importance of the arts to our mission of higher education, Chancellor Frenk and I are confident that the school will continue to fulfill its vital role on campus and will reach new heights under Mike's capable leadership."
Beckerman succeeds Eileen Strempel, who has served as the music school's dean since 2019. Robert Fink, special academic senior associate dean at the school, will serve as interim dean from June until Beckerman arrives this fall.