Past events

Paul Schoenfield (1947-2024) was a unique and brilliant musician of decidedly American Jewish Experience.  A virtuoso concert pianist and hugely gifted composer, his music — a fascinating mashup of klezmer/Hasidic, liturgical, jazz, bluegrass, blues and Americana —  is well represented in the Milken Archive.

On May 27th, the Tel-Aviv-based band Miqedem will be performing live at UCLA.

The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music are proud to present the West Coast premiere of composer Tod Machover’s chamber opera, "Schoenberg in Hollywood," May 18, 19, 20, and 22, 2025 at the newly-renovated UCLA Nimoy Theater. These performances are part of Schoenberg 150, the worldwide celebration of the sesquicentennial of composer Arnold Schoenberg’s birth.

The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music are proud to present the West Coast premiere of composer Tod Machover’s chamber opera, "Schoenberg in Hollywood," May 18, 19, 20, and 22, 2025 at the newly-renovated UCLA Nimoy Theater. These performances are part of Schoenberg 150, the worldwide celebration of the sesquicentennial of composer Arnold Schoenberg’s birth.

The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music are proud to present the West Coast premiere of composer Tod Machover’s chamber opera, "Schoenberg in Hollywood," May 18, 19, 20, and 22, 2025 at the newly-renovated UCLA Nimoy Theater. These performances are part of Schoenberg 150, the worldwide celebration of the sesquicentennial of composer Arnold Schoenberg’s birth.

The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience and the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music are proud to present the West Coast premiere of composer Tod Machover’s chamber opera, "Schoenberg in Hollywood," May 18, 19, 20, and 22, 2025 at the newly-renovated UCLA Nimoy Theater. These performances are part of Schoenberg 150, the worldwide celebration of the sesquicentennial of composer Arnold Schoenberg’s birth.

Preceding the West Coast premiere of composer Tod Machover’s chamber opera, Schoenberg in Hollywood, the Hammer Museum will host a pre-opera panel addressing the opera’s history and creation. Joy Calico, UCLA Professor and Chair of Musicology and Arnold Schoenberg scholar, will lead a discussion amongst composer Tod Machover, conductor Neal Stulberg, director Karole Armitage, and Larry Schoenberg of Belmont Music Publishers and son of Arnold Schoenberg.

There is a long history of representing Jewishness on the operatic stage. Calico's talk situates Tod Machover's Schoenberg in Hollywood (2018) in that tradition, and considers the ways in which music, libretto, and staging conventions index various aspects of Jewish identity.

An online discussion of the development and impact of the opera from inception to the upcoming West Coast Premiere.

To honor Thomas Mann’s 150th birthday anniversary and to celebrate the West Coast premiere of the opera “Schoenberg in Hollywood,” produced by the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience, which explores the hypothetical scenario of what would have happened if Schoenberg had composed for Hollywood, this event will explore the fascinating and complex relationship between two key figures of the German-speaking émigré community and their relationship with the Hollywood film industry.

This online event panel gathers venerated historians, musicologists and composers to explore Schoenberg's complex relationship with Los Angeles.

Distinguished faculty and alumni soloists with UCLA Philharmonia will perform works by an exciting range of composers featured in the Milken Archive of Jewish Music: The American Experience. The concert is part of the worldwide Schoenberg 150 celebrations.

For Women and Girls Only is a groundbreaking novel on the reversal of mainstream portrayals of ultra-Orthodox religious women, and of those who have left the community yet maintain ties to it. In this talk,  the audience will learn about these hidden artistic worlds, the experience of Hasidic women who now perform for public audiences, and their challenges to transform the image of Hasidicness.

Our program will combine the scholarly presentation of information and ideas along with performance. The repertoire presented will include 16th and 17th Century Yiddish songs, liturgical music from Amsterdam in the 18th Century along with German synagogue music from the late 1700s to the early 1800s.

Uncovering the hidden gems of Jewish music prior to 1800, ranging from Europe to the Middle East.

Experience the complete cycle of Arnold Schoenberg’s four string quartets in captivating performances by the acclaimed Webern Quartet at 4 p.m. & 7 p.m. Hailed by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross for revealing “the through line of Schoenberg’s personality, which is by turns impassioned, whimsical, savage, melancholy,” the Webern Quartet brings their fresh interpretation to this landmark music.

Experience the complete cycle of Arnold Schoenberg’s four string quartets in captivating performances by the acclaimed Webern Quartet at 4 p.m. & 7 p.m. Hailed by The New Yorker’s Alex Ross for revealing “the through line of Schoenberg’s personality, which is by turns impassioned, whimsical, savage, melancholy,” the Webern Quartet brings their fresh interpretation to this landmark music.

Stanley Walden (b. 1932) has led a remarkably rich musical life: clarinetist with the New York Philharmonic, composer of concert, opera, stage and film music; filmmaker, writer, improvisation expert, educator and more.

Join us for a Sunday afternoon of Israeli art songs with mezzo soprano Iris Malkin and special guest pianist, Ido Ariel. Enjoy complimentary bagels, sweets and coffee.