Music School Unveils 2020-21 Dean's Office Scholarship Winners
In a time when the world is grappling with the challenges of the pandemic, the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music has announced the recipients of this year's Dean's Office Opportunity Award. The selected projects, which aim to address the themes of community, social justice, and unity, will explore the role of music in facilitating meaningful change.
A total of nineteen projects received funding from the Dean's Office Opportunity Award. These initiatives emphasise the unifying power of music during challenging times and highlight music's broad reach across various cultures, generations, and political affiliations.
The awarded faculty projects, which aim to advance the school's mission, will involve cross-collaboration with UCLA's other arts units. The 2020-21 Dean's Office Opportunity Award recipients' projects will focus on intentionally addressing social issues through music.
Robert Fink, academic associate dean and chair of the school's music industry programs, made a statement about the awarded projects, saying, "These projects demonstrate the transformative power of music during these challenging times."
One of the funded projects includes curating and highlighting woman composers of Jewish heritage, while another project will present a new version of Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue'. There will also be a revival of Mexican baroque music and a bilingual song-life podcast in Santa Ana.
According to Eileen Strempel, the school's inaugural dean, "Music has the ability to connect, heal, and facilitate change." Strempel believes that music will be crucial in navigating historic injustice and the post-pandemic reality.
The projects funded by the Dean's Office Opportunity Award will grapple with historic injustice and the post-pandemic reality through music. In response to COVID-19, faculty were encouraged to consider projects that emphasise themes of community and social justice.
The selected initiatives also aim to expand engagement with Los Angeles' diverse and artistic communities. The 2020-21 Dean's Office Opportunity Award recipients' projects will emphasise the role of music in facilitating change and healing.
For detailed information about the individual projects and the role of each recipient in promoting community, social justice, and cross-collaboration with various artistic communities, it would be best to contact UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music directly or check their official website and publications.
- The 2020-21 Dean's Office Opportunity Award recipients' projects will not only focus on intentionally addressing social issues through music but also emphasize the role of music in facilitating change and healing, which aligns with Eileen Strempel's belief that music has the power to connect, heal, and facilitate change.
- In addition to curating and highlighting woman composers of Jewish heritage and presenting a new version of Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue', the funded projects will also include a revival of Mexican baroque music and a bilingual song-life podcast in Santa Ana, demonstrating the unifying power of music during challenging times, as Robert Fink commented, these projects indeed showcase the transformative power of music during these difficult times.
