Overview
The School of Music at CalArts Equally Values Creative Freedom, Collaboration, and Intellectual Understanding
The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts has as its mission not only excellent education in music, but also the expanding of musical possibilities and the evolution of music itself. The California Institute of the Arts, located on 60 acres in the hills north of Los Angeles, provides an alternative to traditional art education and conservatories to students in all artistic media.
California Institute of the Arts Offers Comprehensive Training to Dance Artists
The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance, part of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), is a nationally recognized school of dance offering both B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees in dance. The school's approach to training dance artists is a comprehensive one. Students focus equally on technical excellence, choreography, intellectual understanding, and production skills. This complete training in dance is designed to help students grow as artists and begin their lives and careers in the world of dance. CalArts is committed to developing a forward-looking environment of innovative artists, and the dance school is an integral part of CalArts.
The School of Theater at California Institute of the Arts Offers Unique Undergraduate Degree Opportunities in Theater
The School of Theater at California Institute of the Arts allows theater artists to pursue their professional careers in theater while retaining their creative freedom and space to express themselves in their own artistic voice. CalArts offers a wide range of degree programs in theater production, design, and performance. Theater students can choose from B.F.A. degrees in ten areas, including acting, scene design, costume design, and more. Several further specializations are available to students at the M.F.A. level, including video performance, production management, and directing, among others.
California Institute of the Arts Is Ideally Located to Provide Young Artists With Both Space and Opportunity
Located on 60 acres in Valencia, just north of downtown Los Angeles, the second-largest metropolitan area in the United States, California Institute of the Arts is an ideal setting for talented, motivated students looking for an alternative to traditional art schools. The proximity to Los Angeles is an important resource, allowing access to cultural resources and professional opportunities in a city that is growing in its international cultural importance. While students attend CalArts, they are close to galleries, performance venues, and businesses dedicated to the fine arts. The Community Arts Partnership (CAP) links CalArts with the surrounding community of Los Angeles County, offering faculty- and student-taught art classes to local youth. Los Angeles offers numerous prospects to artists after graduation, and other partnerships and connections available to CalArts students ensure that students will be active in local, national, and international art communities while they study.
At the School of Music, this means an emphasis on creative freedom and honest expression in addition to a focus on technical mastery and intellectual understanding. A dedication to collaboration, experimentation, fluidity, and originality make the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts a place ideally suited for students who want to find their own unique artistic voice and vision without sacrificing a challenging music education.
Excellent Dance Facilities are Available to Dedicated Students Around the Clock for Practice
Dance students at CalArts enjoy an extensive production schedule of 8 to 10 concerts per year, giving them the opportunity to engage in performance at every stage. Performances take place in the Sharon Disney Lund Dance Theater, a space specially equipped and designated for dance performances. There are several additional dance studios at the California Institute of the Arts campus. The two larger studios measure 36 by 50 feet and include state-of-the-art sprung floors and sound and video playback equipment. Other excellent facilities available to dance students 24/7 include a body conditioning studio and labs for costume and video construction.
State-of-the-Art Facilities and a Commitment to the Avant-Garde Makes CalArts a Hot Spot of Experimentation
In addition to the many academic degrees offered at CalArts, the school provides a large array of resources to help artists make their creative visions into realities, even if they do not fall within the artistic mainstream. Notable among CalArts' unique facilities is REDCAT, CalArts' own theater housed in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in downtown Los Angeles. REDCAT is a state-of-the-art space where emerging and established artists working in the experimental and avant-garde can present their works. When combined with the Center for New Performance, CalArts' professional production company, the result is a school with the resources and drive to challenge existing boundaries in the theater world.
CalArts Is Intellectually Rigorous While Allowing Students to Develop Through Many Degree Options
The School of Art at CalArts offers B.F.A. degree programs in art, graphic design, and photography and media. Students can also choose to pursue M.F.A. degrees in any of these areas, with the additional option of an M.F.A. in art and technology. Each program in the School of Art places emphasis on artistic innovation and intellectual rigor. Not only does CalArts provide a more open, flexible curriculum than many traditional art schools, it also challenges students intellectually and artistically, so CalArts graduates obtain degrees that are meaningful indications of their time and growth at the school.
Students of the School of Music Have Access to an Unparalleled Variety of Degree Options
The School of Music at CalArts offers nearly 20 BFA, MFA, and DMA degree programs in a variety of composition and performance-related specializations. Among the performance degrees available are BFA programs in harp, Balinese and Javanese music and dance, guitar, voice, and many more.
CalArts Helps Students Find Their Own Artistic Voices Through a Commitment to Creative Freedom
By giving students open access to all the facilities on campus, CalArts encourages students to express their creativity without limits. The school is committed to fostering creative freedom and helping students discover and embrace their own artistic voice. CalArts prides itself on providing an alternative to traditional art schools and conservatories, allowing students to stretch the boundaries of contemporary dance through experimentation and collaboration. Though the curriculum is highly challenging, faculty members are open to tailoring instruction to the interests and artistic needs of each individual student.
CalArts Focuses on Exposing Students to International Cultural Traditions and Collaborations
A CalArts education does not limit students to the 11 acres of space the School of Theater shares with CalArt's five other Schools - Arts, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, and Music - in Valencia, California, or even to the United States. The school prides itself on having an international reach to which students are exposed from their first day at the school. For example, CalArts companies frequently tour and present shows at venues across the country and internationally. One such global opportunity is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, at which CalArts companies are present every year. In addition, Arts in the One World is an annual conference hosted by CalArts, which draws artists and representatives of schools and institutions from around the globe.
The Active Faculty of Established Artists Works One-on-One With Students in This Thriving Art Community
One of the most exciting experiences available to CalArts students is the opportunity to work directly with a faculty of notable, active artists. All faculty members are currently working in their fields, and upon enrollment, each student is paired with a faculty adviser who serves not only as an academic mentor but as an artistic mentor as well. As a result, CalArts students receive personal attention and guidance from professional, successful artists who are intimately familiar with the students¿ work. This creates a community of artistic collaboration and exchange of ideas that provides art students with the feedback that is crucial to their artistic development.
CalArts recognizes that musicians today depend on the ability to move between a variety of styles and skills, as well as the ability to integrate them to discover novel forms of expression. This is why the School of Music is committed to offering an unmatched diversity of musical forms, encouraging students to challenge the traditional boundaries of music making.
Encouraging Active Creativity and Thinking Beyond Traditional Boundaries Is a Priority at CalArts
The possibilities available to students at CalArts make the school ideally suited for students looking for an alternative to traditional art schools and theater programs. The theater school is committed to fostering creativity and expression by exposing students to theater traditions from around the globe and throughout history, so that they have an understanding of existing theater that can inform their own work. What sets CalArts apart from more traditional schools is that, within this approach, students simultaneously focus on what is new in the world of theater and participate in the creation of culture. Alumni of the School of Theater at CalArts include award-winning scene and lighting designers and actors who have gone on to successful careers in theater and on screen.
The Review Process Ensures that the Student Body Comprises the Best Among Emerging Talent
CalArts prides itself on encouraging experimentation and making room for students who wish to pursue innovative ideas that are outside the mainstream. Alternative art schools are often in danger of letting their commitment to freedom of expression overshadow their commitment to development. This is not the case at CalArts, where a rigorous review process, involving both faculty review and peer-critique classes, challenges students to take their vision to its fullest potential. Because enrollment in CalArts is based primarily on artistic merit, admitted students know that they will be part of an artistic community that has the potential to make serious cultural contributions.
Students Receive Personal Attention from an Experienced Faculty of Working Artists
The dance faculty at California Institute of the Arts comprises distinguished professionals who are all currently active in the field of dance. Being taught by working artists allows students to give and receive feedback in a way that is both useful to their careers and culturally relevant. Faculty members have the ability to give students a realistic perspective of the world of dance and the challenges it presents to young artists. Additionally, each student benefits from a close, one-on-one relationship to a single faculty member who serves as an academic and artistic adviser. This ensures that each student receives personal attention from an established artist who is familiar with that student's work.
Creativity-Sparking Diversity in All Areas is a Primary Concern at CalArts
In addition to musical diversity, the California Institute of the Arts values diversity in all areas. The student body encompasses a broad geographical representation, with students hailing from 49 U.S. states and 34 countries around the world, in addition to Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Fully 11% of the student body is international, and students of all types and background contribute to the school's overall sense of energy.
CalArts - a Community Created By Artists, For Artists - Fosters Collaboration and Innovation
While in residency at CalArts, students can choose to live in fully furnished double- or triple-occupancy dorm rooms. In addition, seventeen suites reserved for third- and fourth-year undergraduates and graduate students provide an opportunity to live and work closely with other emerging artists. The artistic community is one of the central benefits of studying at CalArts, and the school values and nourishes artistic diversity. Students are encouraged to collaborate with their peers and to develop their own work alongside and among the works of others as a catalyst for fresh ideas and innovations.
The Theater School at CalArts Strives to Emphasize Production Experience and Real Collaboration
Production experience is at the heart of a CalArts theater education. The school itself is a prolific entity, and the range of production opportunities available to students is vast. From collaborations with established artists to productions involving fresh talents and ideas, from curricular projects to student-organized productions, including the annual New Works Festival, CalArts offers theater students a maximum of experience creating in their chosen specializations and experimenting in other areas.
Private Studio Space and Well-Equipped Facilities Foster Both Growth and Collaboration
Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students in the art and the photography and media programs at CalArts work in studios where they have the space and privacy they need to develop their projects. Students in the graphic design program have 24/7 access to state-of-the-art communal studios. Comprehensive computer, video, photo, print, and media labs furnish students with the latest tools and technologies, and the school has on-site facilities for woodworking, metalworking, machining, sandblasting, and more. Because CalArts is home to excellent programs in many artistic media, students are encouraged to collaborate, both within their chosen field and on interdisciplinary projects. The combination of privacy and collaboration at CalArts helps spark fresh, innovative ideas and provides an atmosphere in which artists can thrive and discover their own artistic voices.
Learning alongside individuals who come from every conceivable musical tradition allows students to participate in a mingling of ideas that provides a spark for novelty and innovation in both composition and performance. Developing artistic skill and vision alongside other artists is an important part of the CalArts experience.
Training From CalArts Leaves Students Well-Connected and Poised for Success
CalArts influences the national and international discourse on art in a number of ways. In addition to collaborations and exchanges throughout the country and internationally, CalArts has ties to many notable alumni, including a long list of visual artists whose work has been shown extensively in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere. By making its resources and connections available to its students, CalArts ensures that graduates are ready for lives and careers as important artists. Students display artwork in regular shows in the eight dedicated galleries operated by CalArts, and graduates display work in galleries around the world.
Many Opportunities to Connect to the World of Dance Are Available to All Students
As an established and internationally recognized school of the arts, California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles has connections both locally and around the world. These connections can help students gain experience and launch their careers in the dance world. In 2007, CalArts was selected to participate in an initiative to preserve American masterpieces, allowing students special opportunities to audition and be selected for nationally touring programs. An affiliation with the Herb Alpert Foundation helps bring award-winning guest dancers to CalArts for residencies or master classes. An international exchange program with the London Contemporary Dance school is among the many other opportunities available to CalArts students who want to forge strong connections with the world of professional dance.
CalArts Students Develop Creative, Working Relationships With Active Faculty Members and the Motivated Student Body
With a faculty of accomplished, working artists who emphasize independent vision, CalArts students have room to expand their vision in any way they can imagine. Personal attention and mentoring are a priority for faculty members at CalArts. Students get the feedback they need to progress as artists from professors who are familiar with their work and ideas. Students can collaborate with faculty and peers alike, resulting in exciting collaborations between some of the most motivated, exceptional young and established artists working today.
Comprehensively Equipped Rehearsal and Performance Facilities Free Students from Limitations
For students of the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts, artistic development takes place in state-of-the-art facilities and dedicated spaces for rehearsal. The school prides itself on its distinct, eclectic collection of instruments, which is complimented by the latest in hardware and software, digital recording studios, networking, and research and development facilities.
In addition, CalArts has recently added a new performance space, known as the Wild Beast. This cutting-edge facility serves as both a recital venue and an open-air pavilion for outdoor, large-stage performances. These facilities ensure that students are not limited by resources as they embark on their journey in music.
Accomplished Faculty Members Give One-on-One Attention to Every Student at CalArts
Another value strongly emphasized by the California Institute of the Arts as a whole is the importance of student-faculty relationships. Each CalArts student is paired with a faculty member who serves both as academic adviser and artistic mentor. The personal attention students receive becomes an integral part of their development at CalArts. Additionally, because faculty members in the Herb Alpert School of Music are all active, accomplished artists working in musical fields, students receive feedback from professors who are uniquely qualified to help them understand and enter into the music world.
Music Training and Education Goes Beyond Campus to the Local and International Communities
In addition to interaction and collaboration with an internationally renowned faculty, students have access to many other benefits as CalArts students. The school's excellent reputation has earned it a number of connections in the local art community and in the music world as a whole that greatly benefit students.
For example, the Community Arts Partnership (CAP) provides local schools and communities with art and music classes taught by faculty and students. This gives students the chance to demonstrate their knowledge and gain valuable experience in Los Angeles County. The Center for New Performance (CNP) is the professional production arm of CalArts and links the school with the broader international art community by allowing both emerging and established artists to realize unique visions that expand the borders of what art, including music, can be.
