Erica Muhl (born October 26, 1961) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and conductor who is president of

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. She formerly served as dean of the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy and was previously dean of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Roski School of Art and Design. She received an Award in Music from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

in 1999.

Early life

Erica Muhl grew up in Los Angeles, where her father Edward Muhl was the head of

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

from 1953 to 1973, and her mother, Barbara, an author and opera singer. She trained as both a composer and a conductor, with much of her studies completed in Europe. At sixteen she was invited to take part in private composition studies with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

.Erica Muhl
, ''About USC'', University of Southern California. Retrieved February 15, 2019. She returned to the United States from Europe, completing a Bachelor of Music in composition at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, but upon completion, she once again traveled while undergoing graduate studies at the

Accademia di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prom ...

in Rome and the

Accademia Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Classe ...

in Siena. She studied conducting in Los Angeles with

Fritz Zweig Fritz Zweig (8 September 1893 - 28 February 1984) was a German conductor. Born in Olomouc, Moravia, after graduating from the local high school Zweig studied theory and composition under Arnold Schoenberg. He made his professional debut in 1913 a ...

. This was followed by the completion of a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Southern California in 1991.

Career

Muhl's elegy for string orchestra ''Disinherited Souls'', in remembrance of the victims of the Shoah, was commissioned by the New Jewish Chamber Philharmonic Dresden. Its premiere was at the

Rykestrasse Synagogue Rykestrasse Synagogue, Germany's largest synagogue, is located in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood in the Pankow borough of Berlin. built the synagogue in 1903/1904. It was inaugurated on 4 September 1904, in time for the holidays of and around ...

Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right. However, that year it was incorp ...

, Berlin, in November 2010. Another commission, ''Burn the Box'', also premiered in 2010, at a private gala in celebration of the inauguration of USC President C. L. Max Nikias. Further recent premieres have included the concert overture ''Smoke and Mirrors'', for large orchestra, conducted in Los Angeles by the

Memphis Symphony The Memphis Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Memphis, Tennessee. The orchestra's primary performing venue is the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Prior to the formation of the orchestra, classical orchestras had existed ...

's music director,

Mei-Ann Chen Mei-Ann Chen (; born 1973) is a Taiwanese American conductor. She is currently music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta and conductor laureate of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Early life and education A native of Taiwan, Chen wanted to be ...

; and two new chamber works. 2009 saw the Dresden and Berlin premieres of her ''Trucco for String Orchestra''. In 2005, the premiere of her chamber work, ''...to a Thin Edge'' (commissioned and performed by the

Orchestra of St. Luke's The Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is an American chamber orchestra based in New York City, formed in 1974. Orchestra of St. Luke’s presents over 70 concerts, programs, and events in a variety of diverse musical genres every season, including an ...

in New York City) was performed. Other recent appearances include the premiere of her symphonic work, ''Fleet'', which she conducted at

Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

in Los Angeles as part of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

's "Sounds About Town" series. Muhl has served as Assistant Conductor for

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

Theater, for Seattle Opera's regular season, and the Seattle Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival’s complete ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...

''. In 2015, two years into her tenure as Dean of the Roski School of Art & Design, the entire graduate class of 2016 (seven students) withdrew from the school's MFA program, accusing Muhl's administration of "dismantling" the faculty, curriculum, program structure and strong support for graduate studies that had been hallmarks of the program. Curriculum changes in the program have been blamed for the departure of at least one tenured faculty member. Muhl issued a response in the school's website saying she was saddened by the students' decision to leave the program over issues the school considered to have been resolved. On July 16, 2015, the school's MFA class of 2015 published an open letter to the university president, provost, and board of trustees calling for the removal of Erica Muhl as Dean of the Roski School of Art & Design. In May 2013, while serving as Dean of the USC Roski School of Art and Design, Muhl was appointed Founding Director of the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. The Academy was named USC's 20th professional school in spring of 2018, and Muhl was appointed Dean of the Academy in July of that same year. In October 2019, USC officially opened Iovine and Young Hall, the school's permanent home. In October 2020, Muhl was named the new President of

, beginning her term in July 2021.

Recordings

*''Range of Light: Selected Chamber Works by Erica Muhl''

Cleveland Chamber Symphony The Cleveland Chamber Symphony is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music, and has presented over 200 performance premieres. History The Cleveland Chamber Sympho ...

conducted by Erica Muhl and Erik Forrester Albany TROY 667 08G092 (2004)

References

External links

Martin Perlich radio interview, accessed 7 March, 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhl, Erica 1961 births Living people Women conductors (music) American women classical composers American classical composers USC Thornton School of Music alumni USC Thornton School of Music faculty 21st-century American conductors (music) Women music educators 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century women composers 21st-century American composers Musicians from Los Angeles Classical musicians from California