Student News

Graduation Spotlight Series: All Roads Lead to New York for Music Theatre student Sloane Ptashek ’25

With a B.F.A. in music theatre and an agent, Ptashek is ready to shine in her next stage By Christine Byrd After she graduates this June, Sloane Ptashek will return to her hometown, which also happens to be home to Broadway. Ptashek’s B.F.A. in music theatre with a minor in art history have...

Graduation Spotlight Series: Soprano Isabelle Knowles ’25 Hits a High Note with her UC Irvine Experience

Knowles graduates with a B.Mus. in vocal performance and professional recording credits By Christine Byrd Isabelle Knowles is graduating this June with more than just a bachelor of music in vocal performance. She already has experience working with a Grammy-winning producer and making a...

Graduation Spotlight Series: Emiko Groder’s ’25 Sculpture Part of Statewide Exhibition

With a B.F.A. in art, Groder explores family and caretaking through 3D works By Christine Byrd When Emiko Groder receives her B.F.A. in art this June, she will already have work on exhibit at the Brea Gallery. The juried Made in California features artists from across the state at various...

Graduation Spotlight Series: Justin Cerda ’25 Leaps to the Professional Stage

With his B.F.A. in choreography and performance, Cerda is joining Gin Dance Company  By Christine Byrd Dancing runs in the family for Justin Cerda. He started taking classes at the same time as his sister, and by age 8 he was dancing competitively — and hooked for life. This June, after...

2025 Medici Circle Scholars

UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts names 14 new Medici Circle Scholars UC Irvine Arts is pleased to announce the 2025 Medici Circle Scholars. These scholarships allow recipients to extend their education beyond the classroom, collaborating with academics and artists in the...

UC Irvine Students Merge Music and Engineering in E-SONIC Instrument Competition

The competition promises an evening of innovative performances on Monday, May 19, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in Winifred Smith Hall Now in its second year, UC Irvine’s Samueli School of Engineering, Claire Trevor School of the Arts and the Pacific Symphony present E-SONIC: Engineering-Symphonic...

A Voice for Angelica

M.F.A. candidate Abigail Mesel discusses her role in UCI Opera’s production of Puccini’s Suor Angelica: A Q&A Session  On Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 8 p.m., the UC Irvine Department of Music, the UCI Opera and the UCI Symphony will present Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica at the Irvine...

UC Irvine Music Students to Perform at Segerstrom Hall

Nathaniel Chao and Yang Lu join a professional orchestra for Messiah in America, a Broadway-style production by Millennial® Choirs & Orchestras on May 8 UC Irvine undergraduate music students Nathaniel Chao and Yang Lu will be performing with the orchestra for Messiah in America, an exciting...

Yadira Gonzalez-Dockstader Receives 2025 LEAD Graduate Excellence Award

UC Irvine M.F.A. candidate recognized for advancing interdisciplinary research and inclusion in the Latine community through art, ecology and medical humanities Department of Art M.F.A. candidate Yadira Gonzalez-Dockstader recently received the Graduate Excellence Award at the 8th Annual Latine...

Reclaiming Sound

Doctoral students Fabricio Cavero and Alyssa Wixson blend sustainability and sound By Diana Kalaji In 2024, the Department of Music’s Ph.D. program in Integrated Composition, Improvisation and Technology (ICIT) celebrated 15 years of innovation and community. ICIT pushes beyond...

CTSA Research & Innovation and Theater of Community Faculty and Graduate Student 2024-25 Research & Innovation Grants

Creative Research in the Arts Now in its fourth year, the UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA) Department of Research and Innovation continues to prioritize projects that feature cutting-edge research and interdisciplinary collaborations with potential for external recognition and...

Finding Light

UCI Music and UCI MIND Join Forces for a Profound Musical Journey into Alzheimer’s On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 8 p.m., the UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Music and UCI MIND will present Finding Light: Alzheimer’s Stories by Robert S. Cohen at the Irvine Barclay...

$1 Million Endowment Aspires to Build Musical Bridges

Business leader and philanthropist Jong Sup Kim views music as a universal language that bridges communities and enhances lives. With a $1 million gift, he aims to help the UC Irvine Department of Music at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA) extend its impact, both locally and globally...

UC Irvine Undergraduates Bell Hernandez ’27 and Jeyna Lynn Gonzales ’25 Awarded Cody Renard Richard Scholarship

Department of Drama students recognized for leadership in theater arts  UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Drama students Bell Hernandez and Jeyna Lynn Gonzales have been selected for the Cody Renard Richard (CCR) Scholarship Program. In its fifth year, the CCR...

Creative Communities

How Claire Trevor School of the Arts clubs cultivate belonging and equity beyond the classroom and across campus By Diana Kalaji At UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA), students’ success goes beyond main-stage productions, choral performances and thesis exhibitions. With...

UCI Drama Students Shine in Masterclass with Broadway’s Kerry Butler

Masterclass leads to a surprise duet as Butler invites student Nathan Bravo to perform at her concert. On Friday, January 24, UC Irvine Drama faculty members Daniel Keeling and Myrona DeLaney accompanied 25 music theatre students to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts for a special masterclass...

Full STEAM Ahead

How three women double majoring in the arts and sciences draw from it all By Diana Kalaji At UC Irvine, a convergence of artistic talent and scientific inquiry thrives. Meet Cassidy Doan, Isabella Cao and Brenna Farrell. What do these three students have in common? Besides relying on...

The UC Irvine Chamber Singers Release Holiday EP

Celebrate the holidays with classical hymns in Winter Night The UC Irvine Chamber Singers release their first holiday EP, Winter Night, on Friday, November 29, 2024. Produced by Signum Records, the musical collection features four songs with an available single, Gabriel’s Message, featuring...