Monk Institute at UCLA

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The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance will open its doors on the UCLA campus in summer 2012, with the first class of graduate students beginning instruction in fall 2012. A link to the new application is posted below. The application deadline was December 1, 2011.

Download the 2012 Institute Application -- December 1, 2011 Has Passed

Renowned jazz musicians Herb Alpert, Kenny Burrell and Herbie Hancock have launched a groundbreaking partnership between the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

This collaboration, which will create a graduate degree in jazz at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, will allow six to eight talented musicians pursuing a master of music in jazz to study and perform together in an ensemble during a two-year program. The students will be mentored by leaders in jazz while receiving a comprehensive education in music theory, composition and performance from classical and world music experts at UCLA, and instruction in the business of music, marketing and outreach.

As part of the program, the visiting jazz masters and college students will present master classes at UCLA and community outreach programs across Los Angeles. Each college student will provide free music instruction in a Los Angeles public school at least once a week. The students will also perform across the United States and internationally.

The idea to join the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and UCLA was introduced by the Herb Alpert Foundation, which has provided long-term support to both organizations. The planning process has culminated in a unique UCLA/TMIJ masters program specific to jazz performance.

Each student in the highly select group of gifted young musicians accepted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance is provided a full scholarship. In this performance-based program, the students will study with the Herb Alpert School of Music’s roster of outstanding jazz teachers, including Kenny Burrell and James Newton, as well as an impressive list of guest artists, including Herbie Hancock, Clark Terry, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Danilo Perez.

The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance will open its doors on the UCLA campus in summer 2012, with the first class of graduate students beginning instruction in fall 2012.