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 def ...

and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

who was the president of

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

until July 24, 2023. She formerly served as dean of the

USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy The USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy (also known as USC Iovine and Young Academy, the Academy, or IYA) is located at the University of Southern California in the United States. The Academy is the university’s 20th professional school. ...

, 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 ...

Roski School of Art and Design before being accused of “strategic dismantlement of a formerly renowned studio arts program” by the 2015 graduating class. 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 of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

in 1999.

Early life

Erica Muhl grew up in Los Angeles, where her father

Edward Muhl Edward Ellsworth Muhl (February 17, 1907 – April 22, 2001) was an American businessman and executive best known for being head of production for Universal Pictures from 1953 until his retirement in 1973. According to one writer, he played key r ...

was the head of

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

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, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

.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, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

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

Accademia di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa 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 prominent in Western musical history: Greg ...

in Rome and the Accademia Chigiana 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 ...

. 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 The Rykestrasse Synagogue () is a Conservative Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood in the Pankow borough of Berlin, Germany. Germany's largest synagogue, designed by in ...

Prenzlauer Berg Prenzlauer Berg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, 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 ...

, 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's music director, Mei-Ann Chen; 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 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 23, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Ave ...

in Los Angeles as part of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

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

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center 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 P ...

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 . The compo ...

''. 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

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. In June 2023, she took a leave of absence for an indefinite moment in time with an interim president in her place. On July 24, 2023, it was announced that Muhl would not be returning to Berklee as president.

Recordings

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

Cleveland Chamber Symphony The Cleveland Chamber Symphony (CCS) is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio, with a focus on performing contemporary classical music. Since its inception, the CCS has premiered over 200 works. The ensemble is affiliated wit ...

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 American 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) American music educators American women music educators 21st-century American women composers 21st-century American composers Musicians from Los Angeles Classical musicians from California