In California’s sun-soaked landscape, where creativity and innovation converge, a number of top-tier music schools exist.
In this vibrant state, aspiring musicians can find a home at renowned schools like the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where the echoes of the Los Angeles Philharmonic resonate through the halls, or at the Colburn School in downtown LA, a bastion of musical excellence nestled beside the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Further north, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music is a unique place to study music. It is affiliated with the prestigious San Francisco Symphony and offers programs in classical performance, jazz, conducting, and composition.
California’s music scene extends beyond traditional conservatories to places like CalArts, where experimental and interdisciplinary approaches redefine musical expression, and to Chapman University’s Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music, known for its excellence in classical music instruction.
Whether your passion lies in popular music, classical performance, jazz improvisation, or classical composition, California’s music schools cultivate technical mastery and foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and a profound connection to the Golden State’s rich culture.
University of California Los Angeles Herb Alpert School of Music
UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music is among the most desired schools for admission in the country, particularly for students in California who can take advantage of the university’s reduced in-state tuition costs.
The undergraduate jazz program, known as “Global Jazz Studies,” boasts some of the best faculty of any jazz program in the world. Faculty members include:
- Arturo O’Farrill, Grammy award-winning composer & pianist
- Clayton Cameron, who has toured with Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennett
- Luciano Souza, Grammy award-winning singer.
UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is home to the country’s most diverse musicology and ethnomusicology program.
The school is also intimately connected to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as many of its faculty members perform with the ensemble.
What I like about UCLA, for some students, is its connection to a major university.
Having spoken with over 2,000 parents of music students, I can confidently say that many of them desire a school that offers both music and academics. Their children most often want to be in a major city. UCLA, for the right student, checks off all the boxes.
University of Southern California
The USC Thornton School of Music, in the heart of Los Angeles, offers unparalleled opportunities for students interested in many musical genres.
Renowned for its rigor and prestige, USC Thornton’s Popular Music Performance program boasts an acceptance rate of just 5%, making it one of the most selective contemporary music programs globally.
For classical performers, the school’s affiliation with the Los Angeles Philharmonic enriches their education, with many faculty members performing in or collaborating closely with the orchestra.
Jazz enthusiasts benefit from instruction by legends like Bob Mintzer and Ronald McCurdy, enhancing their skills in a city steeped in musical heritage.
Los Angeles, a hub of cultural diversity, hosts iconic venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and The Grammy Museum, providing USC Thornton students ample opportunities to attend world-class performances.
Beyond music, USC offers strong academic programs in liberal arts, complementing students’ artistic pursuits with a well-rounded education. USC Thornton remains a top choice for aspiring musicians seeking a comprehensive musical and academic experience in a vibrant urban setting.
California State University-Northridge
CSU-Northridge has a surprisingly significant influence on the world of music.
For one, many music educators throughout the state of California received their training at CSU Northridge. That means, by association, tens of thousands of musicians were taught in high school by an alum of this school.
Outside of education, CSU-Northridge is one of the undergraduate programs in the country, focusing on two popular areas of contemporary music study: film scoring and the music industry.
And they have quite an accomplished student body of jazz musicians.
The jazz faculty here is just outstanding—players like jazz legends John Pisano, Wayne Bergeron (who also teaches at the next school in this list), and Luis Conte, a percussionist who has performed with Eric Clapton, Madonna, and James Taylor.
Los Angeles College of Music
Los Angeles College of Music can be described as a “mini-Berklee.”
Like Berklee, its focus is on contemporary popular music, which includes music production, performance, songwriting, jazz, and the whole nine yards.
Like Berklee, it is an urban campus. Unlike Berklee, LACM is very small – just 200 students comprise this unique school.
Some faculty members are big names not only in Los Angeles but throughout the country.
They include musicians like jazz trumpeter Wayne Bergeron, previously a member of Maynard Ferguson’s 80s band, and Tim Landers, bassist for several notable acts, including Al Di Meola and Gil Evans.
Los Angeles College of Music is also one of the few schools in the US where you can major in guitar or electric bass performance. There are a limited number of popular music schools in the country.
Azusa Pacific University School of Music
Years ago, I described Azusa Pacific as one of the nation’s top hidden gem music schools.
I stand by this assertion today – Azusa Pacific is a fine school of music based outside of Los Angeles.
One unique program Azusa Pacific offers that only some other music schools do is a major in Music and Worship. Although not required for a job in a Church, this degree would give students an advantage when searching for a job in a religious institution.
Other exciting offerings at Azusa Pacific include a Commercial Music major. This program prepares students well for the traditional music industry. The school’s alumni work in both the secular and Christian sectors of the music business.
Finally, APU is among the growing list of schools with an Entrepreneurship program specifically for music. Available at the Master’s degree level, this program is designed to help music students start and grow careers in music business or management.
University of Redlands School of Music
The University of Redlands stands among the exemplary Southern California music programs.
The University of Redlands maintains a strong relationship with a regional orchestra, the Redlands Symphony Orchestra. Students have found themselves performing in this group as substitutes or even sectional players.
Additionally, several faculty members perform regularly in this group.
Music education is one of the most popular majors at this school, and it is the trend throughout most music departments and programs in the country.
Although students are awarded licensure in California upon graduation, reciprocity agreements ensure students can teach in a public k-12 setting in any state.
Double-degree programs in music and an outside field are also common here, making this a strong choice for a student interested in both music and academics.
California Institute of the Arts
CalArts is a pleasant anomaly in the world of music.
Niche interests are abundant at CalArts; besides standard fare such as performance and composition, CalArts is home to the following majors: Experimental Popular Music, African Music and Dance, Experimental Sound Practices, North Indian Music, and World Music Performance.
CalArts is also entirely an arts-based school; musicians go to school with filmmakers, ceramicists, dancers, actors, and more. This creative environment’s melting pot results in genre-defying collaboration.
Additionally, CalArts has close ties to Disney, which always needs creative types for its productions. Walt Disney was on the school’s faculty when it opened over 60 years ago.
CalArts is a fantastic choice for a student who does not want to pursue rigorous academics but likes the idea of an arts-only institution; like other independent, non-university-attached music programs on this list, CalArts does not require standardized test scores for admission.
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
One of the nation’s most influential music schools, the San Francisco Conservatory, like most other great independent conservatories, is affiliated with a tier-1 orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony.
For students interested in performance opportunities outside the school, over 100 venues call San Francisco home, providing music students abundant opportunities to perform in and out of school.
The atmosphere at SFCM is best described as small and tight-knit. Like others on this list, it is an independent, non-university-affiliated music school.
The school also has an exciting program called Roots, Jazz, and American Music (RJAM for short).
Affiliated with West Coast mainstay music organization SFJazz, the RJAM program’s faculty includes internationally successful artists like pianist Rebeca Mauleón, who has performed with celebrities like Santana and Tito Puente.
Although San Francisco is known as a “tech city,” it is also an excellent place for artists to hang their hats.
Other exciting programs at SFCM include music composition. Composition faculty member Mason Bates wrote one of the most famous operas of the 21st century, called The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.
Colburn School
Classical musicians often call Colburn the “West Coast Curtis” for a good reason – it’s small, unbelievably selective, and tuition-free.
One recent program Colburn has instituted is the Diploma in Conducting.
Led by esteemed conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, previously the Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, this program accepts only three fellows each year.
The faculty at Colburn are among the nation’s best teachers. Some of them include Clive Greensmith, who was the cellist of the Tokyo Quartet for nearly 15 years; Andrew Bain, who has been the principal horn player of the LA Phil for eight years; and Mark Lawrence, a top trombone teacher.
Colburn is not only situated in a great music city; it is less than one block away from Walt Disney Concert Hall, the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Students at the conservatory gain direct access to faculty who also perform in the orchestra.
Chapman University Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music
Chapman University’s Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music is a rising star in California’s musical landscape. Known for its strong emphasis on classical performance, the conservatory offers students a comprehensive education under the guidance of world-class faculty.
Notable programs include rigorous training in instrumental performance and a vibrant environment that encourages collaboration between music and film students at Chapman’s renowned Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
With state-of-the-art facilities and a commitment to artistic excellence, Chapman’s Conservatory prepares students to excel in diverse musical careers.
One of the school’s well-known programs is Piano Performance. Grace Fong, one of the younger professors at the school, has won some of the world’s most prestigious competitions, including Leeds in 2006 and the Bosendorfer International Competition in 2007.