Matias Viegener
In the first year I taught at CalArts there was a lunchtime or afternoon concert by the composer John Cage, who of course was very famous. I had been to a big Cage festival at the 96th St. YMCA when I was in college, and had heard the famous pieces like 4’33, works for prepared […]
Joanna Priestley
Having Jules Engel as a mentor and teacher was a life and career changing experience. Nearly very weekday, for part of the day, Jules would be working furiously on a new abstract film (Play Pen) in his tiny corner office. It had a big window and was in the same crowded room as our student […]
Ed Hoke
To this day, having had some crazy experiences in the music industry over several decades, two notable experiences occurred to me 1979-1980. The first was the decision of my percussion classmates to take a contemporary piece of music calling for a large gong to be played softly for an hour – and modifying it to […]
Zach Schwartz
I remember DJing the projection mapped giant Mayan Pyramid the theater school built for the 2012 Halloween party
Jahcobie Cosom
I remember Obama winning the election while we all were stifled in to a lounge in the undergrad dorms. It was a win. A beautiful collection of color, different minds and most of all creatives. We danced, we chanted, we loved and we hugged. Those fleeting moments we keep in our hearts because one thing […]
Julie Adler
In 1996, when I first arrived at CalArts as a grad student in the Art school, I also decided to take advantage of the Music department and signed up for non-major vocal lessons with Jacqui Bobak. That same semester, I took a class with Mort Subotnick in B305. That’s where I met Andrew Bucksbarg, Roger […]
Beth Brody
I have fond memories of my years at CalArts–1977-79. The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance deans were amazing: Gus Solomons, Jr., with his own company and formerly from the Merce Cunningham company and Christyne Lawson from the Martha Graham company and the Alvin Ailey company. The dance teachers included Mia Slavenska from the Ballet […]
Todd Simon
Within minutes after moving in to Chouinard, I made friends with TBird (flute), Nico Spezzacatena (percussion)and Demetrius Wilson (guitar) and we found ourselves jamming outside of ROD Hall. It was organic, fun and creative. I knew I made the perfect decision on the best school that could meet my creative needs. I am forever thankful […]
Todd Pimentel
I was honored to be Student Trustee (1990-1991) and serve on the Student Government Council for the 1990/1991 academic school year. It was the first time the students recognized trustees for their contributions to student life on campus, including scholarships, equipment and more. The photo memory is from honoring Sharon Disney Lund during a student-only […]
Cary Gries
I was sitting in my first class painting period with John Mandel, my mentor/instructor, and David Salle, TA when someone runs through the door to say there’s a big surprise in the Main Gallery at noon. We go and Benny Goodman is playing very alternative jazz pieces with Mel Powell on piano with Leonid Hambro […]
