UCLA Philharmonia Press


The UCLA Philharmonia and the entire performance (of Ian Krouse’s Armenian Requiem) is led by Neal Stulberg in a work that still has me reeling after listening to it three times…This work is definitely worth the effort. The sound is excellent: full and spacious with great stereo definition. Highly recommended to all choral buffs and people who need proof that there still are composers who can summon the heights and depths of humanity in their music.


American Record Guide

UCLA Philharmonia, Lark Mastersingers, Tziatzan Treble Choir

September/October 2019

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Ian Krouse’s powerful Armenian Requiem, commissioned by Vatsche Barsoumian’s Lark Music Society, draws on traditional liturgical chant and poetry to make a powerful case for redemption through music…With the composer producing, conductor Neal Stulberg’s command of the assembled forces – including many of LA’s finest musicians, such as the UCLA Philharmonia’s concertmaster Movses Pogossian – brings with it the assurance of authority. 

Gramophone
 UCLA Philharmonia
June 2019


In April 2016, the UCLA Philharmonia was the first orchestra to be affiliated with Los Angeles' Hear Now Festival. A review of the Philharmonia's performance by Mark Swed was featured in the Los Angeles Times:

"What I found fascinating about the Hear Now orchestra program, a first for the festival and a promising new collaboration with the UCLA Philharmonia, is just how radically different it was from another recent concert by another school orchestra, the Ensemble at CalArts, which centered on abstract Minimalists and Conceptualists of a variety specially adaptable to our artistic environment."

"On the other hand, the four pieces (selected from 23 submissions) played in Schoenberg Hall by the excellent student orchestra, keenly and convincingly conducted by Neal Stulberg, were maximal."

"... Earlier performances (of William Kraft's Settings from "Pierrot Lunaire") I've heard of the original version could sound on the gnarly side, but soprano Justine Aronson dramatically and gratifyingly juiced it up, while Stulberg paid the kind loving attention to detail that revealed hidden instrumental treasures."

Mark Swed
Los Angeles Times
UCLA Philharmonia
April 2016


"Ian Krouse’s Armenian Requiem, which is cast in a very traditional idiom, is heartfelt, bold, richly expressive, but also makes virtuosic demands on its performers.  He was fortunate to have at his disposal a group of performers like the UCLA Philharmonia and its conductor Neal Stulberg.  Theirs is a formidable instrument, capable of not only stop-on-a-dime corporate finesse, but also solo playing of profound character.  Every technical hurdle that the score dropped in their path they leaped over with aplomb."

                                                                                                                                                   

Ted Ayala

Crescenta Valley Weekly

UCLA Philharmonia, Lark Mastersingers, Tziatzan Treble Choir

April 2015


"Much of the heavy lifting (on Sono Luminus' “Mohammed Fairouz: Poems and Prayers” CD) is done by university-level forces: the UCLA Philharmonia, Chorale, and University Chorus.  They have clearly risen to the protean demands placed on them, performing with sturdy musicianship and considerable emotive power.  Conductor Neal Stulberg has an impressively sure grasp of this challenging and multi-layered work, imposing discipline where it’s needed, and unleashing chaos where it’s demanded."

                                                                                                                                                    Joshua Rosenblum
                                                                                                                                                              Opera News
                                                                                     UCLA Philharmonia, UCLA Chorale, UCLA University Chorus
                                                                                                                                                        December 2014


UCLA Philharmonia Zeisl reviewed in OZ Arts Review 

Krouse Armenian Requiem reviewed in Crescenta Valley Weekly

     Read the full review here! 

Review of Fairouz Poems and Prayers by Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

    Read the review here! 

Arkivmusic's review of Fairouz Poems and Prayers

     Check out the review here! 

Fairouz Poems and Prayers reviewed in Opera News 

     Read the review here! 

Fairouz Poems and Prayers reviewed in ClassicalNet

     Catch the review here! 

Preview of UCLA Philharmonia's Poems and Prayers recording on Sono Luminus Label

     Check out the upcoming release here! 

UCLA Philharmonia's Poems and Prayers CD press release

     Please download the press release here! 

UCLA Philharmonia receives a marvelous review of the Zeisl recording from Fanfare Magazine

     Read the full review here! 

UCLA Philharmonia reviewed in LA Times 

     View the full article here! 

UCLA Philharmonia's Zeisl CD reviewed in Pizzicato

     View the review here! 

UCLA Philharmonia featured in UCLA Today

     View the article here!