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Every music student is living proof that practice really does make perfect. Whether strengthening skills on instruments, refining vocal techniques or developing ideas for new compositions, students at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music do some of their most important work in the school’s practice rooms.
And now, thanks to a $5 million gift from the Herb Alpert Foundation, these fundamental spaces have received their first comprehensive renovation since they were built in 1955.
Welcome to Imagination Hall — the fully redesigned suite of 49 practice rooms, which opened in fall 2024 following an extensive overhaul. Each room benefits from a host of upgrades including advanced acoustics, improved soundproofing, energy-efficient LED lighting, data ports for wired connectivity and a range of aesthetic enhancements.
The renovation is only the latest act of philanthropy from the Herb Alpert Foundation, which has been working for years to ensure students can access a top-tier music education at UCLA. A passionate believer in the importance of arts education, Alpert has been a powerful force for positive change on campus, from the $30 million gift in 2007 that first established the Herb Alpert School, as a unit within the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, to the creation — thanks to a 2016 decision by the Regents — of the first and only standalone music school throughout the University of California.
It is estimated that Imagination Hall will host more than 180,000 practice sessions each year. One of the students already putting the renewed space to good use is Austin Ali, a fifth-year M.A. and Ph.D. student in composition at the school of music. He is delighted with the new rooms, especially since he began his studies at UCLA in 2020 and — due to the COVID-19 pandemic — had to study remotely for much of his first two years with no access to music school facilities.
“For me, the practice rooms are an important place to create,” he says. “So much of my composition work depends on having access to a piano, which allows me to improvise and try out musical ideas. I can’t just sit at a desk and write music; it has to be a process of play and discovery. The new practice rooms are the perfect place for me to do that.”
For Austin, the high-end practice rooms — more than half of which contain pianos — are fully in line with the quality of the school as a whole. “This is the best composition program in the world,” he says. “The faculty is world-class, the community is so supportive, and the talent level among the students here at UCLA is unbelievable. It’s great to have practice spaces befitting the program’s status.”
For information about giving to The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, contact Amanda Court, Executive Director of Development.
Before: Practice spaces at the school had been largely unchanged in the 70 years since they were built.
After: Thanks to the generosity of the Herb Alpert Foundation, students like Isabella Ragsac can enjoy outstanding acoustics and a host of other features.
