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four musicians sing onstage at Calarts

The distinctive, project-driven curriculum of CalArts’ VoiceArts program facilitates your evolution as an artist, whether as an expressive maker of original art, an interpreter of existing vocal music, or both. As you progress through the program with guidance from your mentor, faculty, and visiting artists, you’ll identify their own voice and sound, and hone the tools, techniques, and creative ideas you’ll use to develop and contextualize your work, regardless of the direction your interests take you. Your faculty provide individualized guidance—and encourage self-initiated projects and collaborative work—to prepare you to excel in a wide variety of creative settings once you enter the professional world.

Group of VoiceArts students singing in a concert at CalArts

CalArts’ four-year BFA in VoiceArts is designed for creative artists whose primary means of expression is the voice—and who wish to develop both your vocal mechanism and your unique mode of artistic expression. 

Stage setup with drum set, microphones, guitar and bass amplifiers, and guitars in front of soundproof panels.

The rigorous BFA curriculum incorporates language, text, and repertoire studies, contextualization of artistic work, performance and interpretation studies, keyboard studies, composition for voice, technology, multidisciplinary performance, and professional development. You’ll also find an array of ensemble and solo performance opportunities, as well as opportunities to work with many guest artists, who bring expertise from multiple fields and backgrounds.

As a VoiceArts student, you’ll train in the fundamentals of vocal technique through intensive voice lessons and a range of foundational requisites. Your focus will be on developing a post-classical vocal technique, which grows out of the Western classical foundations of voice and tone production, and moves beyond it to embrace a more extensive skill and style palette—including extended vocal techniques, improvisation, non-Western vocal styles, sound art, and the use of electronics.

All technical work emphasizes healthy production, vocal control, stylistic adaptability, and vocal experimentation. You’ll be expected to explore new ideas and arenas, to develop critical perspectives that lead to creative performance of new or existing works, and to reflect on contemporary and historical traditions and perspectives from around the globe.

You’ll have numerous opportunities for both solo performance and in ensemble situations, and to lend your voice to self-generated, peer, and interschool projects. Opportunities include chamber and large ensembles, contemporary and experimental vocal ensembles, opera and concert theater productions, jazz, improvisation, and world music ensembles, and others.

All undergraduate programs in The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts offer a broad and rigorous general musical education alongside highly individualized lesson instruction and mentoring. As a BFA student, you’ll engage in intensive shared training in musical techniques and concepts spanning classical, jazz, popular, electronic, and experimental styles, and both Western and non-Western musical cultures. You will graduate with experience in creating original work, ensemble performance, music notation and theory, professional development, and artistic metiers outside of music.

All undergraduate voice artists are required to complete all degree requirements and pass a mid-residence project/recital and a graduation jury and project/recital in order to graduate and earn the degree.

View our step-by-step application guide to learn more.  

At CalArts, faculty and students are collaborators, teaching, learning, and working together as members of our community of artists. 

Every spring since 1990, CalArts music students head to the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood where, working with the best recording engineers in the world, they record live, original compositions by their CalArts peers. The studio time is an invaluable experience, and we get to document some extraordinary and eclectic musical directions. Have a listen.

 A grid of the covers of sixteen CalArts Jazz album covers.

More School of Music alumni

Releasing her album BAKUWANA as she navigated the disruption and isolation of the pandemic, alum Micaela Tobin drew on her skills as an improviser and experimenter to continue evolving her music. “Her voice is so unique that she’s defining for listeners what it means to create the sound of these ideas,” said her producer. “She’s so much on the bleeding edge …. You just trust her, because where else have you ever heard someone attempting to do this?”

A woman with long dark hair grins, she is holding something that looks like a glowing cloud and is covered in water droplets. Her teeth are covered in black marks.

We got you. Our Admissions team is all about providing the information you need to decide if CalArts is right for you. We’re excited to connect with you for a tour of our legendary campus, a virtual info session, or at one of our admissions events across the country or around the world. Take the next step—we’re here to help.