Erica Muhl
Erica Muhl was appointed dean of the USC Roski School of Fine Arts, on May 1, 2013.
Muhl, professor of composition at the USC Thornton School of Music, served as the school’s interim dean since September 7, 2012, after assisting in an advisory capacity beginning in January 2012.
A professor of composition and associate dean for faculty affairs at the USC Thornton School of Music, Muhl chairs the University Committee on Academic Review. She has served as administrative vice president of the university’s Academic Senate, chair of the Mellon Mentoring Committee, and a member of the University Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure.
Muhl has received grants and awards from organizations such as the American Academy of Arts and Letters and National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the prestigious Whitaker Commissioning Prize. She has been awarded residencies and fellowships from, among others, Italy’s Civitella Ranieri Foundation, the Charles Ives Center for American Music, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the American Academy in Rome, the Cultural Ministry of Venezuela, and the State of Saxony, Germany.
Muhl’s compositions have been commissioned and featured in festivals around the world. In praising her music, major critics have described it as “strong and poetic,” “ravishingly beautiful,” “haunting” and even “fearless.”
Muhl has served as assistant conductor for the Los Angeles Opera Theater, Seattle Opera, and the Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival’s complete Der Ring des Nibelungen, and regularly conducts her own works.
She also has lectured widely, presenting talks for major organizations such as the New York Philharmonic, Opera Pacific, Los Angeles Opera and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Muhl holds a doctorate in musical arts from USC, and did graduate study at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena.
Last Updated: 05/14/13