About Nancy Uscher

From 2004 to 2011, Dr. Uscher was the Chief Academic Officer of CalArts, an internationally acclaimed arts school located in the Los Angeles area, as well as a faculty member of the Herb Alpert School of Music. In keeping with CalArts tradition, she often performs in concerts with students and other faculty members. Before that, Dr. Uscher spent 12 years at the University of New Mexico in a variety of positions, including Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, Chairperson of the Music Department and Professor of Music. She also taught such courses in the Women Studies Program as “Women and Solitude” and “Women and the Expression of Identity in Literature and the Arts.” Dr. Uscher also created the Center for the Arts in Society as a think tank to explore arts-related public policy issues and find new ways to share the arts with society.

Dr. Uscher earned her Ph.D. in music at New York University, where her dissertation was entitled, ”Performance Problems In Selected 20th Century Music For Viola.” She also holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, a master’s degree in music from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and is an Associate of the Royal College of Music in London, where she spent her junior year in college.

Dr. Uscher spent two decades as a concert violist performing and teaching around the world, including six years leading the viola section of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, before transitioning full-time into academe. She is the author of dozens of articles, mainly for music publications, and two books: Your Own Way in Music: A Career and Resource Guide and The Schirmer Guide to Schools of Music and Conservatories Throughout the World.