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
"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."
"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."