Three rare instruments were reported stolen from a display case in the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology over winter break.
The instruments, a Saraswati vina from South India, a kora from West Africa and a prima balalaika from Russia, were reported stolen Dec. 26, according to an email from university police spokesperson Nancy Greenstein and an email sent to the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology.
Around noon on Dec. 26, people coming into the Herb Alpert School of Music for an appointment noticed that the building’s door was unlocked, police said. They called police after they saw the broken display case and noticed that the instruments were missing, Greenstein said in an email statement.
Police have reports that the display case was intact as late as 8 p.m. the night before, Greenstein said. She added that police do not have an estimate of the value of the instruments.
The incident is under investigation. Anybody with information can call UCPD at (310) 825-9371 or email the ethnomusicology department’s management services officer, Martha Rider, at mrider@arts.ucla.edu.
Compiled by Sam Hoff, Bruin senior staff.