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    • Good luck on finals! Winter Break: December 20 – January 11

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    2025-2026 Signature Series

    Explore curated events with USC Thornton’s Signature Series, selected by USC Thornton leadership and Dean Jason King.

    Series Events
    vocal group Tonality poses for a photo, holding their Grammy award

    2026 Grammy Nominations

    From USC Thornton alumni and faculty members to Creative Vanguard Artists, our creative community is well represented amongst the 2026 Grammy Award nominees.

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    Solange: Scholar-in-Residence

    Solange is named USC Thornton’s first Scholar-in-Residence, joining the Dean’s Creative Vanguard program.

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    2025 Top Music Business School

    Billboard included USC Thornton School of Music on their 2025 list of Top Music Business Schools in the nation, garnering its seventh consecutive year of being listed.

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    Explore our programs.

    Our three exceptional divisions offer cross-genre experiences, exposing students to diverse styles and techniques that will prepare them for a well-rounded career at the highest level.

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    USC Thornton Choral & Sacred Music

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    Upcoming Events

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    • The Strings Department presents the Concerto Finals image
      Wed | 7:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall (AHF 151)

      The Strings Department presents the Concerto Finals

      Talented students from the Strings department perform concertos as part of an annual competition.

    • Winter Choral Festival image
      Sat | 7:00 PM | Holman United Methodist Church

      Winter Choral Festival

      Celebrate the holidays with the USC Thornton Choral Department at the 2025 Winter Choral Festival featuring readings, carols and seasonal highlights by the Thornton choirs.

    • How Nina Simone Changed the World: A Q&A Conversation image
      Fri | 7:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall (AHF 151)

      How Nina Simone Changed the World: A Q&A Conversation

      How Nina Simone Changed the World: A Q&A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer and Critic Salamishah Tillet In Conversation with Jason King, Dean of USC Thornton School of Music NINA SIMONE: BEYOND CATEGORY USC Thornton School of Music’s Beyond Category Series How Nina Simone Changed the World brings Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and critic Salamishah Tillet to the University of Southern California for a special conversation in anticipation of the 2026 publication of her forthcoming work, All the Rage: Nina Simone and the World She Made.

    • To Be Free: The Revolutionary Music of Nina Simone image
      Mon | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium (ADM)

      To Be Free: The Revolutionary Music of Nina Simone

      NINA SIMONE: BEYOND CATEGORY USC Thornton School of Music’s Beyond Category Series Curated and Hosted by Lara Downes and Jason King Part of the USC Thornton School of Music Series Beyond Category: Nina Simone This unique two-day concert event celebrates Nina Simone’s classical training and its profound influence on her expansive, genre-defying musical vision, her creative genius, and her lifelong pursuit of personal, artistic, and collective freedom.

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