Composer Nicolás Lell Benavides named 2024 Guggenheim Fellow

USC Thornton composition program faculty member Nicolás Lell Benavides (DMA ’22) has been named a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow. Established in 1925, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awards monetary prizes to 188 fellows across 52 scholarly disciplines and artistic fields.

“It’s humbling to be recognized by colleagues whose work I admire so much, and to join so many of my mentors at USC Thornton School of Music with this distinction,” Benavides said in USC Today. “The legacy of achievement and artistry over 99 years of fellowships is breathtaking, and I’m so grateful to be part of the newest cohort.”

Benavides was selected to join this year’s cohort from a pool of almost 3,000 applicants. The Guggenheim Fellowship will enable him to complete numerous creative projects, including his opera Dolores which is scheduled for a rolling premiere in 2025.

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Photo by Vivian Sachs