YuEun Kim and Sung Chang take 2nd Prize at Boulder duo competition
Violinist YuEun Kim (GCRT ’15, ARTD ’17) and pianist Sung Chang (GCRT ’17), have been jointly awarded 2nd prize at the Art of Duo: Boulder International Chamber Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado. The USC Thornton alumni performed the 2nd movement of Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2 Enjoy a video of their winning performance below: Kim, […]
Cellist Marek Szpakiewicz tours Japan to support Fukushima earthquake victims
Cellist and USC Thornton alumnus Marek Szpakiewicz (DMA ’08), is currently undertaking a two-week performance tour of Japan to support children in the disaster-ravaged region of Fukushima, where an earthquake and tsunami set off a nuclear accident in 2011. Szpakiewicz, who serves as director of String Studies and Chamber Music at Azusa Pacific University, has […]
Grant Gershon warmly reviewed for work with LA Master Chorale and LA Opera
USC Thornton alumnus Grant Gershon (’85, piano), artistic director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, recently launched the ensemble’s 2018-19 season on September 22 with a performance of Shawn Kirchner’s Songs of Ascent, featuring baritone and faculty member, Rod Gilfry, and faculty harpist JoAnn Turovsky as soloists. Gershon is currently conducting the LA Opera’s production […]
Four Thornton violinists join the Long Beach Symphony
The Long Beach Symphony recently welcomed four new violinists to its roster of musicians, all of whom are USC Thornton students or alumni. Chloe Chiu (GCRT ’15) joins the ensemble’s First Violin section, while YuEun Kim (GCRT ’15, ARTD ’17), Sakura Tsai (MM ’07, GCRT ’09, DMA ’13), and current Los Angeles Orchestra Fellow Sydney […]
Hank Mou appointed Associate Dean at New England Conservatory
Hank Mou (BM ’06, double bass), an alumnus of the USC Thornton Strings program, has been appointed Associate Dean for Artistic Administration at the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston, Massachusetts. Mou, who teaches double bass for the NEC’s Preparatory & Continuing Education program, also serves as managing director for the New York City-based East […]
Delirium Musicum chamber ensemble announces call for scores
Delirium Musicum, a conductorless chamber ensemble founded by violinist and USC Thornton alumnus Etienne Gara, has announced a call for scores open to composers of any age and nationality. The deadline for submission is October 15, 2018 with the works to be premiered in a February concert. The ensemble, which won the 2018 Beverly Hills […]
Alumnus Jules Pegram premieres new opera
USC Thornton alumnus Jules Pegram (BM ’13, Composition) recently composed, produced, and conducted two performances of Higher Ground, a sixty-minute, one act opera with a libretto by North Carolina-based writer Jim Whiteside. Scored for seven principal vocalists, SATB chorus, and chamber orchestra, the opera was fully staged on April 4 & 5, 2018 at the […]
Concerto Chamber Orchestra recruiting members
The Concerto Chamber Orchestra, a student-led ensemble for non-major musicians, will be holding auditions for performers of all orchestral instruments and skill levels, September 1st and 2nd, on the USC Thornton campus. The orchestra presents two popular concerts each semester. Interested students can email concertochamberorchestra@gmail.com to set up an audition time.
Harpist Caroline Hales wins Music Academy’s Concerto Competition
Harpist Caroline Hales (BM ’16), a master’s candidate in the USC Thornton Strings program, recently won the Music Academy of the West’s 2018 Concerto Competition. Hales, who studies with JoAnn Turovsky, serves as principal harpist with the American Youth Symphony, the Debut Chamber Orchestra, and the USC Thornton Symphony. Winners of the Concerto Competition will […]
Martin Chalifour to perform Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl
Violinist Martin Chalifour, Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) and a member of the USC Thornton Strings faculty, will perform Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 1, under the baton of Paolo Bortolameolli, at the Hollywood Bowl on August 2nd. Chalifour has spent much of the summer as a Valade Teaching Fellow and Valade […]