
Midori named a Kennedy Center Honoree for 2021
Celebrated violinist Midori, who served on the USC Thornton faculty for 14 years until 2018 and is currently a Judge Widney Professor of Music at USC, was named a Kennedy Center Honoree for 2021. This year’s award, which celebrates a lifetime of artistic achievement, also includes Debbie Allen, Joan Baez, Garth Brooks, and Dick Van […]

Judith Farmer releases new album of chamber music for bassoon
Winds & Percussion faculty member Judith Farmer has released a new album of chamber music for bassoon, Judith Farmer Plays Favorites. The album includes performances by Strings faculty member Andrew Shulman and alum Vicki Ray (DMA ’88), as well as a recording of a piece by alum composer Gernot Wolfgang (GCRT ’94). The album is […]

Gabriel Martins wins 2020 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition
Cellist Gabriel Martins (BM ’19), an alum of USC Thornton’s Strings program, has earned another notable award, marking his third major prize in what has been a momentous year for the decorated artist. Martins has been announced as one of two Grand Prize winners in the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. The prize […]

USC Thornton alumni launch MusiKaravan mobile concerts
USC Thornton alumni Etienne Gara and YuEun Kim (GCRT ‘15, AD ‘17), members of the celebrated chamber ensemble Delirium Musicum, have launched a unique mobile, outdoor concert series called MusiKaravan. While Delirium Musicum’s live concerts remain on hold, the two have traveled around California by car to perform safely outdoors for workers at farms and […]

Thornton artists awarded San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards
Multiple USC Thornton artists and alumni-founded ensembles were awarded San Francisco Classical Voice’s Audience Choice Awards for the 2019-2020 season. This year was the first-ever Audience Choice Awards with a category dedicated to celebrating the vibrant classical music scene in Los Angeles. HOCKET, the piano duo of alumni Sarah Gibson (MM ‘10, DMA ‘15) and […]

Jason Issokson and Yoshika Masuda join Rolston String Quartet
The Rolston String Quartet recently announced the addition of two USC Thornton alumni to the ensemble. Violinist Jason Issokson (DMA ’11), currently Second Violin with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and cellist Yoshika Masuda (GCRT ’12, DMA ’16), a founding member of the SAKURA Cello Quintet, join members Luri Lee and Hezekiah Leung in their new […]

Sydney Adedamola announced as 2020/21 LA Phil Resident Fellow
The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced that Sydney Adedamola (BM ’18), violinist and alum of the USC Thornton Strings program, is one of this season’s cohort of the Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen LA Phil Resident Fellows program. The program was founded in 2018 to build stronger career pathways for musicians historically underrepresented in today’s […]

Twelve Thornton students and alumni among winners of 2020-2021 Beverly Hills National Auditions
Winners of the 2020-2021 Beverly Hills National Auditions (BHNA) were recently announced, and among them are a long list of 12 students and alumni of USC Thornton. Each year, the BHNA selects winners to be presented the following season in a series of monthly concerts across Southern California. In consideration of restrictions on in-person events, […]

USC Thornton’s Concerto Chamber Orchestra presents The Carnival of the Animals
USC Thornton’s Concerto Chamber Orchestra, a student-run ensemble, is presenting a 14-day summer festival featuring a virtual performance of “The Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saëns. Between July 18-31, the ensemble will release a movement each day, culminating in a livestream of the full piece on July 31 at 6:00 pm (PST). The project […]

Three Thornton artists join Yellow Barn Summer Artist Residency concert series
Three students and alumni of USC Thornton will appear as artists in residence at Yellow Barn this summer and perform in the organization’s first-ever virtual concert series: cellist and graduate certificate student Coleman Itzkoff (MM ’16); cellist Gabriel Martins (BM ’19); and clarinetist and artist diploma student Yasmina Spiegelberg (GCRT ’17). The three musicians will […]