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 […]
Faculty and alumni featured in summer opera productions across the country
Several USC Thornton faculty and alumni have enjoyed success on the opera stage this summer. Faculty member Ken Cazan, the USC Thornton Opera’s resident stage director, returned to Colorado’s Central City Opera to direct productions of Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Henry Mollicone’s 1978 chamber opera, The Face on the Barroom Floor. Starring as Galatea, […]
Composer, exchange student Tuomas Kettunen shares collaborative work
Finnish composer Tuomas Kettunen, a master’s student at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, recently concluded a semester as an exchange student at USC Thornton, where he studied with Donald Crockett and took classes in orchestration, game scoring, and music technology. Kettunen shared the fruits of his work from the Writer-Composer class, led by Lisa Sylvester, […]
Rod Gilfry warmly reviewed for “Crossing”
Baritone Rod Gilfry, a member of the USC Thornton Vocal Arts & Opera faculty, recently starred in a concert presentation of Matthew Aucoin’s opera, Crossing, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. Produced by the LA Opera, the work was inspired by poet Walt Whitman’s experiences during the Civil War […]
Two Thornton Vocal Arts alumna lead Tulsa “Turandot”
Sopranos Jessica Rose Cambio (MM ’06) and Alexandra Loutsion (MM ’08), both graduates of the USC Thornton Vocal Arts & Opera program, recently starred in the Tulsa Opera’s production of Turandot, which ran from April 27th-29th. Loutsion and Cambio portrayed Turandot and Liù, respectively, under the baton of conductor James Lowe. Cambio debuted the role […]
Los Angeles premiere of Mark Weiser opera at Art Share L.A.
The Place Where You Started, a chamber opera by USC Thornton Composition faculty member Mark Weiser with a libretto by Amy S. Punt, will be performed in collaboration with the Helix Collective, May 17-19 at Art Share L.A. The multimedia work, Weiser’s fourth opera, explores tensions around race and class. His previous opera, Where Angels […]
Rod Gilfry stars in Matthew Aucoin opera
Baritone Rod Gilfry, a member of the USC Thornton Vocal Arts & Opera faculty, will star in Matthew Aucoin’s opera, Crossing, on May 25th and 26th at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. Produced in concert by the LA Opera, the work is inspired by poet Walt Whitman’s experiences during […]
Video of Somang Jeagal in recital at the Greystone Mansion
The Music in the Mansion concert series, which presents chamber music at the historical Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, recently published a video showcasing a February performance by pianist and 2018 Outstanding Graduate Somang Jeagal (AD ’15, GCRT ’17, MM ’18). The Keyboard Collaborative Arts student and three-time Beverly Hills National Auditions winner was joined […]
Vocal Arts alumni to be featured in Long Beach Opera production
Three alumni of the USC Thornton Vocal Arts program, mezzo-soprano Kira Dills-Desurra (’10), tenor Gibran Mahmud (MM ’17), and soprano Alexandra Martinez Turano (MM ’16), will be featured in the Long Beach Opera’s production of The Love Potion by composer Frank Martin. Based on the Celtic legends made famous in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, the […]
Soprano Shana Blake Hill to perform with Verdi Chorus
USC Thornton Vocal Arts alumna Shana Blake Hill (MM ’12) will perform as a featured guest soloist in the Verdi Chorus’s 35th anniversary concert, “The Force of Destiny,” on April 28th and 29th. The Santa Monica-based ensemble is directed by Anne Marie Ketchum and the program will feature excepts from La Forza del Destino, Nabucco, […]