Faculty


Photo of Joe Poindexter wearing a mustard colored sweater standing in front of a grey wall and smiling at the camera.

Joe Poindexter

July 5, 2023

Joe Poindexter is the chief communications officer and executive vice president of digital at PULSE Music Group, an independent music publisher, record label and music services company based in Los Angeles. The company’s roster of talented artists, producers and songwriters includes Brent Faiyaz, James Blake, Turnstile, Kehlani, FNZ, Ty Dolla $ign, Cordae, Tyler Johnson, Freddie… Continue reading Joe Poindexter


Photo of Clarence Penn standing on a city street in front of a mural.

Clarence Penn

May 2, 2023

Clarence Penn, a highly accomplished jazz drummer, is renowned for his remarkable talents in music composition, production and education. Since his arrival in New York City in 1991, Penn has collaborated with an impressive list of A-list artists, including Ellis and Wynton Marsalis, Maria Schneider, Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, Michael Brecker and Fourplay, among others.… Continue reading Clarence Penn


Photo of Derrick Lawrence smiling on an outdoor staircase.

Derrick Lawrence

May 2, 2023

Derrick Lawrence, baritone, has sung roles on the stages of Philadelphia Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera, Charlotte Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Piedmont Opera, Opera North, Zurich Opera House, Budapest, Wiesbaden, Düsseldorf, The Royal Danish Opera, Stuttgart, Luzern, Aachen, Freiburg, Statts Opera Berlin, Kaiserslautern, La Monnaie, Teatro Massimo, Opera Lyon and National Theater Brünn. Lawrence… Continue reading Derrick Lawrence


Photo of Emily Sung smiling outside in the sunlight.

Emily Sung

May 2, 2023

Emily Sung is a Chinese American conductor, scholar and teacher from Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Before her appointment at the USC Thornton School of Music, Sung previously served as the associate director of Choral Activities at Princeton University, the director of the Chamber Choir and Choral Society at the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of… Continue reading Emily Sung


Photo of Amy Andersson

Amy Andersson

February 8, 2023

Amy Andersson is an internationally recognized, Grammy-winning conductor and producer. Named by British music critic Norman Lebrecht as “America’s most-watched symphony orchestra conductor,” Andersson has been praised for her dynamic musicality, expressive technique and cross genre repertoire. She has toured to over 22 countries conducting concerts and recording sessions in symphonic, operatic, film, musical theater… Continue reading Amy Andersson


Photo of Jason King wearing a green blazer.

Jason King

January 24, 2023

Jason King, Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, is a multi-talented Canadian-American scholar, journalist, author, musician, performer, producer, songwriter, radio and video host and event curator. Before his appointment at USC, King was chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at Tisch School of the Arts New York University, where he… Continue reading Jason King


Otmaro Ruiz wearing a dark coat against a black background.

Otmaro Ruiz

January 17, 2023

Otmaro Ruiz is a jazz pianist with a diverse musical skill set, ranging from straight-ahead and pop-rock, to fusion, salsa and Afro-Cuban jazz. Of Venezuelan heritage, he worked intensively in the Venezuela jazz scene before moving to Los Angeles in 1989. He has since received an honorary doctorate in musical arts from Shepherd University, and… Continue reading Otmaro Ruiz


A black & white photograph of Josh Nelson

Josh Nelson

November 16, 2022

Pianist and composer Josh Nelson has been an active and creative artist for over twenty years. With ten albums as a leader, numerous other recordings, accolades and accomplishments, Nelson is one of the most in-demand pianists around. Recent projects with Brazilian legend Ivan Lins and superstar Michael Bublé are evidence that his piano and arranging… Continue reading Josh Nelson


Photo of Katie Thiroux holding an upright bass.

Katie Thiroux

June 7, 2022

Following her prodigious beginnings on bass at age 8 and studies under renowned vocalist Tierney Sutton at 12, Katie Thiroux was mentored by the legendary bassist John Clayton and was awarded a Phil Ramone Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music while gaining experience on the bandstand with artists including Terrell Safford, Terri Lyne Carrington,… Continue reading Katie Thiroux


Photo of Christian Amonson in front of a mixing console in a sound studio

Christian Amonson

June 7, 2022

Christian Amonson is a recording engineer and producer specializing in acoustic music. Projects include John Williams and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Midori and the Kansas City Symphony, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at Abbey Road Studios in London and NPR’s JazzSet at the Kennedy Center, as well as groups like the LA… Continue reading Christian Amonson