Daniel Linder joins University of Arizona piano faculty
Pianist and USC Thornton doctoral candidate Daniel Linder recently took the position of Assistant Professor of Music in the Keyboard/Accompanying department of the University of Arizona’s Fox School of Music. Linder, who was named a 2018 USC Thornton Outstanding Graduate, also earned the 2018 Fresno Musical Club Susan Torres Award, and received first prize in… Continue reading Daniel Linder joins University of Arizona piano faculty
Senior Logan Nelson finalist for World Soundtrack award
The World Soundtrack Academy organizes a composition contest every year for young, international film composers. If selected, the composer will write a symphonic score for a selected film or TV excerpt and will be given the SABAM Award for the Most Original Composition by a Young International Composer, worth $2500. This year, USC Thornton Composition… Continue reading Senior Logan Nelson finalist for World Soundtrack award
Special Faculty
Will Kennedy
Will Kennedy is a drummer whose musicality and finesse are legendary in the jazz world and beyond, performing with luminaries such as Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Snarky Puppy, Bobby McFerrin, Esperanza Spalding, George Benson, and Lee Ritenour. His career is marked by pushing musical boundaries and a desire to be inspired yet be an inspiration.… Continue reading Will Kennedy
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… Continue reading Harpist Caroline Hales wins Music Academy’s Concerto Competition
Eric Pham
Eric Pham is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, recording producer and engineer based in Los Angeles. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Production from Cal Poly Pomona, a Master of Music in Composition from the Bob Cole Conservatory at CSULB, and is currently working toward a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition at USC. Having played… Continue reading Eric Pham
Brian Malouf
Brian Malouf pursued a career in music with unwavering passion from the third grade. A first chair symphonic percussionist by the end of his university days, he became immersed in sound engineering in 1980. In 1983, his career as a world-class studio talent was jump-started when the legendary Michael Jackson tapped Malouf to begin work… Continue reading Brian Malouf
Lyndia Johnson
Lyndia Johnson, known as “MzLyndia” among singers, has been a singing teacher/vocal coach in the music industry and in colleges and universities around the US for 25 years. From touring with artists to collaborating with producers and label executives, MzLyndia’s abilities to identify vocal talent, assist singers recovering from vocal illnesses and develop singers technically… Continue reading Lyndia Johnson
Choral & Sacred Music students find professional success
Several graduate students of the USC Thornton Choral & Sacred Music program have recently brought their work to larger audiences. DMA candidate Irene Apanovitch-Leites presented at the Canadian Choral Directors’ Summer Conference in late June. She will bring her presentation, “How Do Singers Relate: Exploring the Connection Between Empathy and Choral Singing,” to the ACDA… Continue reading Choral & Sacred Music students find professional success
Nate Sloan
Nate Sloan is a musicologist and performer who researches jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and popular music. Sloan hosts Switched on Pop with songwriter Charlie Harding, a podcast produced by Vox Media which has been cited by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly as a top music podcast, and he provides music analysis for The Economist, NPR, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, and CBC Radio’s “Day… Continue reading Nate Sloan