Jonathan Azu
For reasons bigger than music and after years of driving success for some of the industry’s most iconic artists brands and companies, Jonathan Azu left an executive role at entertainment powerhouse Red Light Management to start management firm, Culture Collective. With a focus on clients of color, Culture Collective is driving change within its industry… Continue reading Jonathan Azu
Ginny Luke
Ginny Luke, adjunct instructor in USC Thornton’s Popular Music program, is a dynamic violinist and vocalist. Equally as comfortable in concert halls as giant arenas, Luke has both performed internationally to millions of people across the globe and alongside some of the biggest names in the music industry as a powerhouse vocalist, violinist and bandleader.… Continue reading Ginny Luke
Andrew Leff
Andrew Leff is a 20-year veteran of the music industry and an attorney, working with and advocating for artists throughout his career. After his graduation from the University of California, Hastings College of Law in 1996, Leff quickly became an Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn, NY. He later made a shift into entertainment law and business management, as… Continue reading Andrew Leff
Bobby Borg
Bobby Borg is a former major label, independent and DIY recording/touring artist with over 30 years of experience working with world-class musicians, songwriters, managers, producers, agents, equipment sponsors and A&R executives. As a member and founder of several rock and alternative rock bands, including one that achieved multi-platinum-selling success, he has toured the world extensively.… Continue reading Bobby Borg
Juan Pablo Contreras selected for New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices program
Juan Pablo Contreras, a doctoral candidate in Composition and Latin GRAMMY nominee, has been named one of six composers in New Music USA’s 2020 Amplifying Voices program. With support from Sphinx Venture Fund, the program partners with six lead orchestras to co-commission new orchestral works by composers whose voices are not often represented in orchestral… Continue reading Juan Pablo Contreras selected for New Music USA’s Amplifying Voices program
Doyoung Park wins online Quebec Music International Competition
Pianist Doyoung Park, a graduate certificate candidate in Keyboard Studies, was recently awarded First Prize in the Professional category of the online 2020 Quebec Music Competition. Park won the category with her performance of the fourth movement of Samuel Barber’s Piano Sonata in E-flat minor, Op. 26. Watch the performance that won Park her first… Continue reading Doyoung Park wins online Quebec Music International Competition
Julie Landsman
Principal horn with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 25 years, Julie Landsman is a distinguished performing artist and educator. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Landsman received a bachelor of music degree from The Juilliard School in 1975 under the tutelage of James Chambers and Ranier De Intinis. She achieved her dream of becoming principal… Continue reading Julie Landsman
Ayoni Thompson interviewed by V Magazine
USC Thornton Popular Music student Ayoni Thompson was interviewed by V Magazine about her music and inspiration. The artist was the “Pick of the Week” in the magazine’s Creativity 01 series highlighting up-and-coming creatives. Thompson discusses how she got her start writing music, artists that have inspired her sound, and her creative process while writing… Continue reading Ayoni Thompson interviewed by V Magazine
Luca Mendoza and USC Thornton jazz ensembles win in DownBeat’s 43rd Annual Student Music Awards
The USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra, the Thornton Monday Night Band, and undergraduate pianist and composer Luca Mendoza were winners in DownBeat’s 43rd Annual Student Music Awards. The awards will be published in DownBeat’s June issue. The USC Thornton Jazz Orchestra, led by Bob Mintzer, won in the category Large Jazz Ensemble for Graduate College Outstanding… Continue reading Luca Mendoza and USC Thornton jazz ensembles win in DownBeat’s 43rd Annual Student Music Awards
Doyoung Park and Keke Luo among winners of American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition
Two students of USC Thornton’s Keyboard Studies program were named among thirteen First Place Winners of the College Students and Professional Musicians category of the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition: graduate certificate candidate Doyoung Park, a student of Daniel Pollack and Mikhail Korzhev, and master’s student Keke Luo, a student of Bernadene Blaha.… Continue reading Doyoung Park and Keke Luo among winners of American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition