Student Accomplishments from the 2015-2016 Academic Year


Organ student Weicheng Zhao takes AGO competition prizes

June 27, 2016

Weicheng Zhao (MM ’14), a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Organ Studies department, recently won both 3rd Place and the Audience Prize at the American Guild of Organists (AGO) National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance (NYACOP). Zhao studies with Thornton faculty members Ladd Thomas and Cherry Rhodes. The NYACOP competition, which took place… Continue reading Organ student Weicheng Zhao takes AGO competition prizes


Musicology graduate student Alison Maggart wins Ingolf Dahl Award

June 7, 2016

Alison Maggart, a PhD candidate in the USC Thornton Musicology program, became the first USC student in six years to win the prestigious Ingolf Dahl Award in Musicology from the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the American Musicological Society. The award was established by the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the American Musicological Society in 1971 in… Continue reading Musicology graduate student Alison Maggart wins Ingolf Dahl Award


Violinist Zhe Song joins the Spokane Symphony

March 8, 2016

USC Thornton alumna Zhe Song (GCRT ’15) has joined the Spokane Symphony in Spokane, Washington as a second violin. A native of Tianjin, China, Song has trained as a violinist since the age of three. She began her training at the Affiliated School of the Tianjin Conservatory of Music before completing both her Bachelor’s and… Continue reading Violinist Zhe Song joins the Spokane Symphony


Freshman flutist Jonathan Sussman featured in San Diego concerts

February 18, 2016

Flutist Jonathan Sussman, a freshman of the USC Thornton Winds & Percussion department, recently performed alongside the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra in two San Diego concerts. The program, entitled “A Strictly Classical Concert,” featured Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for violin, viola, and orchestra. Part of the Fallbrook Music Society’s series of… Continue reading Freshman flutist Jonathan Sussman featured in San Diego concerts


Julia Adolphe’s N.Y. Philharmonic concerto to premiere next season

February 8, 2016

A new viola concerto by Julia Adolphe, a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Composition program, will be premiere as part of the New York Philharmonic’s 175th anniversary season in November of 2016. The work, which was commissioned by the Philharmonic in 2015, will be performed Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 by Cynthia Phelps, USC… Continue reading Julia Adolphe’s N.Y. Philharmonic concerto to premiere next season


Thornton Tuba Quartet invited to perform at international gathering

February 4, 2016

The USC Thornton Bass Tuba Quartet has been invited to compete at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference from May 30 to June 4 this summer. Made up of DMA candidate Brandon Davis (MM ’13), Masters students James Similuk (’15) and Kyle Richter, and junior Cameron Holt, the ensemble will join hundreds of fellow tuba players at the conference,… Continue reading Thornton Tuba Quartet invited to perform at international gathering


William Cravy wins prize in Young Artists Competition

January 26, 2016

The Jefferson Symphony awarded bassist and USC Thornton graduate student William Cravy (BM ’14, MM ’16) third place in their 2016 International Young Artists Competition. Cravy won the award for his performance of Koussevitzky’s Concerto for Double-Bass in F# minor, Op. 3. The Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition has taken place since 1959, and… Continue reading William Cravy wins prize in Young Artists Competition


Julia Adolphe to receive Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award

January 13, 2016

Julia Adolphe, a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Composition program, is one of 12 young artists to receive the 2016 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, which allows each of the organizations on the New York City cultural campus to celebrate a rising star in the performing arts. Selected for distinction by the New York… Continue reading Julia Adolphe to receive Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award


Chamber Singers awarded 2015 American Prize

January 5, 2016

The USC Thornton Chamber Singers, led by Jo-Michael Scheibe, have been awarded the 2015 American Prize in Choral Music in the University/College Division. The American Prize series celebrates artistic excellence in a number of creative disciplines. Formed as the Madrigal Singers in 1939, the Chamber Singers have been hailed as a model of excellence since… Continue reading Chamber Singers awarded 2015 American Prize


Musicologist Eric Davis highlights a newly discovered Ford Lee “Buck” Washington recording

November 30, 2015

USC Thornton Musicology doctoral candidate Eric Davis presented at the national meeting of the American Musicological Society in Louisville, Kentucky. He presented his paper on a recently discovered private recording of Ford Lee “Buck” Washington, who had originated the role of Jasbo Brown in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The paper, entitled Buck Washington’s Blues: A… Continue reading Musicologist Eric Davis highlights a newly discovered Ford Lee “Buck” Washington recording