Student Accomplishments from the 2014-2015 Academic Year


Percussion students win placements with summer festivals

April 17, 2015

Several USC Thornton percussion students have been awarded placements with summer festival ensembles. Steve Logan (GRCT’ 15) won the position of principal timpani with the National Repertory Orchestra, while Johnathan Wisner (MM’16) won the principal timpani position with Bard College’s Orchestra Now in addition to a percussion spot with the National Repertory Orchestra. Brice Burton… Continue reading Percussion students win placements with summer festivals


A cappella ensemble featuring Thornton students heads to New York City competition

April 16, 2015

The SoCal VoCals, a USC a cappella group, won the A Capella Western Semifinals at the International Championship of Collegiate A Capella. The group will be traveling to New York City on April 18th to compete in the ICCA finals. Of the 15 group members, five are USC Thornton music majors and four are music… Continue reading A cappella ensemble featuring Thornton students heads to New York City competition


Composition by Michael Lee to be featured by Albany Symphony

April 13, 2015

A composition by USC Thornton DMA student Michael Lee was selected for the Albany Symphony Orchestra’s “Composer to Center Stage Reading Session” during their 2015 American Music Festival. Lee’s work, Amped, was premiered by the USC Thornton Symphony at the New Music for Orchestra concert under the baton of professor Donald Crockett in the fall… Continue reading Composition by Michael Lee to be featured by Albany Symphony


Sigma Alpha Iota student scholarship winners to perform in award recital

April 8, 2015

Three USC Thornton graduate students won scholarships in a competition by the Pasadena Alumnae chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota. The winners of the 36th annual competition were Dongni Xie in the piano division, Micah Wright (clarinet) in the instrumental division and Chelsea Chaves (soprano) in the vocal division. All three students will perform in a… Continue reading Sigma Alpha Iota student scholarship winners to perform in award recital


Mak Grgic to perform at music festival in Seoul

April 6, 2015

Thornton Classical Guitar DMA student Mak Grgić will perform at Korea’s first Right Now Music festival in Seoul, South Korea on April 11th and 12th. Grgić’s latest album, Cinema Verismo, was recently released in Korea and he will perform songs from the album on KBS radio. Grgić recently performed at the Outside the Box festival… Continue reading Mak Grgic to perform at music festival in Seoul


Early Music students and alumni present papers at several conferences

April 1, 2015

USC Thornton Early Music DMA alum Bianca Hall (DMA ’14) and current students Stacey Helley (MA and DMA) and William Rowley (PhD student in Musicology) had scholarly papers accepted at International Society for the History of Rhetoric in Tübingen, Germany. Last year, Hall and Helley contributed scholarly papers to the Annual Renaissance Conference of Southern… Continue reading Early Music students and alumni present papers at several conferences


USC Thornton senior Stefani Feldman awarded Fulbright Scholarship

March 27, 2015

Clarinetist Stefani Feldman (BM ’15) has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. A student of USC Thornton faculty Yehuda Gilad and a USC Trustee Scholarship recipient, Feldman will travel to Oslo, Norway, to study with Björn Nyman, principal clarinetist of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, at the Norwegian Academy of Music for the… Continue reading USC Thornton senior Stefani Feldman awarded Fulbright Scholarship


Doctoral student Eun Cho publishes two music education articles

March 24, 2015

USC Thornton Music Education doctoral candidate Eun Cho has had two articles published in music education journals. “What do mothers say? Korean mothers’ perceptions of children’s participation in extra-curricular musical activities” was published in Music Education Research, while The Korean Journal of Research in Music Education, published “Music education and intelligence: A literature review.” Cho… Continue reading Doctoral student Eun Cho publishes two music education articles


Cardinal Winds sextet win Grand Prize at Plowman Chamber Music Competition

March 23, 2015

The Cardinal Winds woodwinds sextet has been awarded the Grand Prize in the 2015 Plowman Chamber Music Competition in Columbia, MO. The ensemble, which formed at USC Thornton in 2014, features Catherine Baker, flute (GCRT), Zachary Pulse, oboe (GCRT), Kelsi Doolittle, clarinet (MM), Alex Garcia, bassoon (MM ’13), Carrie Rexroat, horn (MM) and Hedy Lee,… Continue reading Cardinal Winds sextet win Grand Prize at Plowman Chamber Music Competition


John Hallberg to perform at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall and 17th World Saxophone Congress

March 19, 2015

Saxophonist John Hallberg was recently awarded first prize in the American Protégé International Woodwind and Brass Competition. The USC Thornton DMA candidate also received the Judges Distinction Award and was invited to perform at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Sat., March 21. In July, Hallberg will travel to Strasbourg, France to perform… Continue reading John Hallberg to perform at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall and 17th World Saxophone Congress