Thornton students sweep video performance competition
Students from USC Thornton’s Classical Division have swept the first James Ramos International Video Competition, a joint venture of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT) and Social Media Works. Recognizing that Youtube and Facebook have become important video platforms for musicians to audition and to share their artistry with the world, the competition… Continue reading Thornton students sweep video performance competition
DMA candidate Marylin Winkle wins award at the 12th annual SCENIES
Marylin Winkle, a DMA candidate in the USC Thornton Early Music Performance program, has received a “Scenie” award in the category of Outstanding Original Music & Live Performance for her work on the Skylight Theatre’s production of Lord of the Underworld’s Home for Unwed Mothers. Winkle composed and performed cello interludes for the play, with… Continue reading DMA candidate Marylin Winkle wins award at the 12th annual SCENIES
Thomas Kolakowski wins Snare Drum Competition
Thomas Kolakowski, a USC Thornton master’s student in percussion, recently won the 10th Annual Modern Snare Drum Competition in Cleveland, Ohio. Kolakowski beat out a large field to win the competition, which takes place every year at the Cleveland Institute of Music and is sponsored by Pearl Drums. The organizers described it as “another inspiring… Continue reading Thomas Kolakowski wins Snare Drum Competition
Daniel Gee joins Lilly Graduate Fellow cohort
Daniel Gee (MM ’15), a DMA candidate in the USC Thornton Choral Music program, has been accepted as a Lilly Graduate Fellow. The Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts, which includes doctoral students from USC, Yale, Fordham University, among others, hosts conferences and colloquia discussing pedagogical questions in art, music, literature, philosophy, and… Continue reading Daniel Gee joins Lilly Graduate Fellow cohort
Juan Pablo Contreras receives the 2017 Presser Graduate Award
Juan Pablo Contreras, a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Composition program, has received the 2017 Presser Graduate Award, which honors exceptional graduate students who have the potential to make a distinguished contribution within the field of music. Composition program chair Donald Crockett said that Contreras has been granted a “wonderful and rare opportunity,” through… Continue reading Juan Pablo Contreras receives the 2017 Presser Graduate Award
Student chamber duo wins prizes in Boulder
Cellist Coleman Itzkoff (MM ’16) and pianist Alin Melik-Adamyan (’12, MM ’14, piano), who perform as the Amicus Duo, recently earned top prizes at the Boulder International Chamber Music Competition, winning second prize overall and a special prize for best performance of Arthur Gottschalk’s Some Assembly Required. The USC Thornton student duo formed in 2014… Continue reading Student chamber duo wins prizes in Boulder
The National Children’s Chorus forms partnership with USC Thornton School of Music
USC Thornton has announced a new partnership with the National Children’s Chorus (NCC), America’s leading treble choral ensemble. The new educational initiative, designed to further train select young conductors in Thornton’s Choral & Sacred Music program, will provide graduate students with two positions annually on the NCC’s artistic staff. USC Thornton DMA candidate Alexander Lloyd… Continue reading The National Children’s Chorus forms partnership with USC Thornton School of Music
Student Shou Ping Liu selected for conducting master class in Denmark
Shou Ping Liu, a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Choral & Sacred Music program has been selected to participate in the Nordic Master Class in Instrumental Conducting in Sønderborg, Denmark, this January. Liu will be the only participant from an American school. At the conclusion of the masterclass, which will be led by professor… Continue reading Student Shou Ping Liu selected for conducting master class in Denmark
Drew Mikuška wins ASCAP Screen Scoring scholarship
Drew Mikuška (BM ’14, composition), a graduate student in the USC Thornton Screen Scoring program, was recently honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation with the Betty Rose Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to an exceptional Screen Scoring student who will receive intensive mentorship sessions with a prominent screen… Continue reading Drew Mikuška wins ASCAP Screen Scoring scholarship
Juan Pablo Contreras wins Jalisco Orchestral Composition Prize
Juan Pablo Contreras, a doctoral candidate of the USC Thornton Composition program, recently won the Jalisco Orchestral Composition Prize with his work, Mariachitlán. Written under the guidance of Composition chair Donald Crockett, the work will be performed by the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, under guest conductor Miguel Salmón de Real, on December 9 and 11, 2016.… Continue reading Juan Pablo Contreras wins Jalisco Orchestral Composition Prize