Thornton Edge

Thornton Edge continues to explore the shifting landscape of modern sounds with the School of Music’s most intrepid and skilled performers. Welcomed at the long-standing Los Angeles series Monday Evening Concerts and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s innovative Green Umbrella series, the award-winning ensemble has toured internationally in Berlin, Paris, and Lyons.

Donald Crockett is professor and chair of the composition department and director of Thornton Edge at the USC Thornton School of Music, and senior composer-in-residence with the Bennington Chamber Music Conference. He has received commissions from the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (Composer-in-Residence (1991-97), Kronos Quartet, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hilliard Ensemble, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and the California EAR Unit, among many others.

Recent projects include commissions from the Harvard Musical Association for violist Kate Vincent and Firebird Ensemble, the San Francisco-based chamber choir, Volti, for its 30th anniversary season, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Claremont Trio, and a chamber opera, The Face, based on a novella in verse by poet David St. John.

The recipient in 2013 of an Arts and Letters Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for outstanding artistic achievement, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006, Donald Crockett has also received grants and prizes from the Barlow Endowment, Bogliasco Foundation, Copland Fund, Copland House, Kennedy Center Friedheim Awards, Meet the Composer, the National Endowment for the Arts, New Music USA and many others.

His music is published by Keiser Classical and Doberman/Yppan and recorded on the Albany, CRI, Doberman/Yppan, ECM, innova, Laurel, New World, Orion and Pro Arte/Fanfare labels. Two all-Crockett recordings were released in 2011, on New World Records with Firebird Ensemble and on Albany Records with Xtet. Active as a conductor of new music, Crockett has presented many world, national and regional premieres with the Los Angeles-based new music ensemble Xtet, the USC Thornton Contemporary Music Ensemble, and as a guest conductor with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Hilliard Ensemble, California EAR Unit, Firebird Ensemble and Ensemble X.

As conductor of the USC Thornton Symphony’s annual New Music for Orchestra concert, Donald Crockett has premiered well over a hundred orchestral works by outstanding Thornton student composers. He has also been very active over the years as a composer and conductor with the venerable and famed Monday Evening Concerts in Los Angeles. His recordings as a conductor can be found on the Albany, CRI, Doberman/Yppan, ECM and New World labels.

Kaitlin Miller’s journey with the harp began at the age of three when she first heard it featured in an interview on the bonus features of an animated movie about Swan Lake. Now an active musician and teacher residing in the Los Angeles area, she delights in sharing her love of this instrument with her community through orchestral, chamber, and solo performances. She is also an avid new music supporter and often collaborates with composers to premiere new works for the harp.

Miller has performed with esteemed ensembles such as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, and Pasadena Symphony. Her accolades include the 2019 American Harp Society Scholarship Competition; the 2020 Anne Adams Awards; and the 2024 Frances Walton Competition (chamber ensemble division), as well as fellowships at the Music Academy of the West in 2022 and 2023. Distinguished as the Young Professional Division winner of the AHS National Competition, Miller also served as their Concert Artist for 2023-2025, enabling her to share her artistry through nationwide masterclasses and harp recitals. Currently, she is pursuing her doctorate in harp performance at the University of Southern California under the guidance of JoAnn Turovsky.

Ariel Sol pioneers the future of sound as an LA-based, composer, harpist, and interactive media designer. Hailing from Chicago, he is passionate about bridging disciplines to foster community. From cinematic pop to virtual reality soundscapes- storytelling, identity, empowerment, and technology form his intersectional approach to the music of today.

Sol was the 3rd prize winner of the 2024 World Harp Competition; the 2023 recipient of the Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States’ Allen Strange Award; and a 2022 Young Artist in Residence of American Public Media. An active source of new harp music, he won the 2021 USA International Harp Composition Competition and has been recognized twice as a Featured Young Composer of the American Harp Society. Miller’s work has been frequently awarded by music powerhouses including the National Association of Music Merchants, Game Audio Network Guild, and Tribeca New Music. He is very excited to be here today, collaborating with the incredible artists of Thornton Edge.