University of Southern California

Karen Dreyfus, director of chamber music at Thornton, leads faculty and students of the Division of Classical Performance and Composition in a program of French chamber music, featuring the Poulenc Trio, Saint-Saens Septet, and Franck Piano Quintet. Faculty performers include Bernadene Blaha, Glenn Dicterow, Kevin Fitz-Gerald, Ben Hong, Thomas Hooten, Bing Wang, and Michele Zukovsky. They will be joined by Thornton students Lieza Hansen, Coleman Itkoff, Mann-Wen Lo, Sam Shukan, Justin Woo, and more.

H. Robert Reynolds and Sharon Lavery lead the USC Thornton Wind Ensemble in a performance featuring A Glimpse of the River by Kenny Regan, co-winner of the New Music For Wind Ensemble Contest. The evening also includes Dzubay’s Fanfare, Verne Reynolds’ Scenes, Strauss’ Serenade, Op.7, and Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy.

Guest conductor Uriel Segal leads the USC Thornton Symphony in the annual Concerto Night, showcasing outstanding student soloists. Erik Abramovitz performs Copland's Clarinet Concerto, cellist Benjamin Lash performs Haydn's Violoncello Concerto in C major, Hob.VIIb:1, and pianist Soyeon An performs Brahms' Piano Concerto in D minor, No.1, Op.15. Program: Aaron Copland – Clarinet Concerto, ft. Erik Abramovitz Franz Joseph Haydn – Violoncello Concerto in C major, Hob.VIIb:1, ft. Benjamin Lash Johannes Brahms – PIano Concerto in D minor, No.1, Op.15, ft. Soyeon An

The assistant principal bassoonist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, William Buchman leads a masterclass for USC Thornton Winds & Percussion students.

Thomas Hooten, USC Thornton faculty member and principal trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, presents an intimate evening of classical works.

H. Robert Reynolds and Sharon Lavery lead the USC Thornton Wind Ensemble in a performance that features the premieres of Frank Ticheli’s Flute Concerto with soloist James Walker, and Boyde Hood’s fanfare, Autunno Toscana. Jean Francaix’s Sept Danses, Eugene Zador’s Suite for Brass, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski’s Music for Winds round out an extraordinary concert.

In the culminating event for CollabFest@USC, a day-long symposium of masterclasses and colloquium presented by the Keyboard Studies department, alumni and guest artists will perform classics from the vocal and instrumental music repertoire, including a world premiere by Alan L. Smith. Alumni performers include pianists Joel Clifft, Mitsuko Morikawa, Elvia Puccinelli, and Lisa Sylvester along with guest artists including soprano Kathleen Roland, violinist Alex Russell, and flutist James Walker.

Joseph Pereira, USC Thornton faculty member and principal timpanist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, leads the Percussion Ensemble in works by living composers including Ondreij Adamek, Chou Wen-Chung, Panayiotis Kokoras, and Michael Van der Aa.

As part of a three-day festival, USC Thornton’s Winds & Percussion students present an afternoon of chamber music under the direction of Kristy Morrell.

Celebrate the holidays in elegant style with the annual Brightest & Best winter gala, a scholarship fundraiser that provides substantial support for USC Thornton students. The event will feature 250 singers and instrumentalists ringing in the season with carols and songs in an evening of pageantry for the entire community to enjoy. For ticket information about this scholarship fundraiser, call (213) 740-6474, or visit music.usc.edu/wintergala

The USC Thornton Symphony and USC Thornton Choral Artists join forces to perform one of the great masterworks of late Classical music, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. Completed in 1824, Beethoven’s final published symphony features the largest orchestra ever assembled by the composer and the now-iconic final movement, with a full chorus singing “Ode to Joy”—a fitting title for such a revelatory piece of music. Maestro Carl St.Clair, artistic leader of the USC Thornton Orchestra Program, will conduct the USC Thornton Symphony, the USC Thornton Chamber Singers, and the USC Thornton Concert Choir as they perform one of the most beloved symphonies ever written. Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative.

The life and legacy of Matthew Shepard—a college student was beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die in a Wyoming field because he was gay—are remembered in Considering Matthew Shepard, the new passion/oratorio by Craig Hella Johnson, one of today’s most influential voices in choral music. This exquisite and moving chamber work, performed by the USC Thornton Chamber Singers, soloists, and instrumentalists, reminds us that we must embrace differences and disrupt violence. The performance will be followed by a discussion with the composer and representatives of the USC Office of Religious Life and the LGBTQ community. Presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative.