University of Southern California

Carl St.Clair leads the USC Thornton Symphony in Mahler's vivid tone poem, Totenfeier, and Prokofiev's joyous Fifth Symphony. Two profound works, born amidst conflict, highlight the endurance and nobility of the human spirit. PROGRAM: Gustav Mahler: Totenfeier (Funeral Rites) Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5, Op. 100 in B-flat major USC Thornton will pay tribute to the memory of Daniel Lewis, Emeritus Professor and longtime leader of the USC Thornton Symphony who passed away in July, with a few words of remembrance before the concert from Robert Cutietta, Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music.

The USC Thornton Symphony presents Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe: Suite No.2 and Stravinsky's legendary The Rite of Spring. Revolutionary scores for two icons of modern dance remain as fresh today as at their premiere. PROGRAM: Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloe: Suite No.2 Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Strings students perform virtuosic solo works, including Paganini caprices, Ernst caprices, Popper etudes, Piatti caprices, and other showpieces. Students showcase their talents in a friendly and social environment, followed by a reception.

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.

Students of Thornton's Strings program present an evening of solo and chamber performances.

Paul Katz, cellist of the Cleveland Quartet from 1969-1995 and current faculty at the New England Conservatory of Music, leads a chamber music masterclass with outstanding Thornton students.

USC Thornton's extraordinary Strings students showcase their talents in solo and chamber works.

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

Internationally-renowned violist Kim Kashkashian leads a masterclass with the talented students of the USC Thornton School of Music.

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.

The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO)-Thornton Strings Mentorship Program presents the Mock Orchestral Audition, providing students with the hands-on experience of a professional orchestra audition. True to the professional process, selected USC Thornton Strings students will play orchestral excerpts behind a screen for a panel of adjudicators. At the conclusion of the audition, a special award may be given to an exceptional student at the discretion of the judges, giving them an opportunity to be mentored by a LACO principal musician and to perform as a substitute player during one week of the orchestra's 2017-18 concert season.

USC Thornton's extraordinary Strings students present an evening of solo and chamber works.