Keyboard Studies students win prizes at Seattle International Piano Competition

USC Thornton’s Keyboard Studies department set an impressive benchmark at the 2015 Seattle International Piano Festival & Competition, hosted by the Seattle Symphony on October 17, with students and alumni bringing home several prizes.

Sam Grodin, a DMA candidate studying with Lucinda Carver, took the Silver medal in the Professional division and its accompanying $1000 prize. Grodin has an active performing career beyond his obligations at Thornton, where he is also a graduate teaching assistant for group and applied piano to undergraduate students.

The Silver medalist in the Collegiate division, Ashley Hoe, is a current MM student studying with Antoinette Perry and also the recipient of a $1,000 cash prize. Christopher Goodpasture (’11, piano), the gold medalist of the Collegiate division, is a Thornton alumnus who studied with Stewart Gordon and Professor Emeritus, John Perry.