Faculty

Nick Stoubis is a musician, educator, producer, composer, session guitarist, and author. He is a Professor of Practice and Chair of the Studio Guitar Program in the Division of Contemporary Music at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he has taught since 1997. He also serves as Director of the USC Summer Guitar Seminar. Teaching at USC has included students from the Studio Guitar, Jazz Studies, and Popular Music programs, as well as students from across Thornton and the broader university community.

Across more than three decades at USC as a student, teaching assistant, faculty member, and academic leader, Stoubis has helped shape guitar education and contemporary music curriculum at the university. He has created numerous courses for the Studio Guitar Program and has served in university leadership, faculty governance, and Academic Senate roles. An alumnus of USC Thornton, he was recognized as Outstanding Graduate at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and later received the USC Thornton Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2012, recognizing distinguished artistic and professional contributions by alumni of the school. Additional honors include the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service and the USC Academic Senate Distinguished Faculty Service Award, recognizing a lifetime of distinguished service and contributions to the university community.

Stoubis has made significant contributions to guitar pedagogy and music education publishing through instructional writing, curriculum development, and teaching. He has co-authored four books published by Mel Bay Publications, including Guitar forStudents: A Method for the Classroom and Private Student, Playing the Blues: Blues Rhythm Guitar, and the two-volume Fingerboard Mastery: Scales and Arpeggios series. He also served as a writer and curriculum consultant for Fender Play, authoring numerous educational articles and lessons for the platform.

Alongside work in education, Stoubis has maintained an extensive career as a composer, recording artist, and session guitarist. He has written, recorded, and produced music for hundreds of episodes of television programming and contributed performances to film soundtracks, television series, and video game releases. Work has appeared on HBO, NBC, CBS, Fox, Showtime, HGTV, Lifetime, TLC, History, National Geographic, Animal Planet, and TBS. Guitar performances were featured in BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition and related soundtrack releases, including The Bard Songs and Songs of the Exalted Council. Solo recordings include Mosaic: The Music of Greece and The Burbank Tapes.

Stoubis has also collaborated with a range of artists, writers, and producers. He has worked extensively with Jaden Smith as a guitarist, writer, and producer, with playing and writing featured on multiple releases by the platinum-selling artist. Collaborations have also involved artists and producers including Justin Bieber and Poo Bear. Students have ranged from beginners to internationally recognized recording artists and actors, including Willow Smith, Jaden Smith, and King Princess, who wrote the platinum- single “1950” while studying with Stoubis as a freshman at USC.

Other academic experience:

Musicians Institue (GIT), 1993
IMDB: www.imdb.com/name/nm4259210/