Patrice Rushen and Thornton alumni invited into the Academy
Patrice Rushen, chair of the Popular Music program at USC Thornton, along with three Thornton alumni—Chanda Dancy (GCRT ’04), Roger Neill (BM ’86), and Jermaine Stegall (GCRT ’04)—have been invited into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Rushen’s classic song “Forget Me Nots” was sampled for Will Smith’s “Men in Black,” from the 1997 film. The multi-GRAMMY Award nominated recording artist has also contributed to films such as “Big” and “Indecent Proposal.”
Screen Scoring alum Chanda Dancy is an orchestral and film composer known for movies such as “Everything Before Us.” Screen Scoring alum Jermaine Stegall has composed for films and television, and is the composer for the upcoming film “Coming 2 America,” a sequel to the 1988 film “Coming to America.” Both Dancy and Stegall are members of the Composers Diversity Collective, an organization founded by fellow Thornton alum and “Get Out” composer Michael Abels (BM ’84) to advance the work of underrepresented composers and eliminate hiring disparities for music professionals in the entertainment industry.
Roger Neill, an alum of the Composition program, is known for his work on the Amazon television show “Mozart in the Jungle,” and for films such as “20th Century Women” and “Don’t Think Twice.”