Patrice Rushen featured in “Variety” article about award show orchestration

USC Thornton Popular Music chair Patrice Rushen was mentioned in a Variety article, “Awards Ceremonies Are the ‘Super Bowl’ for Orchestras” exploring the challenges of performing orchestral music for major awards shows. The article explores Rushen’s work as the first female music director for top awards broadcasts, including the Emmys and the NAACP Image Awards.

Rushen, a classically trained pianist, was twice nominated for Grammy Awards and served as the show’s music director from 2004 to 2006. In her time working on the show, she wrote arrangements for the many nominated songs — an experience she calls “thrilling.”