2025-2026 Signature Series Announced
By USC Thornton School
The USC Thornton School of Music is excited to announce its Signature Series line-up for the 2025-2026 academic year. As we begin the school’s 142nd season, the Signature Series is our curated celebration of the hundreds of extraordinary performances, programs, concerts, showcases, conferences, symposia, and public events that make Thornton singular and cutting-edge. The Series spotlights the very best of who we are: a home for boundary-breaking artistry, genre-expansive ideas, and phenomenal students who embody collaboration, creativity, and the unforgettable spirit of the Thornton experience.
Thanks to all those who attended our amazing series last year; please see the video below for a recap.
Join us at one, two, or all the events this year to experience the breadth of talent here at Thornton. Start saving these dates to your calendar. We expect to announce additional events in the coming weeks, and reservations for Spotlight on Thornton: Official 2025-2026 Season Kick-Off Week will open soon, so stay tuned!
Spotlight on Thornton: Season Kickoff Week 2025-2026
September 8–12, 2025
Thornton launches its 2025–2026 Signature Series with a first-ever weeklong celebration, Spotlight on Thornton, featuring public programs and performances that showcase the wide-ranging brilliance and creativity of our community—a preview of the year to come. All events are held at USC.
Monday, September 8 | 7:00 PM | Carson Sound Stage
Jazz Forum: Season Opener with Artist-in-Residence Gerald Clayton
Six-time Grammy Award-nominated pianist, composer, and USC Thornton alumnus Gerald Clayton (’07)—our Jazz department’s returning Artist-in-Residence—will share his extraordinary talents with students and faculty. In a special session titled “Responsibilities and Considerations When Paying Homage,” Clayton will reflect on the creative, ethical, and cultural dimensions of honoring musical legacies. (Open to the public. RSVP required and coming soon.)
Wednesday, September 10 | 5:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall
Music@RushHour: Special Edition with USC President Beong-Soo Kim and President of the Hollywood Bowl and Chief Programming Officer for the LA Phil Meghan Umber
In this special edition of Thornton’s long-running Music@RushHour series, USC’s new President Kim and Chief Programming Officer for the LA Philharmonic Meghan Umber will join Dean Jason King for a wide-ranging conversation about his personal musical journey as a classically-trained cellist, his philosophy on leadership within and beyond the arts, and his vision for the role of music and the arts at USC and across Los Angeles. (Open to the public. RSVP required and coming soon.)
Thursday, September 11 | 7:00 PM | Bovard Auditorium
H.E.R.: Beyond Category—A Live Conversation and Q&A
H.E.R. is a five-time Grammy Award-winning, Academy Award-winning, and Emmy Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress, director, and creative force. Over the past nine years, her genre-defying work has reshaped contemporary music and elevated her as one of the most compelling and fearless voices of her generation. Dean King will join H.E.R. for an in-depth conversation about her musical vision, her journey to success, and the ways that her multidisciplinary pursuit of excellence resonates with the values we strive to instill at the Thornton School—innovation, creative rigor, and music as a catalyst for impact. (Open to the public. RSVP required and coming soon.)
Friday, September 12 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
Thornton Symphony Orchestra: Season Opener
Sharon Lavery, resident conductor of the USC Thornton Orchestra Program, leads the acclaimed USC Thornton Orchestra in a bold and captivating program that bridges musical worlds, pairing Duke Ellington’s Night Creature and Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Both works are inspired by the stories we tell at night. (Open to the public. RSVP required and coming soon.)
More Fall 2025 Events
Friday, September 26 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
USC Thornton Winds
The USC Thornton Winds presents an evening of compositions for wind ensemble, conducted by Sharon Lavery, with guest artists Lina Bahn (violin) and Kevin Fitz-Gerald (piano). The concert program features Variations on “America” by Charles Ives (arr. Schuman), “Ladder to the Moon” by Michael Daugherty, “Afrospire” by Bakhari Nokuri, “And the mountains rising nowhere” by Joseph Schwantner, and “Rest” and “Blue Shades” by Frank Ticheli.
Wednesday, October 8 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
USC Thornton Symphony: Concerto Night
Carl St.Clair, artistic leader and principal conductor of the USC Thornton orchestras, leads the USC Thornton Symphony in Samuel Barber’s Concerto for Violoncello, Op. 22, Takashi Yoshimatsu’s “Cyber Bird” and W.A. Mozart’s Concerto No. 23 for Piano in A, K. 488. The concert features Thornton students Olivia Cho on cello, Collin Juniper on saxophone and Soli Cyrus Nallaseth on piano.
Sunday, October 19 | 7:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall
The Music World of Szymon Laks: 2025 Paderewski Lecture-Recital
Presented by the USC Polish Music Center, this year’s lecture-recital explores the artistic and intellectual legacy of composer and violinist Szymon Laks. The evening features a lecture by Dr. Grzegorz Mania and performances by Thornton Strings students and special guests. (Open to the public. RSVP required and coming soon.)
Friday, October 24 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
USC Thornton Symphony ft. Leonard Slatkin
World-renowned conductor, composer, and author Leonard Slatkin leads the USC Thornton Symphony in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad”, alongside selections of his own Grammy Award-winning compositions.
Friday, October 24 | 8:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall
USC Thornton Chamber Singers & USC Thornton Concert Choir
The USC Thornton Chamber Singers and USC Thornton Concert Choir share the bill with a choral program. The USC Thornton Chamber Singers, USC Thornton’s longstanding choral ensemble, is led by chair of the Choral & Sacred Music department, Cristian Grases. The Chamber Singers will be presenting a set anchored in European music under the leadership of guest conductor, Maestro Romans Vanags, who specializes in the music of the Baltic countries. The USC Thornton Concert Choir, under the leadership of faculty member Tram Sparks, explores the music and traditions of all periods from countries around the world.
Friday, November 7 | 2:00 PM | Carson Soundstage
Celebrating Diane Warren: Trojan Family Weekend at USC Thornton
Join us for a special highlight of USC Thornton’s Trojan Family Weekend programming as legendary songwriter Diane Warren sits down with Dean King for an onstage conversation during Thornton’s weekly Forum class. One of the most celebrated songwriters in music history, Oscar and Grammy-winning Warren has penned iconic hits for the likes of Whitney Houston, Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Aerosmith, Cher—to name just a few—that have shaped the landscape of popular music. Expect exciting live student performances of some of her greatest hits.
Friday, November 7 | 8:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall
USC Thornton Oriana Choir & USC Gospel Choir
The USC Thornton Oriana Choir, under the direction of faculty member Emily Sung, and the USC Gospel Choir under the direction of Marcus Desir, team up for an evening of choral music. This concert will contrast music from the treble choral repertoire canon from all eras with the powerful and soul-lifting music from the gospel traditions.
Monday, November 10 | 7:30 PM | Newman Recital Hall
USC Percussion Group
Joseph Pereira leads the USC Percussion Group in an evening of contemporary percussion works in Newman Recital Hall.
Monday, November 17 | 7:30 PM | Carson Soundstage
Jazz Night at Carson
Jazz Night at Carson features a blend of original compositions and standards performed by USC Thornton students.
November 19, 21, & 23 | Various | Bing Theatre
USC Thornton Opera
The USC Thornton Opera and USC Thornton Symphony present the fall semester opera production.
Friday, November 21 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra ft. Jeffrey Kahane
The USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra features Keyboard Studies faculty member Jeffrey Kahane in a concert of Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, with Kahane conducting from the piano as the soloist for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4.
Thornton Chamber Music Festival
The Chamber Music Festival presents four days and nights of chamber music from the exceptional students of USC Thornton.
Tuesday, December 2 | 7:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall
Chamber Music Festival: Strings
Tuesday, December 2 | 7:30 PM | MacDonald Recital Hall
Chamber Music Festival: Vocal Arts
Wednesday, December 3 | 7:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall
Chamber Music Festival: Strings
Thursday, December 4 | 7:30 PM | Newman Recital Hall
Chamber Music Festival: Classical Guitar
Nina Simone: Beyond Category
NINA SIMONE: BEYOND CATEGORY is an event series presented by USC’s Thornton School of Music, as part of its now-annual Beyond Category Series. This groundbreaking program examines Nina Simone’s singular artistic voice and her multifaceted approach to music and the making of culture. Widely celebrated as a global icon of jazz, blues, and civil rights activism, Simone’s work was deeply rooted in classical music, which helped shape her phrasing, harmonic language, and improvisational brilliance.
Fusing that classical precision with the emotional power of gospel, jazz, and blues, among other styles, Simone defied genre boundaries and created a body of work that remains uncategorizable—bold, boundary-breaking, and timeless.
Thursday, January 22 | 7:30 PM | Newman Recital Hall
How Nina Simone Changed the World: A Q&A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer and Critic Salamishah Tillet In Conversation with Jason King, Dean of USC Thornton School of Music
How Nina Simone Changed the World brings Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and critic Salamishah Tillet to the University of Southern California for a special conversation in anticipation of the 2026 publication of her forthcoming work, All the Rage: Nina Simone and the World She Made. In this thought-provoking conversation event with Jason King, Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, Tillet explores Simone’s enduring legacy as a cultural force and freedom fighter, Presented as part of Thornton’s Beyond Category: Nina Simone series in collaboration with USC Visions & Voices, the evening invites audiences to consider Simone not just as an artist, but as a cultural innovator who, years after her passing, continues to reshape the landscape of possibility. Free and open to the public with advance RSVP. Reservations will open soon.
Monday, January 26 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
Tuesday, January 27 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
To Be Free: The Revolutionary Music of Nina Simone
A Two-Day Concert Event at USC’s Bovard Auditorium
Curated and Hosted by Lara Downes and Jason King
This unique two-day concert event celebrates Nina Simone’s classical training and its profound influence on her expansive, genre-defying musical vision, her creative genius, and her lifelong pursuit of personal, artistic, and collective freedom. The concert’s title draws inspiration from one of Simone’s signature tunes, her 1967 rendition of Billy Taylor’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”—an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement that remains deeply resonant today. Serving as both tribute and point of departure, this two-day concert event explores Simone’s singular musical voice through her original compositions and powerful re-imaginings of others’ work. Known for fusing styles as varied as blues, jazz, gospel, and classical—especially her early grounding in composers like Bach and Czerny—Simone created music that transcended genre in order to speak truth to power. Despite facing structural barriers and systemic limitations throughout her career, she courageously addressed civil and human rights struggles head-on, infused her art with a deep global consciousness, and offered searing reflections on the complexities of Black existence in America. Simone persisted in crafting a liberated artistic identity that has inspired generations and served as a wellspring.
Co-curated and hosted by curator and pianist Lara Downes and USC Thornton School of Music Dean Jason King, these concerts offer a powerful reimagining of Simone’s catalog—an offering in the spirit of her liberation, transformation, and artistic life lived ‘beyond category.’ Presented in collaboration with Visions & Voices. Free and open to the public with advance RSVP. Reservations will open soon.
More Spring 2026 Events
Friday, February 13 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
USC Thornton Winds
he USC Thornton Winds presents a concert of works for wind ensemble including a concerto premiere featuring Thornton faculty member Marion Kuszyk, and a performance of the winning work of Thornton’s New Music for Wind Ensemble competition.
Friday, February 27 | 7:30 PM | Bovard Auditorium
USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra: New Music for Orchestra
Donald Crockett, chair of the Composition program, leads the USC Thornton Symphony in this annual concert of colorful new works by outstanding Thornton student composers.
Monday, March 2 | 7:30 PM | Carson Soundstage
Jazz Night at Carson featuring ALAJE
Jazz Night at Carson features ALAJE, the Afro-Latin American Jazz Ensemble led by faculty member Aarón Serfaty, performing music from various genres of Latin culture.
Wednesday, March 4 | 7:30 PM | Newman Recital Hall
Thornton Edge
New music ensemble Thornton Edge presents a concert under the direction of Donald Crockett. This concert features the Los Angeles premiere of Samuel Adams’ First Work for voice and sinfonietta, a co-commission with the Aspen Music Festival and Oberlin Conservatory. The program also features the premiere of Professor Emeritus of Composition Frank Ticheli’s concerto for flute, “Silver Lining,” in a new arrangement with chamber ensemble. The soloist is doctoral candidate Antonina Styczen-Leszczynska.
Sunday, March 8 | 7:00 PM | El Rey Theatre
Popular Music Senior Showcase
The USC Thornton Popular Music program returns to the iconic El Rey Theatre for the annual Senior Showcase.
Monday, March 9 | 7:30 PM | Carson Soundstage
Jazz Night at Carson featuring the Honors Combo
The USC Thornton Honors Combo headlines Jazz Night at Carson under the direction of faculty member Jason Goldman.
Tuesday, March 10 | 7:30 PM | Newman Recital Hall
USC Thornton Chamber Virtuosi
The USC Thornton Chamber Virtuosi are led by Seth Parker Woods, the Robert Mann Chair in Strings and Chamber Music at USC Thornton.
March 12, 13, & 14 | Various | University Park Campus
24th Annual Pop Conference 2026
April 21 & April 23 | 7:30 PM | TBD
USC Thornton Opera
The USC Thornton Opera and USC Thornton Symphony present the spring semester opera production.
Wednesday, April 22 | 7:30 PM | Newman Recital Hall
USC Thornton Chamber Singers
The USC Thornton Chamber Singers, USC Thornton’s longstanding choral ensemble, is led by chair of the Choral & Sacred Music department, Cristian Grases. This is a farewell concert before their tour to Hong Kong with repertoire from all around the world. The Chamber Singers will perform music by renowned composers such as Pärt, Matsushita, Woo, Ešenvalds, Gyöngyösi, Uusberg and Argento.
Thursday, April 23 | 7:00 PM | Carson Soundstage
Production Technology Showcase
The Music Technology program presents a showcase featuring student works. Having honed their skills in USC Thornton’s MTEC Performance Technology course, students showcase their music by integrating technology into their own real-time musical performance.
Friday, May 1 | 8:00 PM | Newman Recital Hall
USC Thornton Baroque Sinfonia
USC Thornton’s early music ensemble, the Baroque Sinfonia, presents an evening concert led by faculty members Adam Knight Gilbert and Jason Yoshida. The program is titled “Music of English, Scottish, and American Revolutions.”
Nina Simone photo credit: Pictorial Press Ltd./Alamy; Photo by Tony Gale
