Announcing the 2026 Thornton Commencement Speakers and Award Honorees
By USC THORNTON SCHOOL OF MUSIC
The USC Thornton School of Music Names Alumna Nina Shekhar and Music Industry Leader Sylvia Rhone as 2026 Commencement Speakers
This May, the University of Southern California will celebrate its 143rd Commencement. At its satellite ceremony, the USC Thornton School of Music will honor two distinguished figures in music: USC Thornton alumna Nina Shekhar (MM ’20), a composer who will receive the Outstanding Alumni Award, and Sylvia Rhone, one of the most influential and defining executives in the history of music and a 2026 Grammy Trustee Award recipient, who will receive USC Thornton’s inaugural Distinguished Visionary Leadership Award. The USC Thornton School of Music Commencement Ceremony will take place on Friday, May 15, 2026, at 9:00 A.M. (PT) at the Epstein Family Plaza on the USC University Park Campus.
Shekhar is a composer, producer, and multimedia artist known for bold, emotionally resonant work that explores identity, vulnerability, and connection. Among the most widely performed composers of her generation, her music has been commissioned and presented by leading orchestras and institutions, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl. Recent highlights include a new film and orchestral collaboration with Academy Award-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu and premieres with the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic, underscoring her growing impact across contemporary music. A graduate of the USC Thornton Composition program, Shekhar represents a new generation of artists expanding the possibilities of composition and performance.
“I’m deeply honored to return to Thornton for this moment. My time there shaped both my artistic voice and values as a human being, guiding me to create honestly and compassionately,” said Shekhar. “ It means a great deal to celebrate alongside this year’s graduates. I’m excited to share a few reflections as they step into their own creative paths.”
Sylvia Rhone’s impressive career spans more than five decades at the highest levels of the music industry, establishing her as one of its most influential and defining executives. Most recently, Chairwoman and CEO of Epic Records, she became the first Black woman to lead a major record label owned by a Fortune 500 company and is the only executive to have held senior leadership roles across all three major record companies. Over the course of her career, she has guided award-winning artists and landmark commercial successes while helping shape a more inclusive and representative industry.
Her leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, and she is widely credited with championing groundbreaking artists and expanding opportunities for women and people of color in music.
“I’m deeply grateful to USC Thornton for this recognition and to be part of such a meaningful commencement moment,” said Rhone. “Music connects timeless artistry with forward-thinking innovation, and I look forward to encouraging graduates to lead with vision, act with purpose, and build creative paths that elevate their communities.”
“Commencement is about showing our Thornton graduates what is possible across the full spectrum of a life in music,” said Jason King, Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music. “Nina Shekhar represents the fearless artistic voice we strive to cultivate in our students: one that pushes boundaries and speaks with urgency and individuality. Sylvia Rhone represents the pinnacle of vision, influence, and leadership in the global music business. She’s an absolute force and a true icon. Bringing them together reflects the reality our students are entering: a world where creativity and leadership are deeply intertwined, and where impact can take many forms.”
About the Speakers
Nina Shekhar
Nina Shekhar is a composer, producer, songwriter, and multimedia artist who explores the intersection of identity, vulnerability, love, and laughter to create bold and intensely personal works.
Shekhar is one of the most widely performed composers of her generation. Described as “tart and compelling” (New York Times), “vivid” (Washington Post), an “orchestral supernova” (LA Times), and a “rare composer who opens our ears a little wider each time” (Chicago Tribune), her music has been commissioned and performed by major orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, among others. She has composed for leading chamber and choral ensembles and soloists, including The Crossing, Eighth Blackbird, International Contemporary Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Alarm Will Sound, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, ETHEL, violinist Jennifer Koh, and saxophonist Timothy McAllister. Her work has been featured by the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Library of Congress, Walt Disney Concert Hall, National Gallery of Art, and WNYC/New Sounds (New York), WFMT (Chicago), and KUSC and KPFK (Los Angeles) radio.
Recent events include China and Germany tours with the New York Philharmonic, her Hollywood Bowl debut with the LA Philharmonic, and international performances by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony, and the City of Birmingham and Antwerp Symphony Orchestras. During the 2025-2026 season, she premiered a new film & orchestral work for LA Phil in collaboration with Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu, a work for the New York Philharmonic, a new accordion concerto for a consortium of orchestras led by St. Louis Symphony, a concerto for MIDI keyboard and choir for The Crossing, and a children’s interactive piece co-commissioned by Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA), The People’s Music School, San Diego Youth Symphony, and Play on Philly (sponsored by LA Phil and New Music USA). Shekhar is the recipient of the 2021 Rudolf Nissim Prize and the 2018 ASCAP Foundation Leonard Bernstein Award, funded by the Bernstein family. The New York Philharmonic recently added Shekhar’s piece Lumina to their list of required excerpts for auditioning musicians, the only piece by a living composer with this distinction.
Aside from composing, Shekhar is a versatile performing artist. As a vocalist, she is currently working on a large-scale new work for Kronos Quartet and herself as soloist, commissioned by Carnegie Hall for 2027. She recently toured a staged solo work for voice, electronics, video, and interactive lighting, and she is currently recording her debut pop vocal album. As an instrumentalist, she is active as a flutist, pianist, and saxophonist. She has been featured by the National Flute Association, and she has performed in the Detroit International Jazz Festival and as a soloist with the USC Thornton Symphony and the Lublin Philharmonic at the Poland International Piano Festival.
Shekhar is on the Composition faculty of Mannes School of Music at The New School. She previously served as Composer-in-Residence of The Crossing and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s 2023-2024 Sound Investment Composer. An active educator, she is also a faculty mentor for Luna Composition Lab and co-founded Brightwork newmusic‘s Project Beacon initiative, a free program providing mentorship to aspiring high-school-aged composers in the LA area. She has held guest composer residencies at New York University, Colburn School, University of Colorado-Boulder, Juilliard Pre-College, Western Michigan University, and Portland State University. She is a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Music Fellow and previously completed her tenure as Composer-in-Residence for Young Concert Artists. Shekhar is a PhD candidate in Music Composition at Princeton University. She previously completed composition graduate studies at the University of Southern California and undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, earning dual degrees in music composition and chemical engineering. She is a first-generation Indian American and a native of Detroit, Michigan.
Sylvia Rhone
Sylvia Rhone is widely regarded as the most influential female executive in the history of the music business. Named Chairwoman and CEO of Epic Records in 2019, a division of Sony Entertainment, Rhone left Epic in September of this year, having been instrumental in extending the reach of the label’s diverse and award-winning roster around the globe. Rhone has helmed senior positions at all three major record companies and was the first woman to be named CEO of a major record label owned by a Fortune 500 company, and the first Black woman in history to attain such a title.
Named President of Epic Records in 2017, the label placed three artists simultaneously in the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 Albums chart twice during her tenure, and most recently (in 2024) tied a record for an artist-driven act held only by The Beatles by landing three Future albums at #1 in a six-month period. Rhone upheld her reputation as a culture-changing rainmaker, consistently guiding multiple artists to new pinnacles at Epic, including Tyla’s breakout debut album, Andre 3000’s acclaimed innovative instrumental album, Travis Scott’s Grammy nominated fourth #1 album, 21 Savage’s fourth #1 album, and a formidable array of established and rising stars, including Meghan Trainor, Zara Larson, Madison Beer, Real Boston Richey, and Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame icon and multiple Grammy award winner, Ozzy Osbourne, among others.
Recipient of more than three dozen honors and awards in her five-decade career, Rhone’s achievements are recognized annually. Rhone accepted the Black Music Collective’s Recording Academy Global Impact Award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, along with fellow honorees Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott (whom she launched at Elektra Records), and Lil Wayne. Rhone was also honored with the BMAC Clarence Avant Trailblazer Award for her immense impact within the music industry and beyond, presented by her daughter Quinn. In 2023, Rhone was recognized as Billboard’s Women In Music Executive Of The Year at Billboard’s Women In Music Awards, cited for her trailblazing path comprising decades of leadership, hailed as “a force, an alchemist, a savant of creative artistry and an inspiration to all women for the glass ceilings you have conquered.” Rhone achieved the music industry’s ultimate business/philanthropic honor in 2019 with the City Of Hope’s prestigious Spirit Of Life Award, with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder presenting the award. In 2011, Rhone was honored at the National Action Network’s (founded by Rev. Al Sharpton) 20th Anniversary Keepers Of The Dreams Awards, with President Obama delivering a speech commemorating Rhone’s and her fellow honorees’ accomplishments.
Rhone’s commitment to diversity spans her entire five-decade career. Known for advocating systemic change to ensure an inclusive and accountable workplace in every position she’s held, Rhone helped pioneer equitable promotion practices that increased minority and female representation and created a gender-balanced, racially diverse environment that others would emulate. Long recognized for leading the charge in addressing inequities in executive corridors, former Time Warner Chairman and CEO Dick Parsons cited her diversity efforts in the mid-1990s as “one of the most actualized examples of diversity at a company that I’ve ever seen.”
Rhone raised the diversity and inclusion bar throughout the entire industry by creating a staff at Epic that is more than 54% women and 57% people of color. Rhone was Chairman of Vested In Culture (VIC) prior to Epic, a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment dedicated to establishing cutting-edge brands spanning music, digital, film, TV, and fashion.
In 2004, Rhone was named President of Universal Motown Records, Executive Vice President of Universal Records, and Chairman of Universal Motown Record Group. Rhone revitalized Universal’s roster, developing a cutting-edge group of award-winning artists, labels and digital ventures, re-branding the label’s storied legacy and broadening hip-hop imprint Cash Money’s impact. The best-selling repertoire of contemporary hitmakers included Lil Wayne, Drake, Kid Cudi, Akon, Kelly Rowland, Nicki Minaj, and others.
In 1994, Rhone was appointed Chairman/CEO of the Elektra Entertainment Group, the first Black woman to be named Chairman of a label owned by a Fortune 500 company. Her decade-long tenure saw her transform the boutique label into one of the most eclectic and successful rosters in music, with Rhone guiding legendary artists Missy Elliott, Gerald Levert, Metallica, Tracy Chapman, ACDC, Pantera, Third Eye Blind, Natalie Merchant, Jason Mraz, Busta Rhymes, and Fabulous, among others.
Rhone’s career reads like a virtual litany of firsts. In 1990, she became the first Black woman to head a major record company when she was named CEO/President of Atlantic’s EastWest Records U.S. division. She soon became the driving force at Atlantic Records in the 1980s and ‘90s, reinvigorating the label’s black music mission, contributing to the imprint being named #1 Black Music division by Billboard in 1988, guiding the careers of stars MC Lyte, Levert, En Vogue, Troop, Michel’le, Miki Howard, The System, The D.O.C., Yo-Yo, Brandy, Kwame, and more. EastWest was also lauded for its diversity of artists, including Simply Red, newcomers Das EFX, Dream Theater and others. Rhone was one of the earliest major label executives to recognize hip hop’s cultural influence and guided the label to ventures with N.W.A.’s Ruthless Records, signing one of their earliest breakthrough artists, J.J. Fad. Rhone also orchestrated a deal with Ice Cube’s first label, Street Knowledge, launching Yo-Yo’s empowering debut, among others.
Rhone has been credited for championing pivotal female hip hop trailblazers throughout her career, including the first female rapper to ever release a full-length album, MC Lyte, who released Lyte As A Rock in 1988. Rhone’s success in breaking through the artistic glass ceiling is reflected in the transformative female hip hop icons cultivated by her throughout her journey, including seminal groundbreaking artists Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, Rah Digga, Yo-Yo, and Nicki Minaj.
Rhone’s visionary approach pulls inspiration from her Harlem upbringing. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School, she bucked the Ivy League route and took a job as a secretary at Buddah Records, performing a variety of jobs, gaining valuable experience at multiple labels.
Acclaimed throughout her career as a pioneer with few peers, other awards bestowed on Rhone include the 2014 Music Business Association Presidential Award for Sustained Achievement, with Rhone celebrated as the first woman to receive the honor. Rhone was one of only four women recognized in Jet Magazine’s 50 Years Of Progress issue which chronicled the business achievements of prominent African Americans in the previous half century, and was credited early on by noted LA Times writer and legendary music business journalist Chuck Phillips for ‘breaking the male bastion’ of the music business. Proud to guide Epic, and Sony more broadly, through a new era of profound change, Rhone’s appointment to the Chairmanship of Epic was profiled by Variety as a ‘watershed moment’ for black culture.
The USC Thornton School of Music ceremony is open to graduates and their guests. Media interested in attending should contact Sean David Christensen (seandavc@usc.edu) in the USC Thornton Office of Communications for credentialing and additional details.
