Giovanni Santos premieres new work in Costa Mesa
This November, the Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble will premiere Giovanni Santos’ (MM ’07, Music Education) latest work, Fanfariaat, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. The composer, who serves as Director of Wind and Percussion Studies at La Sierra University, has premiered works across the United States and Europe. In January,… Continue reading Giovanni Santos premieres new work in Costa Mesa
Delirium Musicum chamber ensemble announces call for scores
Delirium Musicum, a conductorless chamber ensemble founded by violinist and USC Thornton alumnus Etienne Gara, has announced a call for scores open to composers of any age and nationality. The deadline for submission is October 15, 2018 with the works to be premiered in a February concert. The ensemble, which won the 2018 Beverly Hills… Continue reading Delirium Musicum chamber ensemble announces call for scores
Alumnus Robert Lydecker scores second season of “Iron Fist”
Composer and USC Thornton alumnus Robert Lydecker (BM ’08 Composition, GCRT ’09 Film Scoring), scored the second season of the Netlix original series Iron Fist, which premiered September 7th. Lydecker also co-scored two seasons of ABC’s Designated Survivor with composer Sean Callery, and co-composed the score for the 2017 film XXX: Return of Xander Cage… Continue reading Alumnus Robert Lydecker scores second season of “Iron Fist”
Alumnus Jules Pegram premieres new opera
USC Thornton alumnus Jules Pegram (BM ’13, Composition) recently composed, produced, and conducted two performances of Higher Ground, a sixty-minute, one act opera with a libretto by North Carolina-based writer Jim Whiteside. Scored for seven principal vocalists, SATB chorus, and chamber orchestra, the opera was fully staged on April 4 & 5, 2018 at the… Continue reading Alumnus Jules Pegram premieres new opera
Alumna Sue Elliott chosen to lead new Tanglewood Learning Institute
Alumna Sue Elliott (MM ’98, Clarinet) was recently appointed as the inaugural director of the Tanglewood Learning Institute, a new educational music facility set to open in the Summer of 2019. A project of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with the Tanglewood Music Center, the institute’s four new buildings will host year-round educational talks… Continue reading Alumna Sue Elliott chosen to lead new Tanglewood Learning Institute
Pianist Derek Polischuk releases two albums, looks ahead to book launch
Pianist and USC Thornton alumnus Derek Polischuk (BM ’01, DMA ’06, Piano) has recently released two albums on the Blue Griffin label. It’s About Time, featuring trombonist Ava Ordman, includes music by female composers Andrea Clearfield, Lauren Bernofsky, Joelle Wallach, Karen Thomas, Ida Gotkovsky, Elizabeth Raum and Barbara York, while Anxiety Attack, with soprano Melanie… Continue reading Pianist Derek Polischuk releases two albums, looks ahead to book launch
Film scoring alumni selected for Universal Film Music Composer Initiative
Four USC Thornton film scoring alumni – George Shaw (BM ’04, Film Scoring), Jermaine Stegall (GCRT ’04, SMPTV), Layla Minoui (GCRT ’08, SMPTV), and Jongnic Bontemps (GCRT ’12, SMPTV) – have been selected as finalists for the Universal Film Music Composer Initiative, which aims to nurture up-and-coming screen composers. As noted in the Hollywood Reporter,… Continue reading Film scoring alumni selected for Universal Film Music Composer Initiative
Harpist Caroline Hales wins Music Academy’s Concerto Competition
Harpist Caroline Hales (BM ’16), a master’s candidate in the USC Thornton Strings program, recently won the Music Academy of the West’s 2018 Concerto Competition. Hales, who studies with JoAnn Turovsky, serves as principal harpist with the American Youth Symphony, the Debut Chamber Orchestra, and the USC Thornton Symphony. Winners of the Concerto Competition will… Continue reading Harpist Caroline Hales wins Music Academy’s Concerto Competition
Faculty and alumni featured in summer opera productions across the country
Several USC Thornton faculty and alumni have enjoyed success on the opera stage this summer. Faculty member Ken Cazan, the USC Thornton Opera’s resident stage director, returned to Colorado’s Central City Opera to direct productions of Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Henry Mollicone’s 1978 chamber opera, The Face on the Barroom Floor. Starring as Galatea,… Continue reading Faculty and alumni featured in summer opera productions across the country
Greg Reitan receives Copland House residency award
Jazz pianist and film composer Greg Reitan (BM ’96, Composition), a USC Thornton alumnus, has been awarded a 2018 residency at the Copland House in New York state. The house, where Aaron Copland spent the last 30 years of his life, hosts selected composers for short-term, all-expenses-paid creative residencies each year. Reitan has worked as… Continue reading Greg Reitan receives Copland House residency award