Faculty and alumni come together at fourth annual CollabFest
USC Thornton will have a strong presence at the upcoming CollabFest conference, with many alumni and faculty attending. Alan Smith, director of Keyboard Collaborative Arts, Andrew Harley (DMA ’97), Russell Miller (BM), James Douglass (DMA ’04), ChoEun Lee (DMA, ’13) and Lisa Sylvester, Chair of Vocal Arts & Opera at Thornton, will all be participating.… Continue reading Faculty and alumni come together at fourth annual CollabFest
USC Thornton faculty and alumni enter GRAMMY Award consideration
A number of Thornton faculty and alumni have entered consideration for GRAMMY award nominations. Jazz Studies faculty member Sara Gazarek’s album Thirsty Ghost is up for consideration in multiple categories including Best Jazz Vocal Album. Alumnus Gernot Wolfgang’s (GCRT ’94) chamber music album, Vienna and the West, was entered in the Best Classical Compendium category.… Continue reading USC Thornton faculty and alumni enter GRAMMY Award consideration
Bing Wang judges nation-wide songwriting competition in Singapore
USC Thornton faculty member and music producer Bing Wang landed a spot on the judging panel for Singapore’s nation-wide Mandopop songwriting festival, SG:SW2017 I Write The Songs. Wang was joined by Singaporean xinyao pioneer Liang Wern Fook and singer-songwriter Wong Hong Mok to judge the 12 performances given at the finale concert on Saturday, Sept… Continue reading Bing Wang judges nation-wide songwriting competition in Singapore
David Allen Moore releases book of double bass instruction
Thornton faculty member and alumnus David Allen Moore has published his first book, “Fractal Fingering: A scaleable concept of fingerboard geography for the Double Bass.” The book is founded on 10 years of scholarship and teaching and redefines the methods for fingerboard organization and double bass left-handed technique. The book has already been put on… Continue reading David Allen Moore releases book of double bass instruction
Three Thornton doctoral candidates among this year’s USC International Artist Fellows
USC recently announced the 2019-2020 class of International Artist Fellows, including three USC Thornton DMA candidates: Classical Guitar student Bokyung Byun, Keyboard Studies student Wesley Chu, and Composition student Guang Yang. Since 2013, the International Artist Fellowship has provided scholarships and other resources to enable talented artsits from around the world to study at USC’s… Continue reading Three Thornton doctoral candidates among this year’s USC International Artist Fellows
Sarah Gibson to join faculty at UCSB Department of Music
Thornton alumna Sarah Gibson (MM ’10, DMA ’15) will join the faculty at the UC Santa Barbara Department of Music and College of Creative Studies as Teaching Professor in Composition this fall. Gibson will be teaching courses in composition, music theory, orchestration and other performance-related courses. “Her background and support of new musical compositions, along… Continue reading Sarah Gibson to join faculty at UCSB Department of Music
Argus Quartet joins residency program at Yellow Barn
The Argus Quartet has been invited to participate in a week-long residency program this September at Yellow Barn, an international center for chamber music, encouraging the discovery of music in the studio, classroom and concert hall. The quartet was founded by alum Clara Kim (DM ’15) with classmates from USC. Yellow Barn has welcomed back… Continue reading Argus Quartet joins residency program at Yellow Barn
Connie Sheu leads new Suzuki Guitar program at Colburn’s Community School of Performing Arts
The Colburn Community School of Performing Arts has launched a new guitar program, directed by Thornton alumna Connie Sheu (DMA ’11), that seeks to make classical music and instruments more accessible to beginning students. The program is based in the Suzuki teaching method, founded by Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki. Sheu sees classical guitar as a… Continue reading Connie Sheu leads new Suzuki Guitar program at Colburn’s Community School of Performing Arts
Michael Lee commissioned by Ensemble Ari
Ensemble Ari will premiere USC Thornton alumnus Michael Lee’s (DMA ’17) “Ghost Break Dance” at the Friends of Chamber Music concert series at the University of the Pacific on September 22. The work was commissioned by the Bay Area ensemble. Additionally, a composition written by Lee while he was at USC, “Unmasked for Classical Guitar,”… Continue reading Michael Lee commissioned by Ensemble Ari
Vijay Venkatesh and Eva Schaumkell perform as Vieness Piano Duo
The Vieness Piano Duo, which is comprised of USC Thornton alumnus Vijay Venkatesh (’17) and DMA candidate Eva Schaumkell, traveled from coast-to-coast this summer, performing in several concert series in Los Angeles and New Jersey. This included Le Salon de Musiques, Glendale’s Second Saturday and Music Guild series in Los Angeles as well as a… Continue reading Vijay Venkatesh and Eva Schaumkell perform as Vieness Piano Duo