Alan Smith conducts art song residency at Vanderbilt
Pianist Alan L. Smith, chair of Keyboard Studies and director of Keyboard Collaborative Arts at USC Thornton, held a residency last month at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music as part of its Mary Cortner Ragland Master Series. Smith worked with singers and pianists in German, French and British art song. Smith is highly respected… Continue reading Alan Smith conducts art song residency at Vanderbilt
Thornton faculty member Dana Gioia defends the NEA in LA Times Op-Ed
California Poet Laureate and USC Thornton Arts Leadership faculty member Dana Gioia outlined the remarkable successes of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and challenged arguments to defund the organization in a recent Los Angeles Times Op-Ed. Gioia, who was twice unanimously confirmed by the Senate to lead the NEA, from 2003 through 2009,… Continue reading Thornton faculty member Dana Gioia defends the NEA in LA Times Op-Ed
Brice Burton takes percussion position with Charlotte Symphony
Brice Burton, a graduate student of the USC Thornton Winds & Percussion department, won the Principal Percussion position with the Charlotte Symphony. Burton has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the American Youth Symphony and took first place in the Division I Modern Snare Drum Competition in 2014.
Juan Pablo Contreras receives the 2017 Presser Graduate Award
Juan Pablo Contreras, a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Composition program, has received the 2017 Presser Graduate Award, which honors exceptional graduate students who have the potential to make a distinguished contribution within the field of music. Composition program chair Donald Crockett said that Contreras has been granted a “wonderful and rare opportunity,” through… Continue reading Juan Pablo Contreras receives the 2017 Presser Graduate Award
Student chamber duo wins prizes in Boulder
Cellist Coleman Itzkoff (MM ’16) and pianist Alin Melik-Adamyan (’12, MM ’14, piano), who perform as the Amicus Duo, recently earned top prizes at the Boulder International Chamber Music Competition, winning second prize overall and a special prize for best performance of Arthur Gottschalk’s Some Assembly Required. The USC Thornton student duo formed in 2014… Continue reading Student chamber duo wins prizes in Boulder
Kenneth Cazan directs “Frau Schindler” opera in Munich
USC Thornton Vocal Arts & Opera chair Kenneth Cazan is currently in Munich to stage direct the opera Frau Schindler, which premieres this coming March. The opera, which received a concert reading at USC Thornton last year, follows the life of Emilie Schindler, wife of the well known Oskar, and explores her contributions during the… Continue reading Kenneth Cazan directs “Frau Schindler” opera in Munich
The National Children’s Chorus forms partnership with USC Thornton School of Music
USC Thornton has announced a new partnership with the National Children’s Chorus (NCC), America’s leading treble choral ensemble. The new educational initiative, designed to further train select young conductors in Thornton’s Choral & Sacred Music program, will provide graduate students with two positions annually on the NCC’s artistic staff. USC Thornton DMA candidate Alexander Lloyd… Continue reading The National Children’s Chorus forms partnership with USC Thornton School of Music
USC acquires Paul Salamunovich Archive
USC Thornton’s department of Choral and Sacred Music, in conjunction with the USC Libraries Special Collections, has been gifted the archives of the late conductor, scholar, and educator, Paul Salamunovich. A long-time conductor and music director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale and an influential voice in choral pedagogy, Salamunovich also taught at Thornton and… Continue reading USC acquires Paul Salamunovich Archive
Béatrice et Bénédict
What happens when long suffering love suffers no more? Find out when the USC Thornton Opera Program, in collaboration with the USC Thornton Symphony, presents Hector Berlioz’s sparkling opera Béatrice et Bénédict. Based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Guest Director and video designer Joachim Schamberger updates this charming, romantic comedy with a contemporary, multimedia… Continue reading Béatrice et Bénédict
Thornton percussionists take center stage in LA Phil’s Reich tribute
On January 17, several alumni and USC Thornton Percussion faculty celebrated legendary composer Steve Reich’s 80th birthday in a special Green Umbrella concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil). Faculty member James Babor joined alumni Jeffrey Grant (GCRT ’14), Nick Terry (DMA ’11), and Matthew Howard (’12), who is principal percussionist for the LA… Continue reading Thornton percussionists take center stage in LA Phil’s Reich tribute