Pianist Derek Kealii Polischuk releases new album celebrating women composers
USC Thornton alumnus Derek Kealii Polischuk (’01, MM ’04, DMA ’06) has released the album Many Hands via Blue Griffin, celebrating piano works by women composers. The recording is a collaboration between Polischuk and his piano students Sungyeon Ahn, Chang Li, Euyjong Choi and Jiwoon Sim. Many Hands features music by Cécile Chaminade, Joan Trimble,… Continue reading Pianist Derek Kealii Polischuk releases new album celebrating women composers
San Francisco to honor Michael Tilson Thomas with street name
San Francisco mayor London N. Breed has introduced legislation that would rename the Civic Center block near Davies Symphony Hall after celebrated conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, a Thornton alumnus and Judge Widney Professor at USC. The block between Franklin Street and Van Ness Avenue will be named “MTT Way” in honor of Thomas’s contributions to… Continue reading San Francisco to honor Michael Tilson Thomas with street name
Dan Caputo invited as Composer-in-Residence for Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
USC Thornton Composition program alumnus and faculty member Dan Caputo (DMA ’19, BM ’13) was a Composer-in-Residence for the 2023 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, held July 30–August 13. His work Liminal, which premiered with the USC Thornton Symphony in 2018, was performed by the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra on August 13 under conductor and musical… Continue reading Dan Caputo invited as Composer-in-Residence for Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
Cellist Seth Parker Woods included in Pew Grant
Seth Parker Woods, a celebrated cellist and USC Thornton Strings faculty member, was included in a major grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, alongside artist Barbara Earl Thomas. As part of a major grant won by the Arthur Ross Gallery, Woods and Thomas will present a new collaborative work for the Philadelphia… Continue reading Cellist Seth Parker Woods included in Pew Grant
Jacob Sustaita
Jacob Sustaita serves as the assistant conductor for Pacific Symphony, a position he has held since the fall of 2020. Sustaita also serves as music director and conductor for Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO), the premier training orchestra of Orange County, recognized as one of the most outstanding youth orchestras in the country. Sustaita is… Continue reading Jacob Sustaita
Michael Abels wins 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Michael Abels (’84), an acclaimed composer and USC Thornton Composition program alumnus, has won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music for the opera Omar. Co-composed by Rhiannon Giddens, Omar is a musical work that tells the story of enslaved people brought to North America from Muslim countries. The opera premiered on May 27 at the… Continue reading Michael Abels wins 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Eight Thornton students and alumni win at 2023 Beverly Hills National Auditions
Eight USC Thornton students and alumni were announced as winners of the 2023 Beverly Hills National Auditions (BHNA). BHNA winners will receive performance opportunities at a series of over 40 concerts across Southern California, including Music in the Mansion Festival on the third week of April 2024. Of the 11 winners, eight are from USC… Continue reading Eight Thornton students and alumni win at 2023 Beverly Hills National Auditions
Derrick Lawrence
Derrick Lawrence, baritone, has sung roles on the stages of Philadelphia Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera, Charlotte Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Piedmont Opera, Opera North, Zurich Opera House, Budapest, Wiesbaden, Düsseldorf, The Royal Danish Opera, Stuttgart, Luzern, Aachen, Freiburg, Statts Opera Berlin, Kaiserslautern, La Monnaie, Teatro Massimo, Opera Lyon and National Theater Brünn. Lawrence… Continue reading Derrick Lawrence
Emily Sung
Emily Sung is a Chinese American conductor, scholar and teacher from Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Before her appointment at the USC Thornton School of Music, Sung previously served as the associate director of Choral Activities at Princeton University, the director of the Chamber Choir and Choral Society at the University of Pennsylvania, and a member of… Continue reading Emily Sung
Pardy Minassian finds lost songs in Shoah Foundation archive
USC Thornton Classical Guitar program graduate certificate alumna Pardy Minassian was featured on USC Shoah Foundation’s website for discovery of lost Armenian testimonies and songs from the Armenian Genocide. Last year, the Armenian guitarist was awarded a project grant from the Calouste Gyukbenkian Foundation for her multimedia series focused on unpublished Armenian folk songs that… Continue reading Pardy Minassian finds lost songs in Shoah Foundation archive