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
Martin Chalifour to perform Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl
Violinist Martin Chalifour, Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) and a member of the USC Thornton Strings faculty, will perform Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 1, under the baton of Paolo Bortolameolli, at the Hollywood Bowl on August 2nd. Chalifour has spent much of the summer as a Valade Teaching Fellow and Valade… Continue reading Martin Chalifour to perform Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl
Guitarist Mak Grgić to tour with k.d. lang
Classical guitarist Mak Grgić (MM ’12, DMA ’16), a graduate certificate candidate at USC Thornton and an alumnus of the school’s Arts Leadership program, will open for k.d. lang during the artist’s Fall tour across the American South. Beginning September 7th, Grgić will perform on lang’s Ingénue Redux Tour in nine cities, closing the tour… Continue reading Guitarist Mak Grgić to tour with k.d. lang
Choral & Sacred Music students find professional success
Several graduate students of the USC Thornton Choral & Sacred Music program have recently brought their work to larger audiences. DMA candidate Irene Apanovitch-Leites presented at the Canadian Choral Directors’ Summer Conference in late June. She will bring her presentation, “How Do Singers Relate: Exploring the Connection Between Empathy and Choral Singing,” to the ACDA… Continue reading Choral & Sacred Music students find professional success
Alumnus Carlos Rafael Rivera receives two Emmy nominations
Composer and USC Thornton alumnus Carlos Rafael Rivera (MM ’04, DMA ’10) has received two Emmy Award nominations for his work on the Netflix limited series, Godless. Rivera’s music has been nominated in the categories of Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music and Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic… Continue reading Alumnus Carlos Rafael Rivera receives two Emmy nominations
Ted Hearne premieres new work with Michael Tilson Thomas and the National Youth Symphony
On Thursday, July 19th, the National Youth Orchestra of the USA will premiere a new work by composer and USC Thornton faculty member Ted Hearne, under the baton of alumnus Michael Tilson Thomas (BM ’67, MM ’76), a Judge Widney Professor of Music at USC. Hearne’s Brass Tacks was commissioned by Carnegie Hall, where the… Continue reading Ted Hearne premieres new work with Michael Tilson Thomas and the National Youth Symphony
Pianist Robert Thies named Artistic Director of South Bay Chamber Music Society
Pianist Robert Thies (BM ’93, MM ’95), an alumnus of the USC Thornton Keyboard Studies program, has been appointed Artistic Director of the South Bay Chamber Music Society, which presents about 15 concerts each season in venues across the South Bay. Thies won the Gold Medal at the Second International Prokofiev Competition in 1995 and… Continue reading Pianist Robert Thies named Artistic Director of South Bay Chamber Music Society
Michael Lee premieres chamber work with New Orleans Chamber Orchestra
In June, composer and USC Thornton alumnus Michael Lee’s (DMA ’17) chamber work for strings and piano, Echoes for Strings and Piano, received its world premiere at the Marigny Opera House by the New Orleans Chamber Orchestra. Lee was the winner of the ensemble’s Spectri Sonori Composition Competition. Lee’s 2015 work for classical guitar, Unmasked,… Continue reading Michael Lee premieres chamber work with New Orleans Chamber Orchestra
Alumnus Andrew Goldman publishes neurological research about improvisational musicianship
Andrew Goldman (’08), a piano performance and neuroscience alumnus of USC Thornton and USC Dornsife, recently published a research paper, “Improvisation experience predicts how musicians categorize musical structures,” in the Psychology of Music journal. Goldman, who earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge, is currently a Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience at Columbia… Continue reading Alumnus Andrew Goldman publishes neurological research about improvisational musicianship