Gabriel Martins wins second place at the Sphinx Competition
Gabriel Martins, a junior cellist at USC Thornton, earned a prize for the second year in a row at the Sphinx Competition, a national event for Black and Latino classical string players. Martins took second place, earning a $20,000 award, but was the top cellist. Violinist Rubén Rengel won the Senior Division. Last year, Thornton… Continue reading Gabriel Martins wins second place at the Sphinx Competition
Pianist Vicki Ray records new work by Daniel Lentz
Pianist Vicki Ray’s (DMA ’88) recent recording of River of 1,000 Streams by composer Daniel Lentz was warmly reviewed by the website I Care If You Listen. Referring to the USC Thornton alumna as a “Los Angeles luminary,” reviewer Nick Stevens lauded her performance as a “colorful, nuanced, arresting statement,” demonstrating “first-rate artistry.” Lentz’s 28-minute… Continue reading Pianist Vicki Ray records new work by Daniel Lentz
A Two-Night Stand at Carnegie Hall
USC Thornton Composition professor Frank Ticheli’s music will be performed not once, but twice, this month at Carnegie Hall in New York City. On Feb. 11, the New York Choral Society and Orchestra will present the East Coast premiere of Ticheli’s piece, The Shore (Symphony No. 3), featuring text by USC faculty member David St.… Continue reading A Two-Night Stand at Carnegie Hall
Harmonia, a new student-run vocal ensemble, debuts Saturday
Harmonia, a student-run vocal ensemble founded last October, will debut this Saturday, February 3rd, in a concert at the USC Caruso Catholic Center. The 4:00 pm concert, titled “Rooted,” will feature rarely-heard choral works by J. des Prez, Vaughan Williams, and more. The group is made up of both USC Thornton and non-music majors including… Continue reading Harmonia, a new student-run vocal ensemble, debuts Saturday
Antoinette Perry
Antoinette Perry, born into a family of professional musicians, gave her first public performance at the age of four. Since then she has concertized extensively throughout the United States, Germany, France, England, and in over 15 cities of the People’s Republic of China. She has been heard often on NPR and the Bravo! Channel, and… Continue reading Antoinette Perry
Patrick O’Malley wins Sioux City’s Composer of the Year Award
Patrick O’Malley (MM ’15), a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Composition program, was recently selected as the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra’s Composer of the Year for 2018. He earned the title with Loneliness in a Beautiful Place, a string work that also won the 2017 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award. O’Malley will travel… Continue reading Patrick O’Malley wins Sioux City’s Composer of the Year Award
Albert Diaz appointed Associate Chair of Music at Walla Walla University
USC Thornton Classical Guitar alumnus Albert R. Diaz (BA ’10, MM ’12) has been appointed Associate Chair of the Music Department at Walla Walla University in Washington state. Diaz was a founding member of the Helios Guitar Quartet, which formed at USC in 2011. Currently a doctoral candidate in musicology at U.C. Los Angeles, Diaz’s… Continue reading Albert Diaz appointed Associate Chair of Music at Walla Walla University
Alumnus Richard Bernstein celebrates 400th performance with Met Opera
On Saturday, January 27th, 2018, Richard Bernstein (’89) will reach a professional milestone with his 400th performance with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in a production of Puccini’s Tosca. The operatic bass and alumnus of the USC Thornton Vocal Arts & Opera program debuted with the company in 1995 and has since performed… Continue reading Alumnus Richard Bernstein celebrates 400th performance with Met Opera
Joseph Pereira to premiere concerto with L.A. Phil
Joseph Pereira, Principal Timpanist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Director of Percussion Studies at USC Thornton, will play the dual role of composer and soloist when the orchestra premieres his Threshold concerto at Walt Disney Concert Hall on January 25th, 2018. Gustavo Dudamel will lead the ensemble in four performances of the Philharmonic-commissioned work,… Continue reading Joseph Pereira to premiere concerto with L.A. Phil
Three USC Thornton cellists save the day at Walt Disney Concert Hall
On Friday, January 19th, three USC Thornton cellists took to the stage of Walt Disney Concert Hall for a daring musical rescue mission, of sorts. When Los Angeles Philharmonic soloist Robert deMaine was unable to perform the U.S. premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s daunting modernist Cello Concerto at the last minute, conductor Susanna Mälkki invited… Continue reading Three USC Thornton cellists save the day at Walt Disney Concert Hall