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
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
Alumnus Mark Robson’s Piano Spheres performance praised by the L.A. Times
Pianist and USC Thornton alumnus Mark Robson (MM ’89) presented an adventurous program as part of REDCAT’s Piano Spheres series at REDCAT last month, featuring works by Stockhausen, Glass, and Rihm. Robson also premiered new work by the Los Angeles composer Daniel Rothman. Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times described Robson’s Piano Spheres performance… Continue reading Alumnus Mark Robson’s Piano Spheres performance praised by the L.A. Times
Strings magazine celebrates alumna, violist Cynthia Phelps
Strings magazine recently profiled USC Thornton alumna Cynthia Phelps, principal violist of the New York Philharmonic, on the occasion of the orchestra’s November premiere of a concerto written for her by Composition doctoral candidate Julia Adolphe (MM ’12, composition). The concerto, Unearth, Release, which was co-commissioned by the Philharmonic and the League of American Orchestras… Continue reading Strings magazine celebrates alumna, violist Cynthia Phelps
Clarinetist Eric Abramovitz wins Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition
Clarinetist Eric Abramovitz, a USC Thornton Winds & Percussion graduate student of faculty member Yehuda Gilad, recently took 1st Prize for Classical Clarinet at the 2017 Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition. The Vandoren competition, sponsored by the eponymous mouthpiece and reed manufacturing company, celebrates “the next generation of great clarinetists and saxophonists,” and selects three winners… Continue reading Clarinetist Eric Abramovitz wins Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition