Bill Biersach receives award for SH[eye]N band
Faculty member Bill Biersach of the USC Thornton Composition department has received a Silver Medal from the Global Music Awards for his improvisational jam band, SH[eye]N. The band, which includes Biersach on Chapman Stick and Ralph Loynachan on percussion, won distinction for “virtuosic improvisation, album and creativity/originality” for its recent album, “Opus 10: Big Percolator.”
Juan Pablo Contreras wins Jalisco Orchestral Composition Prize
Juan Pablo Contreras, a doctoral candidate of the USC Thornton Composition program, recently won the Jalisco Orchestral Composition Prize with his work, Mariachitlán. Written under the guidance of Composition chair Donald Crockett, the work will be performed by the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, under guest conductor Miguel Salmón de Real, on December 9 and 11, 2016.… Continue reading Juan Pablo Contreras wins Jalisco Orchestral Composition Prize
“The New Yorker” features Ted Hearne’s oratorio, “The Source”
The Source, a contemporary oratorio by composer and USC Thornton faculty member Ted Hearne, was a subject of “Modern Opera Thrives in L.A.,” an article in the December 12 issue of The New Yorker. Music critic Alex Ross wrote admiringly of Hearne’s “mesmerizing and disquieting collage of vocal, instrumental, and recorded sounds,” which was presented… Continue reading “The New Yorker” features Ted Hearne’s oratorio, “The Source”
Jules Pegram receives award at ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop
Alumnus Jules Pegram (BM ’13, Composition) received the Harold Arlen Film & TV Award at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Film Scoring Workshop this past summer. The workshop gives selected composers the opportunity to learn about music in the film industry from mentors who are studio executives, agents, attorneys, editors, and… Continue reading Jules Pegram receives award at ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop
Michael Lee to participate in the Red Note Music Festival
USC Thornton Composition doctoral candidate Michael Lee has been selected as one of 8 composers to participate in the 2017 Red Note New Music Festival. The festival, organized by Illinois State University, is a week-long composition workshop and performance series, at which student works are developed and performed in collaboration with professional musicians, including the… Continue reading Michael Lee to participate in the Red Note Music Festival
Composer Morten Lauridsen to receive ASCAP Foundation’s Life in Music Award
Morten Lauridsen, Distinguished Professor of Composition at USC Thornton, will receive the ASCAP Foundation‘s Life in Music Award “for his distinguished contribution to the American choral tradition.” The foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, will present the award to Lauridsen at a ceremony at New York… Continue reading Composer Morten Lauridsen to receive ASCAP Foundation’s Life in Music Award
Georgi Dimitrov receives Maestro Foundation Viola Award
Georgi Dimitrov (MM ’14), a DMA candidate in the USC Thornton Composition program, recently received the Viola Award from the Maestro Foundation of Los Angeles, which supports the development of gifted young musicians. Dimitrov, who minors in viola performance at Thornton, was loaned a 2003 “Zanetto” viola and bow created by highly-regarded violin maker Mario… Continue reading Georgi Dimitrov receives Maestro Foundation Viola Award
Andrew Norman earns “Composer of the Year” distinction from Musical America
Andrew Norman (’02, MM ’04), a member of the USC Thornton Composition faculty, has been named Composer of the Year for 2017 by the Musical America organization, which characterized Norman’s compositional style as “a voice singularly his own.” Norman, who received a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship last spring and was nominated for a 2016 GRAMMY Award,… Continue reading Andrew Norman earns “Composer of the Year” distinction from Musical America
Ted Hearne’s oratorio, “The Source,” receives West Coast premiere
The Source, an oratorio by USC Thornton Composition faculty member Ted Hearne, will receive its west coast premiere this month at REDCAT in a production by the Los Angeles Opera. The strikingly contemporary work incorporates spoken language, snippets of popular music, and disjointed instrumental riffs, to tell the story of Chelsea Manning, formerly Bradley Manning,… Continue reading Ted Hearne’s oratorio, “The Source,” receives West Coast premiere
Composition student Michael Lee debuts piece for string quartet on new album
“Farewell…,” a work by USC Thornton Composition doctoral candidate Michael Lee, is included on the compilation album Between the Echoes: Contemporary Chamber Works, recently released by Navona Records. Lee’s composition for string quartet, which incorporates shifting rhythms, timbres, and moods, was performed by violinists Vit Muzik and Igor Kopyt, violist Dominika Mužíková, and cellist Petr… Continue reading Composition student Michael Lee debuts piece for string quartet on new album