Ted Hearne receives 2020 American Academy of Arts and Letters award
Composition faculty member Ted Hearne has won the 2020 American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Music, awarded in honor of a composer’s significant artistic achievements. In addition to the monetary award, Hearne and the other three winners will have their music presented at a concert at the Academy in 2021. This is the… Continue reading Ted Hearne receives 2020 American Academy of Arts and Letters award
Lynn Helding releases new book bridging brain science and music performance
Vocal Arts and Opera faculty member Lynn Helding has recently released her new book, “The Musician’s Mind: Teaching, Learning, and Performance in the Age of Brain Science.” The book explores how musicians can optimize their mental wellbeing and cognitive abilities to maximize learning and performance. In her writing, Helding bridges the gap between various fields… Continue reading Lynn Helding releases new book bridging brain science and music performance
NEA grants to fund new and continued work by USC Thornton faculty and alumni
The latest round of grants awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts will fuel new and continued work by USC Thornton faculty and alumni. The LA Master Chorale, led by artistic director and USC Thornton Keyboard Studies alum Grant Gershon (BM ’85), was awarded funding for a series of contemporary choral music concerts, as… Continue reading NEA grants to fund new and continued work by USC Thornton faculty and alumni
Lynn Helding receives Lifetime Achievement Award for research in vocal pedagogy
USC Thornton Vocal Arts and Opera faculty member Lynn Helding has been recognized as a legendary figure in the field of voice pedagogy by the Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) Vocal Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah University, and has received the 2020 CCM Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. As this year’s recipient, she will be in residence at… Continue reading Lynn Helding receives Lifetime Achievement Award for research in vocal pedagogy
Thornton faculty perform at annual Jazz Education Network Conference
USC Thornton Jazz Studies faculty recently performed at the Jazz Education Network Conference on Jan. 7 in New Orleans, an annual conference bringing together jazz professionals, educators and students.
Ted Hearne to premiere new opera in partnership with Beth Morrison Projects
Beth Morrison Projects, Trinity Church Wall Street, and PROTOTYPE Festival have announced a multi-year partnership that will produce the premieres of five new operas over the next three seasons, including the 2022 premiere of “Slaying of Innocence,” a new opera composed by Ted Hearne, acclaimed composer, performer and USC Thornton Composition faculty member. The work… Continue reading Ted Hearne to premiere new opera in partnership with Beth Morrison Projects
Laura Karpman composes music for concert celebrating 100 years of women’s suffrage
Laura Karpman, USC Thornton Screen Scoring faculty member and Emmy-winning composer, will debut a new composition on Jan. 18 at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “…When there are nine,” a production celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment. Karpman and her collaborator, librettist Kelley Rourke, composed the song cycle “And Still We Dream”… Continue reading Laura Karpman composes music for concert celebrating 100 years of women’s suffrage
Cherry Rhodes juries and delivers lecture at Shanghai Conservatory of Music International Organ Festival
From November 5–9, 2019, Organ Studies faculty member Cherry Rhodes had a return engagement to participate in the Second International Organ Festival in Shanghai, China, sponsored by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She performed in the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, adjudicated the Second International Pipe-Organ Competition, and was on an international panel at the Shanghai… Continue reading Cherry Rhodes juries and delivers lecture at Shanghai Conservatory of Music International Organ Festival
Nate Sloan talks pop evolution with The Wall Street Journal
Musicology faculty member Nate Sloan and podcast co-host Charlie Harding recently sat down with The Wall Street Journal to talk about the pop history and analysis they cover in both their popular podcast, Switched on Pop, and now their book of the same name which released on Dec. 13. Sloan, who studies the history and… Continue reading Nate Sloan talks pop evolution with The Wall Street Journal
Laura Karpman “Sitara” score wins Best Music Score at Los Angeles Animation Festival
Emmy-winning composer and Screen Scoring faculty member Laura Karpman’s score of the animated short film “Sitara: Let Girls Dream” won the award for Best Music Score at the Los Angeles Animation Festival on Dec. 8. Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the film also won the award for Best Produced Screenplay and the Humanitarian Award. The film’s… Continue reading Laura Karpman “Sitara” score wins Best Music Score at Los Angeles Animation Festival