Posts Tagged ‘Vocal Arts’


Photo of Reyna Gordon smiling.

Reyna Gordon leads scientific study of genetic link to musicality traits

October 26, 2022

USC Thornton Vocal Arts department alumna Reyna Gordon (BM ‘01) has led the first large-scale study that discovered how the ability to move in synchrony with the beat of music is coded in human genomes. Assembled by an international multidisciplinary team of experts and in collaboration with personal genetics company 23andMe, the study assessed beat… Continue reading Reyna Gordon leads scientific study of genetic link to musicality traits


Photo of Reyna Gordon

Reyna Gordon promoted to associate professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

February 1, 2022

Vocal arts alum Dr. Reyna Gordon (BM ‘01) has been promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. Gordon currently serves as one of the co-directors of the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab, where she leads an interdisciplinary research program focused on musicality… Continue reading Reyna Gordon promoted to associate professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center


Alondra Santos featured in Daily Trojan

November 15, 2021

Alondra Santos, a sophomore in the USC Thornton Vocal Arts program, was recently featured in a Daily Trojan article discussing her background as a mariachi performer and its influence on her artistry as a singer-songwriter. The piece also explores the close student-mentor relationship that Santos has established with vocals arts & opera faculty member Elizabeth… Continue reading Alondra Santos featured in Daily Trojan


Portrait of Leaha Maria Villareal against white backdrop

DMA student and composer Leaha Maria Villarreal premieres art song with Prima Voce Emerging Artists Fall Concert Series

September 29, 2021

DMA student and composer Leaha Maria Villarreal premieres art song with Prima Voce Emerging Artists Fall Concert Series.


Marilyn Horne wearing green, smiling to the camera

Marilyn Horne to receive Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award

January 5, 2021

USC Thornton alumna Marilyn Horne was recently announced as one of the Recording Academy’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award honorees. Horne is widely celebrated as one of the world’s most renowned opera singers. Her decades-spanning career has earned her four GRAMMY Awards and 15 nominations, as well as a 1992 National Medal of Arts and numerous… Continue reading Marilyn Horne to receive Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award


Vivian photographed in blue shirt on white backdrop

Vivian Stover awarded 2020 Eileen Southern Travel Grant

October 21, 2020

Vivian Stover, an undergraduate student in the Vocal Arts & Opera program, was awarded the Eileen Southern Travel Grant by the American Musicology Society (AMS) in September. The grant is awarded annually to undergraduate and graduate students underrepresented in the field of musicology, and provides funds to support travel and lodging expenses for awardees to… Continue reading Vivian Stover awarded 2020 Eileen Southern Travel Grant


Lynn Helding pictured in black sweater against backdrop of blue bricks

Lynn Helding authors paper on COVID-19 effects on vocalists

September 23, 2020

USC Thornton Vocal Arts and Opera faculty member Lynn Helding is the lead author of “COVID-19 After Effects: Concerns for Singers,” a new paper published in the Journal of Voice. The paper, co-authored by Dr. Michael Johns, director of the USC Voice Center at Keck Medicine, offers an in-depth look at the potential damages and… Continue reading Lynn Helding authors paper on COVID-19 effects on vocalists


Juhi Bansal pictured outdoors

Students to perform work by Juhi Bansal in LA Opera educational program

July 23, 2020

Los Angeles area students will learn and perform an opera by Composition alum Juhi Bansal (BM ’06, MM ’08, DMA ’12) in the upcoming season of LA Opera’s Secondary In-School Opera program. The remote workshops are an opportunity for students to sharpen their theatrical skills with a contemporary work. Bansal’s opera, “Enchantress of Numbers,” explores… Continue reading Students to perform work by Juhi Bansal in LA Opera educational program


KUSC Classical

USC Thornton artists featured in KUSC’s “Play On, California!”

April 20, 2020

In a daily broadcast and online feature titled “Play On, California!” Classical KUSC highlights the work California musicians and arts organizations are doing to continue sharing music and create online experiences for audiences while live concerts remain halted. The feature highlights USC Thornton’s Live! From Somewhere series, and the work of various Thornton alumni and… Continue reading USC Thornton artists featured in KUSC’s “Play On, California!”


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Daily Trojan highlights Live! From Somewhere performance series

March 31, 2020

The Daily Trojan, USC’s student-led newspaper, recently highlighted USC Thornton’s new video series, Live! From Somewhere. The series was launched on March 16 in response to recent closures and event cancellations, and as the school’s artists have looked for ways to continue making music while social distancing. Live! From Somewhere presents homemade performances by Thornton… Continue reading Daily Trojan highlights Live! From Somewhere performance series