Thornton alumni end 2019 with awards nominations

Composition alumni Michael Abels (BM ’84) and Austin Wintory (BM ’07), and USC Thornton Board of Councilors member Thomas Newman, are all ending 2019 with nominations for the 2020 awards season.

All three composers are nominated for the inaugural SCL Awards, granted by the Society of Composers & Lyricists: Abels’ “Us” score is nominated for the award for Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film; Wintory is nominated in the category of Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media for his score for the video game “Erica;” and Newman is nominated alongside filmmaker Sam Mendes for the Spirit of Collaboration Award, a lifetime achievement award that will be presented by a composer to a filmmaker with whom the composer has had an enduring creative partnership.

Abels and Newman are also both nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Score – Abels for “Us,” and Newman for “1917.”

Finally, Abels is nominated for a Black Reel Award for Outstanding Score for “Us.” The annual Black Reel Awards were established in 2000 to recognize African-American achievement in Hollywood.